Definition of the community and voluntary sector

We have adopted the description used by the Johns Hopkins Centre for Civil Society Studies of organisations that comprise the community and voluntary sector as being:

• organisations with some degree of internal organisational structure, meaningful boundaries, or legal charter of information
• non-profit, that is, not returning profits to their owners or directors and not primarily guided by commercial goals
• institutionally separate from government, so that while government funds may be received, the organisation does not exercise governmental authority
• self-governing, which means the organisations control their management and operations to a major extent
• not compulsory, which means that membership and contributions of time and money are not required by law or otherwise made a condition of citizenship.

The ‘Study of the non-profit sector’ project, will look at how New Zealand organisations fit within these criteria.

Community and voluntary organisations vary in their roles. For instance, they may focus on:

• providing services to strengthen communities
• offering mutual aid and self-help for members of organisations
• researching and advocating on behalf of individuals or groups
• expressing and fostering culture and identity.

New Zealand has unique features that shape the way relationships within the sector are managed. The most important of these being the way in which iwi/Māori organisations are seen as part of the general sector.

Iwi refers to groups that are kin-based and can trace genealogy to an ancestor. Māori refers more generally to those who identify as Māori: Māori organisations may be multi-tribal.

Participation by Māori, in Māori or iwi-based organisations, is not generally seen as a voluntary activity. It is a manifestation of a set of cultural obligations that are required to maintain cultural values and reflect priorities established at a group level. Activities may range from economic development, to the preservation and promotion of language and culture, to social service delivery, to the governance of iwi organisations.