Three Free Reports on New Zealand’s Indian Community Organisations

Read in / पढ़ें / ਪੜ੍ਹੋ: English हिन्दी ਪੰਜਾਬੀ

New Zealand's Indian communities run hundreds of temples, gurdwaras, cultural associations, language groups, sports clubs and community trusts. Most of them file their figures with the government every year, but the numbers sit in separate registers and are hard to read side by side.

We have brought that public information together in three free, interactive reports. Their purpose is community awareness: to help members of the Indian community, volunteers and supporters understand the organisations that serve them. Each one can be read in English, Hindi or Punjabi, and each lets you search for an organisation, explore by region and town, and compare two, three or four organisations side by side.

1. Grants Report: who funds Indian community organisations

What it is for: to show how much each Indian community charity and not-for-profit society has received in grants, year by year, and from which funders. It brings records from many separate funders into one place, covering the organisations in the two reports below plus 43 more found in funders' records.

What it tells you:

• Each organisation's total grants per year, with the funder behind each grant

• Totals by year, place and funder

• Funders covered: gaming trusts (pokie grants), the Lottery Grants Board, COGS, the Ethnic Communities Development Fund, Foundation North, Rātā Foundation, BayTrust, TECT, WEL Energy Trust, Wellington Community Fund, Community Trust South, Auckland Council and other councils

Highlights:

• $51.0 million in approved grants went to 254 of the 571 organisations covered, across 3,261 grants from 64 funders

• By region: Auckland received $37.1m (73%), then Bay of Plenty $5.53m, Waikato $2.56m, Wellington $2.12m and Canterbury $1.98m

• By city and town: Auckland $20.1m, Takanini $12.3m, Tauranga $2.41m, Papakura $2.32m, Papamoa $1.89m, Hamilton $1.72m, Wellington $1.23m and Christchurch $1.08m

• By type of provider: gaming trusts (pokie grants) gave $38.8m (76%), the Ethnic Communities Development Fund $4.42m, community trusts $3.37m, the Lottery Grants Board $3.16m, COGS $0.70m and councils $0.59m

• Largest providers: Akarana Community Trust $11.7m, Blue Sky Community Trust $5.05m, Ethnic Communities Development Fund $4.42m, Rano Community Trust $4.05m, Lottery Grants Board $3.16m and Foundation North $3.06m

• Widest reach: the Ethnic Communities Development Fund supported 128 organisations, COGS 80 and the Lottery Grants Board 71

• Only approved grants are counted; some funders do not publish full lists, so their grants cannot be shown

Open the Grants Report →

2. Not-for-Profit Societies Report: the groups that are not charities

What it is for: many Indian community groups are incorporated societies but not registered charities, so they do not appear in the Charities Report. This report fills that gap, using the financial statements each society files with the Incorporated Societies Register. It covers cultural and language associations, sports clubs, religious groups, arts groups and business networks, for each society's latest two years filed.

What it tells you:

• Each society's income, expenses, surplus and assets, for its latest year and the year before

• How income changed between the two years

• Totals by region, town, main purpose and size

• A "Totals for both years" table for each society

Highlights:

• We reviewed 323 Indian community societies; 148 have figures shown, 115 are registered charities (covered in the Charities Report) and 58 are new and have not filed yet

• 141 societies filed recent statements, reporting total income of $4.66 million and total assets of $6.93m

• Half of these societies had income under $17,000, and 104 had income under $50,000

• For the 82 societies that reported both years, income rose by 23%

• Auckland has the most societies (62), and the largest group by purpose is cultural and community associations (65)

Open the Not-for-Profit Societies Report →

3. Charities Report: where the money comes from and how it is used

What it is for: to show how Indian community registered charities in New Zealand are funded and how they spend, using the annual returns each charity files with Charities Services. It covers religious, cultural, language, yoga, sports and community charities, with every year on record from FY2008 to FY2026.

What it tells you:

• Each charity's income, spending, donations, grants received and grants given, year by year

• Totals by region, town and suburb, by main purpose and by size

• A "Totals since records began" table showing each charity's lifetime figures

• A choice between annual return figures and financial statement figures (profit and loss, balance sheet and assets)

Highlights (FY2025):

• 285 registered charities filed a return, reporting total income of $60.8 million

• Donations and koha made up 54% of that income ($32.6m); grants received were $9.93m (16%)

• Together they spent $46.1 million, including $5.70m given as grants to others

• Half of these charities had income under $59,000, and 135 had income under $50,000

• Auckland has the most charities (158)

• Total income has more than doubled, from $28.1m in FY2017 (161 charities) to $60.8m in FY2025

Open the Charities Report →

Use the three reports together

Each report answers a different question, so read them side by side:

1. Which funders support our community, and where? See the Grants Report.

2. What about groups that are not charities? See the Not-for-Profit Societies Report.

3. How is a charity funded and how does it spend? See the Charities Report.

Please feel free to share this page with your community groups.

About these reports

These reports are a free community resource, prepared for community awareness only. They are not advertising, and they do not rank, rate or judge any organisation.

• Public data only: every figure comes from public registers and funders' published records, and each report names its sources

• Shown as filed: figures appear as each organisation filed them; we have not audited or verified them and give no opinion on any organisation

• Fair comparison: organisations are grouped by place, purpose and size only, never by faith

• Corrections welcome: some organisations may be missed, and errors can occur; check the official register before relying on any figure, and tell us through our website if something needs correcting

This article and the reports are general information. They are not financial, tax, legal or investment advice, and they are not a recommendation to support, or not to support, any organisation. Being included does not mean any link with, or endorsement by, our firm.

Sources: Charities Register (Charities Services, Department of Internal Affairs); Incorporated Societies Register (New Zealand Companies Office); DIA Class 4 grants data; Community Matters records of grants; Ministry for Ethnic Communities; and the community trusts and councils listed in the Grants Report. Data read November 2026.

Prepared by Yugraj Singh Mahil Chartered Accountants Limited · www.yugrajca.co.nz