ImpactLab have published a report with insights into the Charitable sector in New Zealand. The report explores the “Social Return” on investment in the sector across NZ.

The Executive Summary of the Report starts: “Funders and charities across Aotearoa have diverse interests, backgrounds and approaches. But they share a common goal of doing good in the lives of others.

Measuring Social Return on Investment is a quantified way to estimate a programme’s impact on a person or family’s well-being over their lifetime, relative to the investment that goes into it. This report provides an introduction to Social Return on Investment supported by initial insights from 108 programmes measured by ImpactLab since 2021. It explores how choices around the scale, depth and breadth of a programme can guide your social investment decisions by understanding where programmes are placed across three investment approaches:

» scale: the number of people or whānau meaningfully engaged by a programme
» social value: the long-term social value created in the lives of each person engaged, and
» cost: the investment required to deliver the programme …”

Download the Report here

Sir Bill English interviewed on the impact of investment into charities (Radio NZ, 30 October 2023)