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Urgency, collective action, bravery and centering Te Tiriti were the sentiments echoed at Hui E!’s annual convening of the Community Constellation.  
 
The Community Constellation, a collective of 25 peak body and capability building organisations convened by Hui E!, has now been meeting since late 2024. Brought together with the shared purpose of collective action to advocate and make visible the value of the tangata whenua, community and voluntary sector.  

While it was acknowledged there is immense challenges within the sector from funding to increasing demand there was also a commitment to action and renewed energy to move forward.  

Some key actions that the Constellation is drawing inspiration on are: 

• Getting sharper on messaging: if you are wanting to have influence in the upcoming election develop short, clear, values-based messages in your comms 

• Go back to the flaxroots: think beyond government! Demonstrate that community-led models and solutions are a powerful thing 

• Lean into story telling: Show, don’t tell. Invest in stories that reflect real experiences to move the needle on public opinion. 

• Strategic use of data: make the invisible visible! Community-based organisations make significant economic contributions to Aotearoa. Show it as much as you can. 

• Strengthen collaborative infrastructure: Can you share resources, ideas, time, or space to reduce the collective administrative burden on organisations in your sector? 

• Courage!: Support each other to take the courageous and bold steps for the communities and people you serve with and alongside.  

As we move forward into election year, there is opportunity to pool the talent, resources, expertise and passion for community.  

How will you connect? 

Starting in April Hui E! will be sharing behind the scenes, spotlights and interviews with the Community Constellation on Linkedin.  

 Hui E! Kaiwhakahaere Matua | Chief Executive, Tangata Whenua, Patrick Gemmell joined a sector leader kōrero hosted by SSPA in early February. Leadership, collaboration, Te Tiriti, devolution and data use were key themes. To see read outtakes follow this link. 

This quarter’s meeting with Charities Services focused unsurprisingly on the hard deadline for incorporated societies to re-register, as well as opportunities to simplify and reduce compliance for small charities.  

Updates from Charities Services: 

• Goal of a 4 week turnaround for new charity registrations by June, and acknowledged it is still much longer than that currently.  

• 60% of new registrations did not get approved last year, which was explained as an increase in complex applications as well as unsophisticated use of AI. 

Charitable incorporated societies will need to go through the full charities registration process if they miss the 5 April deadline to re-register as an incorporated society. 

If incorporated societies are not re-registered by April 5, they risk serious legal, financial and tax consequences and will be struck from the Charities Register. The consequence included losing all access to the organisation’s bank accounts.   

If you are a peak body for incorporated societies, now is the time to communicate to your members that they must re-register before the deadline to continue operating.  
 
Information on how to re-register can be found through the NZ Companies Office:  

• Applying to reregister your society | Incorporated Societies 
• Charities Services | Incorporated societies reregistration requirement with the Companies Office 

 If you are stuck, use the secure web message via myIR, and submit even a draft or an update of where you are with the process by 5 April. 

Also note that incorporated Societies that haven’t yet reregistered and likely cannot comply with their rules for notice etc now to approve new rules should use Schedule 1, clause 9 of the Incorporated Societies Act to adopt new rules and reregister – it’s a shortcut provision that means they don’t need to comply with their existing rules.  Key part of clause is below.

Schedule 1, clause 9: Existing society may amend its rules to facilitate reregistration

This clause applies—

(a) to the rules of an existing society; and

(b) despite anything to the contrary in the rules or in any legislation, rule of law, or agreement, including anything relating to the consent of any person to the making of amendments to the rules.

(2) The existing society may, subject to subclauses (3) to (5), amend its rules in any manner that is necessary or desirable to ensure, or in connection with ensuring, that the rules will comply with the requirements of this Act relating to the constitution of a society.

A number of us were fortunate enough to meet Henare  Te  Aika  Puanaki  (Ngāi Tahu) at our recent Community Constellation hui in Wellington as he presented to the group relating to his papatipu view and perspective. 

We have been able to gain a number of connections for the Forum quickly with senior leadership across government which both the officials and our forum have welcomed the connection to provide that treaty partner perspective and insight. 

We are currently working on structural matters at the moment with the forum and look forward to giving a more detailed update in later pānui 

At the start of this year Hui E! Began a series of videos on co-leadership. Over 12-weeks Katie Brice and Patrick Gemmell Hui E! co-kaiwhakahaere Matua | Chief Executives. They reflected on how co-leadership works in practice to its challenges and the richness it brings to an organistion.  

To see the series visit the Hui E! Linkedin page here

“There is a lack of accessible, aggregated data in the community sector, particularly about funding: where it goes, what funders prioritise, and how those decisions align with community need. Greater transparency enables more informed decision-making. It allows us to see how challenges shift over time, whether funding responds to those shifts, and where persistent gaps remain.”

Read Fundsorters most recent report on how funding is distributed in the Canterbury Region here .

In the social sector an organisation needs to communicate with a range of audiences, from service users, local advocates and the wider community, to funders, other organisations and the Government. In order to do this effectively, you’ll need to have a toolkit of content to adapt to each situation.

Check out Socialinks comms tools here: https://socialink.org.nz/legacy/resources-support/marketing-and-communications/

Horizon Survey:

Almost three quarters of New Zealanders think that honouring Te Tiriti is important for the future of Aotearoa NewZealand.

Click here for the full report.

State of the Decade of Volunteering report released 

Volunteering in New Zealand is under strain as people have less time to volunteer and organisations are being asked to deliver more.

This is according to a State of the Decade of Volunteering report, released today by Volunteering New Zealand. Read the press release and access to full report here. 

Click here for the Giving in Aotearoa New Zealand Survey

Click here for the Community Needs Survey

Click here for the nation-wide online survey of Tiriti-based organisational journeys

Ki te hoe

The fifth Ki te Hoe wānanga series is starting this May!   Don’t miss out on this epic learning journey for leaders in philanthropy and social change, which includes three marae-based wānanga at significant places across Aotearoa New Zealand, plus online learning.  If you are a leader who wants to better understand and support Māori aspirations and Te Ao Māori, this is for you.  More info and registration details here, or watch the movie made by members of our fourth cohort here. 

Whakamanawa 2026: Call for presenters

We are seeking innovative, inspiring and important mahi and research for our workshop programme. Topics can cover any area relevant for the sector including: child and family support, family violence prevention, sexual violence prevention, housing, rangatahi, disabled people, rainbow communities and kaimahi hauora.

The Pākehā Project

The Pākehā Project asks the question: “What is the work that we Pākehā need to do ourselves in the ongoing journey of decolonisation and honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi? And what isn’t our work to do?“

The Pākehā Project Leadership Journey is our flagship programme for Pākehā leaders who are seeking to live their commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi in meaningful, grounded, and relational ways. Registrations are open now the for 2026 programme. Click here for more information. 

A two-day conference bringing together community organisations, social sector leaders, and government representatives to share solutions and shape an equitable Aotearoa New Zealand. Hosted by Community Networks Aotearoa and NZCCSS. Click here for more information.

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