Q: I am trying to determine if a non-profit is registered. Is there a list of ‘official’ not for profit organisations?
A: There is no complete list of non-profit organisations in NZ. Not all non-profits are formally registered with a government department (and not all not for profit groups have to be registered.)
If you are looking for a non-profit, try searching the following websites. On the first two you can download the organisation’s constitution or rules. The Charities website also lists current officers:
Registrar of Incorporated Societies. A part of the Companies Office. Lists Incorporated Societies and Registered Trusts. Perhaps not the easiest website to navigate, but it does provide a search function.
Charities Services. Lists the 27,000 or so registered NZ Charities. Register search function.
Inland Revenue. Many non-profits are listed as donee organisations. Use the search function to search for “Donee” or go directly through this link.
TIPS.
Check your spelling of the name. Try some variants.
Try searching for ‘The charityname’ as well as just ‘charityname’ as ‘the’ may be an official part of the name.
Don’t forget to do a general websearch through Google, Bing etc to see if you can locate a website for the organisation. Websites often provide a statement about status of the organisation.
See also: Can you define non-profit, a not for profit organisation, or a charity – what’s the difference?