The charitable sector continues to make a significant contribution to New Zealand’s workforce. More than 140,000 people work full time in the sector, which is equal to 5% of the New Zealand workforce. On top of this, more than 235,000 people volunteer their time each week for charities. This is a testament to the sector’s generous nature, which has only been demonstrated further throughout COVID-19. Our Annual Review includes more information and data about the charitable sector, and the work we have been doing in the last year. You can read our Annual Review here.

In this newsletter I’m really excited to introduce a new section of our website, specifically for Māori charities, Te Puna Atawhaitanga. We also include useful information for charities completing their financial reporting, an invitation to our annual meeting, we showcase registered charity Island Child, and we feature information and events relevant to charities.

This is my last week at Charities Services for six months. I’m very excited to be welcoming my second child in the coming weeks. Stephen Reilly will be stepping into the General Manager role until I return in April 2021. Stephen joined Charities Services in 2017 and currently manages our Regulatory group, with responsibility for the Investigations and Registration teams. Stephen brings a depth of experience, so I know he will be fantastic in this role. 

I would like to finish by sharing a whakataukī that speaks to the importance of connection. While on parental leave I look forward to keeping up-to-date with the important work of the charitable sector and reconnecting with the work of Charities Services on my return.

Waiho i te toipoto, kaua i te toiroa.

Let us keep close together, not wide apart.

Ngā mihi

Natasha Weight
General Manager, Kaiwhakahaere Matua

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Old PO Box closing

Our old PO Box in Lower Hutt is closing. Please ensure that all mail for Charities Services is addressed to:

Charities Services
PO Box 12138
Thorndon
Wellington Central
6011

Mail sent to our old address will not be redirected after 30 November 2020 so please use the above postal address. 

Scammers targeting New Zealand charities

We are aware of an international scam targeting registered charities in New Zealand. Scammers have been calling charities, claiming to be Charities Services, and asking for personal and financial information.

Please note that Charities Services will never ask for detailed personal or financial information over the phone. This includes passwords or credit card details.

If you think you have been scammed, please report it to iDCare by clicking here. iDCare is Australia and New Zealand’s national identity & cyber support service.

Anyone can be the target of a scam, so it’s important to stay up to date on information about scams and staying safe online. The New Zealand Government has information about scams and how to avoid them here.

Charities Services annual meeting 

Charities Services staff at the 2019 annual meeting

Our annual meeting will be held at Pipitea Marae in Wellington on 1 December. Speakers will include Te Rātā Atawhai, the independent Charities Registration Board, and senior leadership from the Department of Internal Affairs.

There will be opportunities for attendees to speak with staff and to ask questions during a Q&A session. We invite all registered charities to come along. 

Provisions have been made to hold the meeting online this year if we are unable to do so in person due to COVID-19 Alert Levels. If this is the case, we will contact registrants with further information closer to the date of the event.

Find more information about the event and register here.

Charities Services 2019/2020 Annual Review

This month we released the Charities Services 2019/2020 Annual Review.

It outlines the work we’ve done this year and our key priorities for the year ahead. We also showcase information about the charitable sector, highlighting the important mahi (work) charities do. We would like to extend our thanks to all the charities who shared their photos with us.

There will be printed versions of our Annual Review available at our annual meeting and it is also available online. Read the Charities Services Annual Review here.

Information for charities with a kaupapa Māori focus: Te Puna Atawhaitanga

We recently updated our website to include a section specifically for Māori charities, Te Puna Atawhaitanga. Charities Services recognises the vital mahi undertaken by charities with a Te Ao Māori focus and we want to support charities to continue carrying out this important mahi. 

The information and resources on Te Puna Atawhaitanga give guidance for new and existing charities with a kaupapa Māori focus. The pages include guidance on starting a charity, running a charity, financial reporting, funding and more. We also include stories of charities with a kaupapa Māori focus, showcasing the great mahi they do. We will continue to update these pages with new information relevant to Māori charities.

You can access the Te Puna Atawhaitanga pages here.

Meeting with the Sector Group

On 24 September Charities Services’ Sector Group (previously known as the Sector User Group) met online via Zoom.

The Sector Group is made up of charities and stakeholders who meet with us twice a year. Our focus is being a responsive regulator that understands the sector and how our work impacts on charities. The group provide insights on the issues the sector is facing, and we test some of the changes to our policies and processes with them.

At the latest meeting, the group agreed to changes to their charter, including agreeing on developing a more diverse membership. They also discussed recent court decisions relating to advocacy and how this will affect organisations that advocate for charitable goals. More detail on this is provided below.

The group also discussed how its meetings should become more visible via information on Charities Services' website. We’ll be introducing this over the next month.

Updates to recent court decisions

Many charities will be following the two recent court decisions involving charities with an advocacy focus (Greenpeace New Zealand and Family First New Zealand).

On 10 August 2020, the High Court decided that Greenpeace of New Zealand Incorporated qualifies for registration. Te Rata Atawhai, the Charities Registration Board, is currently considering how to apply the decision.

The Board has noted the decision is likely to mean organisations that advocate for charitable goals, such as protecting the environment or promoting human rights, will now more easily qualify for registration. Once the Board has finished reviewing its approach to assessing applications, further information will be published on Charities Services’ website page on advocacy and sent out through our communications channels.

On 27 August 2020, the Court of Appeal held, in a majority decision, that Family First New Zealand remains qualified for registration. In the traditional role of ‘protector of charities’, the Attorney-General has sought leave to appeal this decision to the Supreme Court. We will look to provide updates on the Attorney-General's application as matters progress. 

