Arthritis New Zealand (Kaiponopono Aotearoa) Charitable Trust

The new Charitable Trust under which Arthritis New Zealand will trade from 1 July was formally established on the 6 March 2018 when all the present Governing Body completed signing the Trust Deed. These Governing Body members are the Founding Trustees of the Charitable Trust.
• Peter Larmer – Chair
• Digna Toresen
• Martin Lenart
• Roy Tiffin
• Joe Stanton
• Cate Grace
• Laurie Breadmore
• Els Dutton
• Doug White

There is still a lot of work to be done to have the Trust fully operational by 1 July, but the Trustees are confident that there will be a smooth transition from one entity to the next. Both the Incorporated Society and the Charitable Trusts will work concurrently until all assets and operations have been transferred, and then at an appropriate time, the Incorporated Society will be
de-registered.

Questions & Answers:

What is the difference between a charitable trust and an incorporated society?

A charitable trust serves all stakeholders as defined in the Trust Deed, which for Arthritis New Zealand, is all people affected by arthritis, and is not focused just on serving the financial members. The Trust is governed by a Board of Trustees, who are elected by the Electoral Council. An incorporated society has financial members who elect the Governing Body at an annual general meeting.

Why is Arthritis New Zealand changing to become a charitable trust?

A charitable trust allows more flexibility for governance, giving a stronger focus on all people affected by arthritis as our mission, and the ability to respond more quickly to making changes for the benefit of the organization and its clients. There are also considerable savings in membership administration costs.

How will it affect the services you provide?

• Services and activities will operate as they do now
• Support groups will continue unaffected
• We will continue to fundraise to maintain services
• We will continue to strengthen connections with support and other local groups.

How does this affect my membership?

There will no longer be a financial membership to be involved in Arthritis New Zealand, but all people affected by arthritis will receive the full services provided by us in their area. We do hope that people who are benefiting from the services of Arthritis New Zealand will consider making donations to support our ongoing work. Arthritis New Zealand will still be a charity reliant on the generosity of donors. The benefit of donations as opposed to membership is a tax rebate at the end of each financial year.

How will the regions be included in shaping the ongoing governance?

It is our commitment to ensure that the regions are involved in the shaping of the direction of Arthritis New Zealand. This will be through representatives on the Electoral Council, the use of Advisory Groups, and the regular consultation and interaction with people in all regions throughout New Zealand.

Will you still have volunteers?

Definitely yes, and we will continue to rely on the generosity and support of volunteers in the activities undertaken by Arthritis New Zealand.

What will happen to existing members and volunteers?

Current financial members will become Friends of Arthritis New Zealand and this will be communicated in a letter sent to all members in March. The Trust will continue to recognise existing Honorary Life Members as Honorary Life Friends of Arthritis New Zealand and will continue to award those who have made a significant contribution to the organisation as Honorary Life Friends of Arthritis New Zealand from time to time. Volunteers will continue to operate as they do now linking with the Volunteer Co-ordinator.