| Who are we? |
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Volunteering New Zealand (VNZ) is an association of volunteer centres and national and other organisations with a commitment to volunteering. Current member organisations cover emergency services, health, welfare, education, culture, faith based services, community support, ethnic groups, sport and recreation, conservation, special interests, advocacy and international volunteering. VNZ’s mission is to create an environment which supports, promotes, values and encourages effective volunteering by the people of Aotearoa New Zealand. VNZ provides a national voice of volunteering and volunteers in this country. This is a different role from that of those organisations which speak on behalf of not-for-profit or voluntary organisations. We also encompass volunteering across the whole community. Within that mission, VNZ is now focusing on two key population groups – young people and the baby boomer generation.
The key steps VNZ takes to achieve its objectives include:
VNZ was established in August 2001 during the International Year of the Volunteer. Volunteer Centres and a number of national organisations had lobbied for many years for the establishment of a national body to represent, promote and support volunteering.
The International Year of the Volunteer and the recommendations of the Ministerial Reference Group gave impetus for this to happen and VNZ was established with funding from the Department of Internal Affairs ‘Support for Volunteers’ Fund. Current funding for VNZ comes from the Support for Volunteers Fund and a number of other funding sources.
Volunteering New Zealand’s Governance
Volunteering New Zealand has an Executive Board of up to nine people. From the 2008 AGM, six are elected members with three appointed members – Maori, Pacific and Other Ethnicities. The current Board comprises: Elected members: Lloyd Davies, Dianne Denny, Heather Clark, Alison Marshall Gillian Peacock and Olwen Taylor. Co-opted members Tyron Love and Jane Poa are working with the board to develop its relationship with Maori and the Pacific communities.
Staffing
VNZ staffing includes a full time Executive Director supported by part time staff, the work and commitment of its voluntary board and other volunteers for special projects. International Links Volunteering New Zealand is the New Zealand Representative of International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE). This is an international non-governmental organisation representing volunteerism worldwide. It has individual and organizational members in 80 countries. Volunteering NZ has also established good working relationships with Volunteering Australia which has made accessible a variety of educational resources and participation in their programmes. Our another great partner is Australasian Association of Volunteer Administrators (AAVA). Volunteering NZ has also been working with specialist volunteer training organisations from Australia, USA and Canada. |