You can read the two decisions here:

·       Greenpeace

·       Family First

Webinar: Tier 4 reporting - an overview

On 3 November at 12-1pm we will be presenting a webinar to help Tier 4 charities with their annual reporting to Charities Services.

The webinar will cover:

·       annual reporting obligations for Tier 4 registered charities

·       the performance report and how to use yours to benefit your charity

·       how to improve your reporting

·       resources available to help you prepare to report.

The webinar will also include a live Q&A session with Charities Services’ staff. External Reporting Board staff will also be answering questions about the review of the Tier 3 and 4 reporting standards.

At the end of the webinar you will understand what information Tier 4 charities must provide to Charities Services every year, why this is so important, and where to go for help.

Click here to register.

SECTOR SHOWCASE

Island Child Charitable Trust

Island Child Charitable Trust is an organisation all about showing aroha (love) and manaakitanga (hospitality and generosity) to some of society’s most vulnerable.

The Trust provides temporary accommodation to whānau and a 12 week residential programme based on an indigenous empowerment framework that helps to restore whanaungatanga (belonging and kinship) to whānau.

Read the full sector showcase here.

Danielle Bergin, founder of Island Child Charitable Trust. Photo courtesy of NZ Catholic Publication

QUICK NEWS OF INTEREST 

Charity Law, Accounting and Regulation Conference 2020

The Charity Law, Accounting, and Regulation Conference will be held over Zoom on 4 November.

The topic for the conference is building back better. The focus will be on the opportunities gained and lessons learnt from COVID-19. The conference provides the opportunity to learn from leading lawyers, accountants, academics and regulators in the charitable sector.

The conference is a collaboration between The Charity Law Association of Australia and New Zealand (CLAANZ), Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ) and is supported by Charities Services.

Find out more and register for the conference here.

Charity Fraud Awareness Week is 19-23 October

All charities, NGOs and not-for-profits are at risk of fraud. Any fraud which diverts funds away from charities can have a significant impact on public trust and confidence in the charitable sector.

Charity Fraud Awareness Week promotes openness and honesty about fraud in the charitable sector. This year’s key messages are: be fraud aware, take time to check, and keep your charity safe.

Charity Fraud Awareness Week is led by the Charities Commission of England and Wales and supported by more than 40 international regulators and not-for-profit stakeholders, including Charities Services.

Get involved in Charity Fraud Awareness Week by checking out the resources available on the Fraud Advisory Panel website. Their online charity fraud awareness hub has free tutorials, webinars, videos, case studies and help sheets.

Our website also has a number of useful resources to help charities address the risks associated with fraud. Check out our resource: Top 10 tips to protect your charity from fraud. We will also be sharing information and resources on our Facebook page throughout Charity Fraud Awareness week.

Calling all Tier 3 and Tier 4 charities

The Tier 3 and Tier 4 reporting standards have been around since 2015, and now it’s time to provide some feedback.

The New Zealand Accounting Standards Board (NZASB) are carrying out a post-implementation review of the Tier 3 and Tier 4 reporting standards. The purpose of the review is to understand what’s working well, what isn’t working well, and where improvements are needed. These could be anything from proposing changes in the wording of the standards, to requesting more guidance or templates.

The post-implementation review will be open for comment until 31 March 2021 and the NZASB will consider all comments submitted. When you are next preparing your Performance Report, consider any issues that you come across and share them here.

For more information, the NZASB released a short one page summary that explains the post-implementation review process.

How to read a COVID-19 audit report

As charities continue to face the impacts of COVID-19, ensuring reporting still happens is a concern for many. This includes meeting Review and Audit requirements. All registered charities that have a statutory requirement to be audited need to attach their audit report to their annual return, along with their audited accounts. These may look different to reports you have seen in the past as they may include a “modified” opinion or new paragraphs.

In June, we shared a blog written by the External Reporting Board (XRB): How COVID-19 may affect your audit report. It discusses the possible impact to an audit report, and provides some examples you may see that “modify” the report.

Chartered Accountants of Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ) recently shared a short document: Navigating auditors’ reports in a COVID-19 environment. It outlines how you may expect COVID-19 to have impacted each section of an audit report. While this is more directed to stakeholders of a profit entity, the descriptions for each section are still relevant to charities.

Both resources could be very useful to pass onto your Board or other people who view your audit report, to help them further understand the technical language used.

UPDATES FROM WIDER GOVERNMENT

GOVERNANCE TIPS

Strengthen your charity with NZ Navigator

This year has highlighted the importance of strong community organisations.

NZ Navigator is an online assessment tool, focussed on building strong and effective organisations and communities. Users can assess the performance of their organisation by rating all the important areas of the organisation’s operation – direction, governance, leadership, people, administration, finances, communication, evaluation and relationships. Once you complete an assessment, you will have immediate access to a report with charts, scores, feedback and resources (including an action plan) to assist you to further develop your organisation. It’s also free!

You can find out more about NZ Navigator on their website.

Institute of Directors Not-for-profit Reader

The Institute of Directors New Zealand has just released a Not-for-Profit Reader. It is a great collection of articles, insights and tools which will be useful to officers on not-for-profit boards.

The reader includes the National Action Plan for Community Governance, governance in charities and the impact of COVID-19 on the not-for-profit sector.

Find the Not-for-Profit Reader on the Institute of Directors website.

RESOURCES