The charity behind Starship Hospital failed to front up fast enough during its donation saga, a PR expert says.

Mark Chittick, the owner of the thoroughbred nursery Waikato Stud, offered to donate A$520,000 ($570,000) to Starship after the horse I Wish I Win won the A$10 million Golden Eagle race at Rosehill in Sydney.

But Cambridge-based Chittick’s offer was turned down.

“I said while I can’t guarantee you how much money it will be, I’d love to let the hospital have it,” he told the Herald.

“They rang me back an hour later and declined. They were really polite about it but said they didn’t want to take money associated with racing or gambling.

“I couldn’t believe it and now that is A$520,000 which will never come to New Zealand and help Kiwi kids.”

Waikato Stud owner Mark Chittick. Photo / Dean Purcell

Later, in a joint statement, both Chittick and Starship disclosed the real reason the generous offer was turned down.

“Mark Chittick’s offer to be involved with, and become the potential beneficiary of the charity component of the Golden Eagle Race, came in at 3 pm and required us to make a rapid decision by close of business the same day,” the statement read.

“As with any charity, due diligence is an essential part of our responsibility to accept donations. In this instance, considerations around the size and off-shore nature of the donation regrettably could not be resolved within this timeframe.”

The Starship Foundation retracted its original statement and said it “welcomes donations from gaming societies and the horse racing industry, and has long been the grateful beneficiary of donations of this nature”.

The statement also said Chittick was approached by Starship, and he was disappointed at the outcome but acknowledged there were time pressures involved.

A PR expert and founder of Pead PR company Deborah Pead today told Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking today that Starship could have handled the situation better.

“Certainly it’s the story of the week and like many people, I was very confused by the story and that wasn’t helped by the contradictions that emerged subsequent to the story.

”The thing is we don’t like seeing much-loved brands and organisations being caught up in the weeds.

“And when organisations make a mistake and things don’t go as planned, which does often happen, there’s a very simple rule - you get up, dress up and front up, if required you face up.”

Pead said the foundation did not act promptly in this instance.

”You never underestimate the power of a good mea culpa. Good apologies work because mistakes happen and people understand that.

“It’s even more important for an organisation like Starship Foundation where so many people feel they have a strong connection to it and there are many people invested in the organisation that’s much admired, dear to so many people, it plays such an important role.

“So when an organisation like that makes a mistake they need to act promptly to maintain that trust and respect.”

A second man had also come forward claiming his gift of $10,000 was also rejected by the charity several months ago.

Jamie Lock of Te Aroha told 1News he sold his horse Sierra Sue in late 2019.

He was subsequently gifted a share of the horse by the Australian buyer Ozzie Kheir and after becoming $17,000 richer, Lock wanted to give $10,000 of it to Starship Hospital but the offer was rejected.

He was told the foundation could not receive proceeds from gambling.