Understanding NGOs
NGOs are not simply an extension of the Government; they have their own objectives and interests. Government agencies should take this into account when developing funding arrangements. This section provides some information about NGOs and their experiences.
NGOs' funding experiences
Voluntary sector agencies are unusual in that they combine market activities with non-market activities. A considerable proportion of their labour and other inputs is provided voluntarily, either free of charge or financed through donations. This makes the provision of services and goods possible at low cost, or free, to those who are eligible, but there are still costs incurred through service delivery by volunteers. These costs should be allowed for in any funding arrangements.
NGOs' economic contribution
A number of projects have been undertaken to assess the economic contribution to New Zealand of NGOs and their related voluntary effort. A range of different NGOs is also building knowledge about the costs of running a community organisation, the benefits they provide, issues to do with the ways in which the New Zealand Government funds NGOs, and how that can be improved.
Non-Profit Institutions Satellite Account
In 2007, Statistics New Zealand's Non-Profit Institutions Satellite Account revealed vital data about the sector, such as:
- more than one million volunteers gave more than 270 million hours of unpaid labour to non-profit institutions in 2004
- the economic 'value-added' contribution of non-profit institutions, including the value of this volunteer labour, was assessed at $6.95 billion.
The Study of the New Zealand Non-profit Sector
This collaborative project between government, voluntary sector and academic representatives measures the size and scope of New Zealand’s non-profit sector. The New Zealand Non-profit Sector in Comparative Perspective (2008) shows that volunteers make up 67% of the sector workforce and that 49% of our non-profit organisations are ‘expressive’ organisations, meaning that they are involved in culture, sports, recreation, environmental protection, civic activism, unionism, professional associations, and religion.
Another report from this project, The History of the Non-profit Sector in New Zealand (2008) explores the evolution of the sector.
The VAVA Project
The NZ Federation of Voluntary Welfare Organisations (NZFVWO) commissioned the Value Added by Voluntary Agencies (VAVA) project in order to estimate the value of non-market activities by the voluntary sector.
Counting for Something: Value Added by Voluntary Agencies (2004) examines the activities of 10 nationwide voluntary agencies. These agencies are characterised by their use of voluntary donations of time, money and/or goods.
Counting for More (2007) recognised that annual accounts do not reflect the full value that community and voluntary agencies add to social well-being and the New Zealand economy.
