There are turning points in the life of a business that turn it up or down. Nearly 3.5 years ago we had one of the up turning points that gave us both challenge and opportunity. It was a contract from FaHCSIA to build an information clearinghouse for the homelessness service delivery sector, the National Homelessness Information Clearinghouse.

At the Connecting Up Conference last week I was pleased to meet and talk with two of the clever people from the Charities Commission of NZ. They were beside themselves with excitement over their new innovation and I am too.

The Charities Commission is the regulator for non-profit and charities in NZ. There they have one place and one way for a non-profit to register. In Australia we have many many confusing and convoluted rules and registration processes.

They also collect data from their non-profits and charities. The annual returns include officers, areas of activity and financial performance including major income sources.