Further reading about non-government organisations
Relationship guidance on this website relates specifically to relationships around funding, however you will also find useful information and guidance on good relationship principles and practice on the Good Practice Participate website
Reasons to fund NGOs
Communities and Government – Potential for Partnership: Community and Voluntary Sector Working Party report
This report outlines the steps that can be taken to improve the working relationships between government agencies and community organisations. New Zealand, April 2001.
How Funders and Government Agencies Can Help During the Recession
While some of the ideas on this page on the OCVS website may seem obvious or common courtesy, they are a timely reminder of the importance of strong relationships and open communication during difficult times. The value of knowing which activities are really making a difference also shines through the advice.
It Takes Two: The Tango of Collaboration and Grantmaking
This paper highlights the advantages of joint funding that goes beyond the provision of funds. Collaboration can add value by way of knowledge, skills, contacts and experience across the funding process. Garth Nowland-Foreman.
KOHA: Partnership for International Community Development
Partnership for International Community Development is a peer-assessed co-funding scheme for New Zealand NGOs supporting community development activities through in-country partners. The scheme, previously called the Voluntary Agency Support Scheme, is co-managed through a project management committee consisting of elected NGO representatives and an NZAID representative.
Ministry of Health NGO Desk
The Ministry of Health NGO Desk helps to disseminate information to the health and disability NGO sector and to progress issues facing the sector that are identified at the NGO-MoH Forums. Its primary function is to build on the Framework for Relations between the Ministry of Health and health and disability NGOs.
No Longer Overlooked and Undervalued
The remarks of the Chair of the Committee for the Study of the New Zealand Non-Profit Sector on the launch of ‘The NZ Non-Profit Sector in Comparative Perspective’ - undertaken as a part of the International Comparative Non-Profit Sector Project, Johns Hopkins University. The key findings of the research are summarised and some implications for public policy identified. Garth Nowland-Foreman, New Zealand, August 2008.
Non-profit Institutions Satellite Account: 2004
A clearer picture of how the community and voluntary sector is resourced in New Zealand is now possible. This Statistics NZ report is enabling in-depth analysis of a part of the economy not previously shown separately in our National Accounts. The satellite account was the first time that New Zealand measured the value of the unpaid labour given by volunteers to non-profit institutions. More than one million volunteers gave more than 270 million hours of unpaid labour to non-profit institutions in 2004. When valued at a market wage, voluntary labour boosts non-profit institutions' economic contribution to $6.95 billion or 4.9% of NZ's gross domestic product (GDP). Statistics NZ, 2007.
Principles to Underpin Management by Public Entities of Funding to NGOs
The Auditor-General's report complements existing guidance about NGO funding arrangements by taking a principles-based approach to guide public entities’ decisions when they enter into funding arrangements with NGOs. It was developed for both the central government and local government sectors.
Secretary for the Treasury's speech on public sector performance
Delivered to a Victoria University School of Government seminar, this speech by Secretary John Whitehead warns that the public service would fail the New Zealand public if it doesn’t abandon its traditional comfort zone, lift its productivity and do things differently and more efficiently. July 2009.
State Services Minister’s speech (July 2009)
The Hon. Tony Ryall’s speech to the State Services Senior Leaders Development Conference outlines government priorities and challenges. The priorities are to focus on the front line, providing services with a customer focus and deliver value for money. July 2009.
Statement of Government Intentions for an Improved Community-Government Relationship
In 2001, Government signed this statement to demonstrate its commitment to improving funding arrangements with NGOs.
VAVA Counting for More – A Pilot Study: Measuring Outputs and Outcomes
A follow-up report from the NZ Federation of Voluntary Welfare Organisations, Dec 2007.
VAVA Counting for Something: Value Added by Voluntary Agencies
This project was developed to provide measures of the work of voluntary organisations, recognising that annual accounts do not adequately reflect the full value these organisations add to social wellbeing and the economy. See also the VAVA project reports below. NZ Federation of Voluntary Welfare Organisations, Sept 2004.
The Vulnerability Reports – From the NZ Council of Christian Social Services
These reports pull together a range of official government data and statistics from community-based agencies, many of which are continuing to report increased demand for services, particularly food, emergency accommodation and budgeting. Reports show some NZCCSS member agencies reporting unprecedented numbers of people approaching them for help and they are struggling to cope with the additional volumes. Strategies to manage include introducing waiting lists and reducing client contact time. Some larger agencies are also receiving more referrals from other smaller community organisations that no longer have any capacity to absorb new work.
Understanding NGOs
A Birds-eye View of the Charitable Sector – from the Charities Register
Approximately 25% of all non-profit organisations in New Zealand are charities. In 2009, the Charities Register brought together up-to-date information about individual charities for the first time. The Charities Commission aggregated this data to compile a picture of the charitable sector and its work. Although the Commission has not yet received a full ‘cycle’ of Annual Returns; based on the returns received so far, the Commission is projecting the following facts about the charitable sector:- $17 billion tax-exempt income- $2.4 billion donations- $1.5 billion government grants- 130,000 full-time equivalent employees
Communities and Government: Potential for Partnership Whakatopu Whakaaro
The report of the Community and Voluntary Sector Working Party. Published by the Ministry of Social Policy, the Working Party (chaired by Dorothy Wilson) published 2001. New Zealand Joint Government and Non-Government.
Community Net Aotearoa NZ
This website has up-to-date news about community and voluntary organisations in New Zealand. It aims to support community organisations and encourage information-sharing.
