Our strategy
We’re guided by our strategic plan – Strategy 2030, which is refocusing our work on what we’re best at. Find out about our strategic direction including our plans for a fresh approach to youth engagement and volunteering.
Strategy 2030
Our mission is to improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilising the power of humanity and enhancing community resilience.
We’re working to achieve our mission through Strategy 2030. We’ll focus on what we’re best at, where we can have the greatest impact and where we have unique skills and contributions.
Reimagining volunteering
Volunteers have always been critical to the success of our work — but the way people volunteer and what motivates them is changing. To continue to attract and retain a diverse pool of volunteers, we need to adapt and evolve our approach to volunteering.
Reimagining Volunteering is a key part of our Strategy 2030. We’ve done a lot of research and surveyed more than 1,000 people. We’re now creating a plan to better serve the needs of volunteers and help them support our humanitarian work.
We’ve ‘reimagined’ how volunteering can have a greater impact in our 3 core service areas—emergency response, migration and refugee support, and international—and in our work in international humanitarian law (IHL) and how we fundraise.
Reimagining Volunteering Research Report 2021 [PDF]
A new approach
Our focus is on improving people’s experience throughout the volunteer journey — from when people first see an opportunity to when they finish in their role.
We’re looking at how we can make the journey more meaningful and more flexible, and how we can create better structures and leadership to support our volunteers. We want to reward and recognise their valuable contribution, and to provide more opportunities for growth and skills development. We need a more inclusive and diverse group of volunteers to better serve the people we are helping.
We’re working on a plan for how we can achieve these goals, and these will become part of Realising 2030. We’ve already taken a small step by improving the way people can sign up to become a volunteer online.
“Our people remain our greatest strength. Whether you are a teenager learning what it means to be a young humanitarian, or an older person who has contributed to your local New Zealand Red Cross branch activities for years – you are valued and needed.”
Sarah Stuart-Black (Secretary General)
Engaging our young people
Rangatahi, or young people*, are vital to our humanitarian work and key to our future success. The New Zealand Red Cross Youth Engagement Strategy sets a clear direction for how we will engage with rangatahi. We’re committed to being more responsive and inclusive in our approach to volunteering and humanitarian advocacy, and to creating meaningful partnerships with rangatahi in Aotearoa.
The Youth Engagement Strategy is part of realising the vision of Strategy 2030 and builds on the International Federation of Red Cross Strategy’s goals for engaging with rangatahi.
*In the global Red Cross Red Crescent Movement, a young person is anyone under the age of 30.
Our vision – Te pae tawhiti mō te tuitui rangatahi
We’ll be working to develop genuine partnerships with young humanitarians from diverse backgrounds. We recognise rangatahi are a key voice and essential to the success of our humanitarian work. Our vision is to ensure rangatahi are heard and their hopes and ideas are part of shaping our future. We want to see rangatahi build deep connections and a strong community, so they are well-supported as humanitarian leaders.
Summary of the Youth Engagement Strategy [PDF]
New Zealand Red Cross Youth Engagement Strategy [PDF]
Youth Engagement Strategy Research Report – December 2020 [PDF]
Climate change
As a humanitarian organisation, we’re responding to the increasingly devastating consequences of climate change. At New Zealand Red Cross we’re working to help people adapt to the impacts of climate change and acting to reduce our own emissions.