Brandwave

Forest & Bird vs Salvation Army NZ:Which is more popular?

In September 2026, Salvation Army NZ had more branded searches than Forest & Bird among national charities in New Zealand. Salvation Army NZ had about 22,700 branded searches, while Forest & Bird had 3,600. Salvation Army NZ made up 28% of all national charity searches we track, and Forest & Bird accounted for 4.4%. When we asked ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews about national charities, Forest & Bird and Salvation Army NZ each appeared in three of the five answers. Forest & Bird was mentioned before Salvation Army NZ in every answer.

Among national charities in New Zealand in September 2026

Who do people search for more?

Salvation Army NZ, about 6 searches for every 1 for Forest & Bird

Salvation Army NZ 22.7K searchesForest & Bird 3.6K searches

Who does AI mention more?

Both were mentioned in 3 of 5 answers.

Forest & Bird in 3 of 5Salvation Army NZ in 3 of 5

Who does AI recommend more?

Forest & Bird, named ahead of Salvation Army NZ in every answer

Forest & Bird first in 3Salvation Army NZ never first

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Top national charities in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews

In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Forest & Bird and Salvation Army NZ were each mentioned in three out of five: in all three ChatGPT answers, but not in either of the two Google AI Overviews. Forest & Bird was listed before Salvation Army NZ in every answer.

Most recommended by AI

Brands get a higher ranking if they are mentioned earlier in the answers.

  1. Red Cross NZ1st
  2. Forest & Bird2nd
  3. Cancer Society NZ3rd
  4. Salvation Army NZ4th
  5. SPCA5th
  6. World Vision NZ–
  7. Hospice NZ–
  8. Starship Foundation–

Mentioned by AI

Each dot is one answer, filled in when that answer mentions the brand.

  • Salvation Army NZ3 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • Forest & Bird3 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • Red Cross NZ2 of 5Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • Cancer Society NZ2 of 5Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • SPCA1 of 5Named in 1 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • World Vision NZ0 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • Hospice NZ0 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • Starship Foundation0 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers

See every answer about national charities

5 answers

Not named in any answer:

Brands are shown in the order each answer named them. The survey took place in New Zealand on October 19, 2026.

Is Forest & Bird or Salvation Army NZ more popular in search?

This chart shows how often people search Google for Forest & Bird and Salvation Army NZ by name. Each line represents a brand's share of searches for all nine national charities we track, month by month, from searches in New Zealand.

Forest & Bird and Salvation Army NZ among national charities in New Zealand, by month

Share of searches by month for Salvation Army NZ, Forest & Bird. The figures are in the table below the chart.

View monthly share of searches table
MonthSPCASalvation Army NZRed Cross NZForest & BirdWorld Vision NZHospice NZCancer Society NZStarship Foundation
Oct 202542.8%35.4%10.1%2.6%3.2%2.7%2.1%0.98%
Nov 202542.8%35.5%10%2.6%3.2%2.7%2.1%1.1%
Dec 202537.9%46.1%7.1%1.9%2.5%2.3%1.3%0.88%
Jan 202641.1%40.8%9.1%1.7%2.1%2.8%1.7%0.79%
Feb 202636.8%42.6%9.8%1.8%3.3%2.5%2.2%1%
Mar 202642.3%34.7%9.7%2.6%4.3%2.7%2.6%1.1%
Apr 202646.6%32.7%8.7%1.9%4.2%3%1.9%0.9%
May 202645.9%31.4%8.8%2.2%5.2%3%2.2%1.2%
Jun 202642.9%29.2%8.8%5.9%8%2.4%1.8%1%
Jul 202650%28.8%9.7%2.5%3.4%2.7%2.1%0.95%
Aug 202648.3%28.1%10%2.3%4%2.7%3.6%0.94%
Sep 202647.9%28%9.6%4.4%3.9%2.8%2.4%0.91%

How has the Forest & Bird and Salvation Army NZ comparison changed over the last 12 months?

3 findings

How did search popularity change for New Zealand national charities in September 2026?

2 changes

  1. In September 2026, Forest & Bird overtook World Vision NZ and 2 others to rank 4th among national charities in New Zealand, with 4.4% of the searches.

  2. Salvation Army NZ’s share of searches among national charities in New Zealand has lost ground for 3 months in a row, from 29.2% to 28% in September 2026.

How are branded searches counted?

19 search terms

Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Forest & Bird’s and Salvation Army NZ’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading.

Forest & Bird

2 branded search terms

  • forest & bird
  • forest and bird

Salvation Army NZ

17 branded search terms

  • manukau salvation army
  • salvation army
  • salvation army donations nz
  • salvation army lower hutt
  • salvation army nz
  • salvation army nz volunteer
  • salvation army onehunga
  • salvation army otahuhu
  • salvation army papamoa
  • salvation army papanui
  • salvation army paraparaumu
  • salvation army porirua
  • salvation army pukekohe
  • salvation army timaru
  • salvation army whanganui
  • salvation army whangarei
  • the salvation army nz

How the Brand Demand Index is measured

Other head-to-heads among national charities

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