What would help your group or organisation?

Keeping a non-profit or third sector organisation ticking over and carrying out its mahi can be a challenge. We've all got ideas of what might help. Perhaps you'd like to see funders and/or central and local government:

• Think about sector capacity and find ways to communicate this.
• Give full consideration to concerns regarding under-resourcing of the sector relative to the demands made of it.
• Increase the length of funding periods and recognise the opportunity these present for groups to take a more strategic approach to their work.
• Fund more positions and fewer projects, to allow greater flexibility for organisations to meet changing community needs
• Continue to support the Leadership in Communities initiative run by the Leadership Lab.
• Recognise the importance of providing affordable accommodation to ensure Third Sector Organisations can meet current and future needs
• Make space available in libraries, or schools for Third Sector groups to hot desk or timeshare, and meet in libraries.
• Provide access to services and support such as photocopying, broadband, computers, meeting rooms, graphics assistance, or financial and legal assistance for community groups and individuals working to set groups up, building on support already provided.
• Ensure indoor community meeting space is required in all new housing developments.
• Facilitate governance conversations with local community groups around local developments to give groups and local government more capacity to prepare and adapt.
• Are these actions feasible? What are funders and government already doing that reflect these actions? How can the sector, funders and central and local government work together to achieve these to the full extent possible?

Come along and join SEWN at a forum to discuss these questions with Christchurch City Council, Rata Foundation, Wayne Francis Trust, and Dept Internal Affairs. We hope that by the end of the forum we'll all have a better idea of what's already happening, what's possible, and how we can get there.

Tuesday 23 May, 12 noon - 3pm,
Oxford Tce Baptist Church Lounge,
286 Oxford Tce, Christchurch.

There will be finger food and refreshments available throughout the meeting, RSVP to Carmel, admin@sewn.org.nz (Remember to let us know if you have any special dietary or other requirements.)

Many thanks to the speakers from Rata, CCC, Wayne Francis and DIA for being willing to come along and give us perspectives from the funding and government sectors.

The action points above are taken from "Third Sector/Not-for-Profit Sector Recovery in Post-Earthquake Christchurch", commissioned by CERA and researched and written by Dr Chrys Horn, Sarah Wylie, and Jane Mountier. Hard copies are available from Christchurch Community House, or you can find it on the SEWN website - http://ccoss.org.nz/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/Third-Sector-Recovery-Report-2016.pdf

We look forward to seeing you on Tues 23rd!

Sharon Torstonson
Kaituiora

Social Equity & Wellbeing Network (SEWN)
Ph 366 2050