Our focus over the past months on COVID-19 is now shifting to how we can support a regenerative, thriving and sustainable community sector going forward. Last month, in preparation for the September General Election, we engaged six political party members in a korero about their party policies for the sector. You’ll find a link to the recording and our Election 2020 webpage below. We also pulled together our own learning and have prepared a webinar toolkit for organisations to use. We also continue to update information on our COVID pages, including the extended wage subsidy and available funding. Ngā mihi o te Tau Hou – Happy Māori New Year. Matariki is the Māori name for a cluster of stars which is visible in our night sky at a specific time of the year – signalling the start of the Māori New Year. It is a time to celebrate new life, to remember those who’ve passed and to plan for the future. And it’s a time to spend with whānau and friends – to enjoy kai (food), waiata (song), tākaro (games) and haka. This year, Matariki will be visible from 13-20 July. Ngā manaakitanga Rochelle Rochelle Stewart-Allen Pou Kaiārahi (General Manager) Hui E! Community Aotearoa

HUI E! UPDATES

Educating political parties to help the community sector

On Wednesday 10 June, Hui E! Community Aotearoa, ComVoices, Sue Barker Charities Law and Trust Democracy joined forces to ask our New Zealand politicians how they will support a thriving community and voluntary sector. As one of the first election events in the lead up to Election 2020, there was an air of nervousness in the Zoom waiting room. With warm thanks to the Todd Foundation for their support. Watch the webinar or download the summary here

Election 2020

It is now time to turn our attention to the General Election to be held on Saturday 19 September. What are the political parties’ key policies to support a thriving and sustainable community and voluntary sector in a post pandemic environment? Find out relevant sector information about New Zealand’s 2020 General Election on our Election 2020 page. We’ll be adding information over the coming weeks.

Hui E! at the forefront of measuring NZ progress of the SDGs

Last month we reflected on our success at spearheading an independent report on New Zealand’s progress towards the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. Click here to more. On 7 July, the UN’s major platform for follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda, the High-level political forum, kicked off a 10-day virtual meeting. You can read our recent SDG update here and follow proceedings on http://webtv.un.org.

Prioritising our wellbeing when our causes keep demanding more

Attending to the pressing needs of our cause or community is the priority but often this leaves little time or energy to invest in our own wellbeing. Read our blog post by Vicki Evans to discover why it’s so important to create a strong foundation of wellbeing within.

Survey about COVID-19 impacts on Community Sector – results due 29 July

Many thanks to those more than 1,000 community organisations who completed our survey on the impacts of COVID-19 on your organisation. We were overwhelmed with the response and the results will provide an excellent overview on where our sector has shone, where we need to take stock and how to shape our future. This is a joint project from Hui E! Community Aotearoa, Volunteering New Zealand, Centre for Social Impact and Philanthropy New Zealand. Stay tuned for the first results being published on 29 July.

GOVERNMENT INFORMATION

Wage Subsidy Update

The Government has announced an 8 week wage subsidy extension available from 10 June to 1 September 2020. The subsidy is available for NGOs and not for profits. H ui E! have put together key information for you on our website.

Small Business Cash Loan

One-off government loans are available for businesses, charities and not for profits impacted by COVID-19 to help with cash flow. The Small Business Cashflow (Loan) Scheme has been extended until the end of 2020. Applications opened on 12 May 2020 and can now be submitted up to and including 31 December 2020 and can be made through myIR. Here’s an overview of the scheme on our website .

RESOURCES

Running a webinar toolkit

Are you planning to host an online webinar but not sure where to start? We recently developed a webinar toolkit free for anyone to use. Click here to access the toolkit from our resources page.

COVID-19 implications on philanthropic funding and grantmaking

In May, Philanthropy New Zealand surveyed 120 of its philanthropic and grant funders to gain an understanding of the impacts of COVID-19 on their funding and approaches. Access the research here.

Groupthink. Are we collectively ruining democracy? (webinar)

As part of Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington’s Leadership Week 2020, Transparency International NZ will host a free webinar about democracy and whether we are collectively ruining it through groupthink. Register here.

Special offer from Strategic Grants

Needing help to find out what grants your community organisation or group is eligible for? Join up with the GEM Local grants management system run by Strategic Grants. GEM Local provides your local community group with a complete grant-seeking solution. Strategic Grants currently has a half-price offer for Hui E!’s network with revenue under $1M. GEM Local provides:

A customised Grants Calendar finding only the grants relevant to your organisation, according to what you do, where you do it and your legal status
Full access to all the grant and funder records on your personalised Grants Calendar
Ability to track the progress of your grant applications including when funder reports are due
Email alerts about deadlines
A Grant-Seeker “How To” manual
A 30-minute best practice webinar, writing and grants success checklists
Key administration to-do’s and guide to setting up your online presence.

Until 31 July you can purchase a 12-month subscription for only $240 (normal annual subscription fee is $480 per year). Just go to www.gemlocal.com and at point of payment enter your coupon code HuiE20. Learn more about Strategic Grants here and check out their introductory video.

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What’s happening in the Community Sector?