The Otago Community Hospice provides palliative care to more than 400 patients each year.
The hospice's free services are many, varied, and sometimes surprising - from inpatient and outpatient support to helping patients write their biography, if they wish.
The hospice's primary goal was to provide support to patients and their families, and make the process of dying as comfortable as possible, chief executive officer Ginny Green said.
The hospice has a $4.8 million annual operating budget, $2 million of which comes exclusively from donations.
Reaching the yearly $2 million goal involves an enormous fundraising effort, and the hospice has struggled to reach it in the past.
This year, the fundraising was going well, Ms Green said.
''Thanks to the generosity of this community, we have raised more than $1.4 million this year. This is amazing,'' she said.
''We are not there yet, though - we still need to raise $500,000 by June 30.''
