What is a non-registered or informal group?

A non-registered or informal group is a small non-profit organisations or groups with a community or social service focus. These groups operate to improve the quality of people's lives in their communities, but they do not have their own legal identity, separate from their members. They are often referred to as “non-legal entities, non-registered or informal groups”.

Being registered with Charities Services does not make an organisation a legal entity.

What is a legal entity?

A legal entity is an organisation that has its own legal identity, separate from its members.

Legal entity status includes, but is not limited to:

• incorporated societies
• trusts registered under the Charitable Trusts Act 1957
• limited liability company registered with Charities Services
• local authorities
• school boards of trustees
• Māori trust boards in accordance with the Māori Trust Boards Act 1955.

What are the funding options available for non-legal entities?

They need to have the following in place.

• Two signatories for all bank account payment, withdrawal and transfer (money out) transactions.
• A cashbook (hard-copy or electronic) that is updated regularly.
• A person responsible for the organisation's financial information.
• An up-to-date Organisation profile in our online grants management system.
• A document from the bank showing the group’s bank details. The bank account must be in the name of the informal group. This could be a bank statement, printed deposit slip or letter from the bank confirming the account name and number.

Grants over $10,000 can only be made to not-for-profit or charitable organisations with legal entity status. For more information on what fund may be suitable for your group, contact us at community.matters@dia.govt.nz.

For Lottery Community requests only

If you are an unregistered or informal group and do not have a bank account or governance structure in place, you may seek assistance from a group you know. The group can act as a fundholder, also known as an umbrella organisation, for your group.

A fundholder is an organisation that supports and requests a grant on behalf of an unregistered or informal group (normally a non-legal entity or a new group). A fundholder must meet a number of requirements. For example, general funding requirements.

A fundholder must have a documented process about how they will make payments on behalf of the non-legal entity. This may be a memorandum of understanding. Upload this supporting document with the funding request.

The fundholder may include an administration fee of up to 8 per cent of the granted amount to cover any administration costs incurred in acting as a fundholder.

For more information or support please email us for advisory support at community.matters@dia.govt.nz.