News and Some Blogs

Are you, like us, looking forward to Aotearoa’s new Matariki holiday (on Friday 24 June)?  The stars of Matariki will reappear in the morning skies of Tauranga Moana at the end of this week, signalling the start of an important time in the traditional Māori calendar....

Liz Flaherty and SociaLink Policy Advisor Liz Stewart check out the dashboard SociaLink has launched a new website this week which makes evidence-based information available for community groups about the communities they serve and the social issues they are facing. ...

While the Government made some good changes in last week’s Budget, it’s just not enough to make a real difference to child poverty in New Zealand, Tauranga social agencies heard this week. The Western Bay of Plenty branch of the Child Poverty Action Group, supported...

What does the Budget mean for the local social sector, and children living in poverty in New Zealand? The Western Bay of Plenty branch of the Child Poverty Action Group supported by SociaLink are hosting a discussion on May 24 for social agencies to hear the national...

Christa George is the new Organisational Advisor for SociaLink. SociaLink is the umbrella organisation for social agencies and charities in the Bay of Plenty. Christa has more than 25 years’ experience working in executive management teams across the education and...

How do I write a media release so the media will actually use it? Is there a structure? Yes there's a structure - include who, what, when, where, why. Start with the most important thing, which is what the release is about. You may be running an event so start with...

Tauranga city commissioners met with social agencies this week to discuss the Long Term Plan and Annual Plan for the city. The meeting was organised by SociaLink, the umbrella agency for social agencies in the Western Bay, and was focused on community needs for the...

Question: “How can I plan professional development and training for my staff and know what to put in the budget to allow them to get what they need and what we can afford?” Answer: Training Needs Analysis How do you currently decide what type of internal training you...

Question: On social media, how do you make just the right number of posts on Facebook or Instagram without looking like you're spamming? Answer: Social media: How much is too much? If you're posting something every day, that's probably too much, unless you have...

The way we talk about clients influences how we then work with them.I attended an excellent presentation by Debbie Hager from the University of Auckland who unpacked common terminology used in the social sector – ‘the hard to reach’ and ‘vulnerable’ people.Using the...

Increases to benefits on April 1 will still leave families locked in poverty, a study released today by the Fairer Future collaboration says.Liz Davies, general manager of SociaLink, the umbrella organisation for the Western Bay’s social agencies and charities,...

Inflation and the effects of Covid are hitting community organisations and charities hard, according to research by SociaLink, the umbrella organisation for the Western Bay’s social agencies. SociaLink surveyed organisations about the impact of increasing inflation on...