Community & Voluntary Sector

UnitedFuture supports the vital role that volunteer and community agencies play in our society. These agencies often have the expertise, networks and strong community focus to deliver services most effectively.

It is UnitedFuture policy to:

• Develop long-term and sustainable funding pathways for the sector, including the development of social lending and social entrepreneurship schemes.
• Focus on developing supportive and mutually beneficial partnerships between the Government, the community, and voluntary agencies, including greater cooperation between agencies at a local and regional level.
• Ensure that government departments keep voluntary agencies up to date with policies that affect their work, and foster policy development networks with voluntary and cultural groups.
• Pay premiums to not-for-profit agencies who find sustained employment for the unemployed, with higher rates available for placing clients facing greater barriers to employment.
• Establish Family Support Service Co-ordinators that help families to access government and non-profit agencies providing services such as budget advice, addiction treatment, parenting education, anger management courses, counselling, employment training, and maternity, child care, mental health and child health services.
• Initiate and immediate review of the Charities Act to ensure that the work of the Charities Commission is directed towards fostering the vitality and success of the sector and encouraging philanthropy and generosity by New Zealanders.
• Establish overseas aid at 0.5% of GDP immediately and reach the accepted international millennium goal of 0.7% by 2015
• Explore further ways of encouraging greater social participation in voluntary organisations, e.g. establish a national register of skills on offer by retirees that can be available to community agencies, and seek the active involvement of employers and unions in this process.
• Encourage young people to become involved in voluntary activities.
• Review the compliance costs imposed on voluntary agencies by legislation, such as occupational health and safety regulations.
• Expand our previous initiatives of making all charitable donations tax deductible and introducing payroll giving to include gift aid, extension of access to imputation credits and other initiatives.