Good governance is crucial for community organisations. Volunteer Nelson has been a part of a governance development programme since 2017 with the Nelson Tasman Strengthening Community Governance project. That project had partners including Rātā Foundation, Nelson City Council, Tasman District Council, Department of Internal Affairs, Volunteer Nelson and Te Pūtahitanga. There is now more of a national push for governance support and we are closely following the resourses and trainings that become available.

Throughout the past few years Volunteer Nelson have a committment to supporting community governance and have been a part of training such as the Governance Bites series, the Governance Roundtable series, the Governance & Financial Sustainability series. A good way to keep up to date with what is happening is to join the mailing list for updates here or join the Strengthening Community Governance Facebook group here. Read on for details of our latest Governance Training on offer in 2022 and 2023.

Governance Opportunities

Looking to volunteer on a community board? Your skills, passion and energy could help strengthen our community sector and the support it provides to our community.

To look for governance opportunities, head to our Volunteer Opportunities page. We use the power of the Be Collective software platform to manage volunteer opportunities, applications and volunteers on our website. If you choose to apply for an opportunity, you’ll be directed to set up a profile on Be Collective. This profile is private to you, and enables organisations that you have applied for an opportunity with to get in contact with you.

It’s essential that all board members in an organisation understand governance best practice, and why it’s important: to add value and minimise risk. For governance training, come along to this upcoming series led by Michelle Nunes-Vaz of Accounting for Good.

Sessions and Topics

22 September – Leading with Purpose – “What is the best legal structure for a non-profit organisation?  . This workshop covers the different structures for non profits available in New Zealand.   It discuses how an organisation makes greater impact by leading out with clear purpose, energising vison and good strategy.

20 October – Your Organisation’s Rules – Let’s take a focus on policies, answering why we have them, what they should contain and how to develop them.   Also, the 3 P’s – policies vs procedures vs plans.

10 November (changed date was 24 November) – Meetings that Matter – How to run better meetings: Recruiting and retaining diverse board members, onboarding new board members,  How to improve value of  board meetings and a few tips to ensure they’re productive and add value to the organisation.

! NEW DATE ! Tuesday 21 February – Culture – How do you create a positive, productive culture on your board and in your organisation which is vital for long term success.   We will be utilising the Emotional Culture Card from Riders and Elephants as tools for this workshop. This session will run from 6 to 8pm.

23 March – Grants, Contracts, Accountability – Accountability is a fundamental part of running a non profit.  You are accountable to the way you spend all resources including money received from donations, grants, and government contracts.   Ultimately the board is accountable to meet all legal obligations. Will give handout on recent law changes in the Charities Act 2005 and the new Incorporated Societies Act 2022 which came into force 6 April 2022.

20 April – Financial Governance – Financial Governance requires some financial literacy and much of this workshop is dedicated to understanding your numbers.   What do your board reports say – including budgets.

Cost:

$95 per session for up to 2 people from an organisation.

$60 per session for up to 2 people from an organisation for the whole series.

For more details email [email protected] or phone (03) 546 7681.

CommunityNet Aotearoa is an online hub where you can find and share resources designed to strengthen organisations working with New Zealand communities https://community.net.nz/

Here is a link to CommunityNet’s Board Talks for 2022.

Community Governance NZ support not-for-profit organisations with knowledge and resources to serve their communities well https://communitygovernance.org.nz/

After a successful and insightful 2022 Board Talk series Community Governance Aotearoa have some inspiring talks for not-for-profit leaders – Click this link for more information

https://communitygovernance.org.nz/talks-events/

Good Governance is fundamental to the success of your organisation
By getting your governance right, you will have capable, diverse, and engaged board members, a strategy about how to achieve your organisation’s ambitions and serve your community, and ensure your organisation is operating in a legal and ethical manner.

Check out the Community Governance NZ website and resources.

Volunteer Nelson have a collection of resources to do with governance that you might find useful. Click on the button below to access and browse the folder. Please feel free to make suggestions of resources you would like us to add to this collection, email [email protected].

If you would like to advertise for a board member, you can use Volunteer Nelson’s free Volunteer Referral Service here or may want to consider the Institute of Directors ‘Director Vacancies’ here. There is a cost for the Institute of Director’s service but it is heavily discounted for non-profits.