BNI New Zealand recently achieved one of its long term objectives, which was to be recognised by government agencies for the work it does in helping business to grow and prosper, and for the contribution it makes to the greater good.
BNI New Zealand National Director, Graham Southwell, says the recognition comes on the back of BNI New Zealand’s relationship with hospices in New Zealand and a 2011 initiative – the BNI New Zealand Givers Gain Survey – which was conducted to find out just how this relationship was working, as well as to ascertain the attitude of the membership towards social responsibility.
“When the results of the survey were presented on national television, BNI came to the attention of the Charities Commission which was about to launch its own survey into how business interacts with charities.”
In terms of BNI’s engagement with Hospice, it has always seemed like the natural thing to do for any organisation that is predicated on the philosophy of Givers Gain.
In that spirit, BNI aligned itself with Hospice in 2005, and since then has been looking at ways of strengthening the relationship.
“As BNI is first and foremost a business referral organisation, not a service club – the relationship has always been carefully managed, however from the onset it has been embraced by the membership.”
As a result of this work, BNI New Zealand was invited by Charities Commissioner, Peter Dixon, to participate.
A copy of this report has now been released and it includes an acknowledgement to BNI and its members for its overall contribution.
“The results of the survey are very interesting, particularly for anyone involved in looking at the way that business and social organisations currently interact and how this might look going forward,” says Graham.
BNI’s relationship with the Charities Commission also looks set to continue.
This week Mr Dixon indicated that he would be keen to include BNI members in Invercargill, Otago and Taranaki in upcoming networking/information sessions to further deepen their research, and for BNI to participate in some case studies.
“We believe this is just the tip of the iceberg, and so the journey continues,” says Graham.
The full Inspiring Communities Survey can be viewed here.
