2020 Charities Services Annual Meeting
Representatives of charities gathered at Pipitea Marae in Wellington on 1 December for the Charities Services Annual Meeting. The Annual Meeting is a chance for registered charities to hear from Charities Services, and to celebrate the diverse range of charities in Aotearoa. It was a successful wrap up for a testing year.
The new Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector, the Honourable Priyanca Radhakrishnan, opened the meeting and introduced herself to the sector. She spoke of the enduring partnership between the Government and the charitable sector in working together to benefit our whānau and communities. She also reflected on the submissions to the review of the Charities Act 2005(external link), and mentioned her intention to deliberate carefully on next steps.
Roger Holmes Miller, Chair of Te Rātā Atawhai, the independent Charities Registration Board(external link), spoke of the Board’s role in facilitating the evolution of Charities Law in a way that best reflects modern New Zealand society.
Stephen Reilly, General Manager of Charities Services, acknowledged the challenges faced by charities during their initial and on-going response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The sector’s vital mahi has been a testament to its resilience through uncertainty and adversity. He also outlined Charities Services’ plans for the upcoming year. These priorities include supporting good governance in the sector, improving information on our website, and leading Charities Services as a modern, responsive, risk-based regulator.
Senior Charities Services staff also gave the sector an opportunity to have their say and to ask the hard questions. This helps us understand what charities need, and what frustrates them about the current system. We heard about the difficulty some have meeting the reporting standards, and challenges for charities without English as a first language.
Handouts
2019/2020 Annual Review [PDF, 7.8 MB]