Community Organisation Stocktake Report – Porirua City Council
This snapshot of how community organisations in Porirua city are faring captures the influence of the 2008/09 economic recession. The report compiles information to assist city organisations, government departments, and Council in their planning, funding and advocacy work. The report attempts to capture the impacts of government policy; but is not intended to be a political statement. The focus of the research was on organisations that provide critical support services to residents and businesses. Nine case studies are provided and the report also summarises the changing nature of community funding. August 2009.
Costs of running an NGO
This page lists certain core items for which an NGO must find funding in order to be viable.
The Fabric of Welfare: Voluntary Organisations, Government and Welfare in New Zealand, 1840–2005
Throughout history, the 'welfare of the people' has been a contested area. Is it the responsibility of the state? The churches? The extended family? Organised charities or informal community groups? The Fabric of Welfare is about the many points of contact between voluntary welfare and government social services, and the complex pattern woven by these different threads. By Prof. Margaret Tennant, Massey University, New Zealand, 2007.
Financial Pressures on Health Sector NGOs
This paper from the Ministry of Health, Health and Disability Sector NGO Working Group outlines financial pressures on NGOs, which have implications for their financial viability, the quality of service delivery and the health and wellbeing of their communities. The paper also suggests some possible ways forward. (The link is towards the end of the list of papers from the April forum). NZ Non-Government, March 2005.
Funding Information Service
This not-for-profit organisation collects and distributes information about funding through three searchable databases.
Fundraising Institute of New Zealand (FINZ)
FINZ is a professional organisation for people who work in fundraising. It provides networking, resources and training for members. FINZ members work with over 200 charities and not-for-profit organisations on local, national and global causes.
Good funding criteria
Good funding criteria can be used to help judge the likely success or failure of funding arrangements.
Government Involvement in NZ Sport - Sport Policy: a Cautionary Tale
Government involvement in New Zealand sport spans over 70 years from provisions of the Physical Welfare Act in 1937 to current provisions of the Sport and Recreation Act 2002. Thousands of volunteers in non-profit organisations continue to underpin New Zealand's sport system. Governments frequently use the rhetoric of community cohesion, national pride, life skills and public health benefits to justify its involvement. This thesis examines the impact of government intervention on the sport sector, its funding paradigms and the extent of sector engagement in a policy for sport. Hugh Lawrence, The University of Waikato,2008.
He Waka Kotuia: Joining Together On a Shared Journey
The report of the Community-Government Relationship Steering Group. Published by the Ministry of Social Development, the Steering Group (chaired by Dorothy Wilson) inter alia recommended ways to improve funding and accountability arrangements. New Zealand Joint Government and Non-Government, 2002
The Implications of a Recession for the Māori Economy
Te Puni Kōkiri presented a paper at the 2009 Māori Economic Summit providing a snapshot of, and highlighting the key risks to, the Māori economy in order to inform further work to mitigate these risks. The paper also outlines the key drivers for future change and how some Māori businesses may be placed to take advantage of these trends.
Neither Mendicants Nor Dealmakers: Voluntary Organisations Negotiating New Relationships Under a Contracting Regime in NZ
Overview of the literature on contracting and description of the early process of shifting to a contracting regime and its impact in New Zealand. , G Nowland-Foreman, Wellington for NZ Council of Christian Social Services, 1995.
Non-Profit Institutions Satellite Account: 2004
In 2007, Statistics New Zealand's Non-Profit Institutions Satellite Account revealed that more than one million volunteers gave more than 270 million hours of unpaid labour to non-profit institutions in 2004. The Account provides valuable data about the sector.
Radio NZ's Insight programme- Perfect Storm
This half-hour programme on National Radio explored how the recession is affecting the not-for-profit sector. Compiled by Sue Ingram, it features interviews and comments from a wide range of people in the community and government sectors. 2009.
Role of the Voluntary Sector - Allen Lane lecture
An edited version of Julia Unwin's 2005 Allen Lane Lecture, which explores the role of the voluntary sector as a source of challenge and a legitimate channel for dissent. Julia argues that in addition to the twin roles of running services and building social capital, the voluntary sector has a role in articulating dissent and challenging the status quo, and that organisations that fail to do this are walking away from the dispossessed people they exist to support. Published in September 2005 in Network News by the New Zealand Council for Social Services. NZ Non-Government.
Strategic Pay Not-for-Profit Sector Remuneration Survey 2009 results
This survey was based on an analysis of 6,811 employees representing 225 organisations - an increase of 77 organisations and almost 2,600 participants over last year. The key finding of the survey is the size of the pay gap between the not-for-profit sector and the broader employment market. The survey also shows that 48.2% of sector staff work part-time.
Study of the NZ Non-Profit Sector
This collaborative project between government, voluntary sector and academic measured the size and scope of New Zealand’s non-profit sector. Publications from the Study give us greater insight into the nature and importance of the non-profit sector and its volunteers.
VAVA Counting for More – A Pilot Study: Measuring Outputs and Outcomes
A follow-up report from the NZ Federation of Voluntary Welfare Organisations, Dec 2007.
VAVA Counting for Something: Value Added by Voluntary Agencies
This project was developed to provide measures of the work of voluntary organisations, recognising that annual accounts do not adequately reflect the full value these organisations add to social wellbeing and the economy. NZ Federation of Voluntary Welfare Organisations. Sept 2004.
Value of the Community and Voluntary Sector: Funding and Sustainability
New Zealand Federation of Voluntary Welfare Organisations explores these topics periodically in its New Dialogue publication. NZ Non-Government, 2008.
