Frequently Asked Questions (Click the links to expand/collapse)
General FAQs
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A minimum of $45 per month
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If you are already a World Vision supporter you can pay your regular sponsorship payments via Automatic Payment, regular Credit Card contributions.
Automatic Payment
World Vision is a pre-authorised payee for many banks. Simply search for and select World Vision NZ Limited. If World Vision is not listed, enter our bank details as a payee within your online account.
Our bank account details are 06 0101 0323407 009. Enter your 8-digit Supporter Number in the Reference field. You can find your Supporter Number above your address on any mail we have sent you , or you can call 0800 800 776 and we will let you know what it is.
Credit Card
To set up an ongoing payment from your credit card please phone 0800 800 776 and our Customer Services team will make the necessary arrangements. Alternatively, you can make one-off credit card payments by clicking here.
If you are not already a World Vision supporter but would like to sponsor a child, click here to select a child for sponsorship.
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It is great when a sponsor has the opportunity to visit their sponsored child and see first hand the work their sponsorship has accomplished. Please contact World Vision New Zealand at least three months before you plan to leave so we can make arrangements with World Vision in the country you will be visiting and ensure all the plans go smoothly.
Under our Child Protection Policy all visitors to World Vision programmes must undergo a Police Check before authorisation can be given for the visit to take place. If you are considering a visit to your sponsored child please contact Customer Services on 0800 800 776.
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Many children remain in the sponsorship programme for the duration of World Vision's work in their community. In some cases this can be 15 years or longer. Some sponsored children have the opportunity to attend tertiary education and may remain sponsored throughout this training, meaning they could still be sponsored in their early 20s.
Occasionally children may leave the sponsorship programme unexpectedly, for example if the child's family moves away from the area World Vision is working in. Should this happen to your sponsored child, we will let you know as soon as possible and offer you sponsorship of another child.
However, most children will be in the sponsorship programme until their community has begun to reach some of its goals, and are able to fund themselves. As a project comes to a close we will let you know of the achievements in the community so you can celebrate with us. We will also offer you another child for you to sponsor and begin the development process again.
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Many sponsors like to send a gift to their sponsored child, and we understand this desire. However on advice from our staff in the field the best gift you can give your sponsored child is your friendship. Sponsored children love receiving letters from their sponsors and learning more about our life here in New Zealand, but large, bulky gifts can attract unwanted attention and cause jealousy within the community.
If you would like to send a small gift with your letter, such as stickers, balloons, postcards, pencils or other small items that can fit in a standard envelope, that is fine, however anything larger is not appropriate.
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We encourage you to write to your sponsored child and tell them about your life here in New Zealand. Sponsored children love the opportunity to learn about New Zealand and in turn you will receive a letter from your sponsored child or, if they are too young, written on behalf of them by their parents or a local World Vision staff member.
If you are stuck on what to write, tell them about your life in New Zealand, your family and what you like to do for fun. Remember to keep your letters short and simple as in many of the countries where we work English is not the first language of the World Vision staff translators.
Please include your sponsored child's ID and Name on your letter and on the back of the envelope. Do not write your address on the letter as it could fall into the wrong hands. Address the envelope to the World Vision address shown on your sponsored child's information sheet.
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We would recommend you support our World Vision Children in Crisis programme which is helping the children that Child Sponsorship doesn’t reach. It costs from $10 per month.
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Although there is growing poverty in New Zealand, there are also many systems and agencies to assist those in need. There is always more need in the world than we are able to deal with, so World Vision New Zealand has decided to assist the poorest of the poor. We determine where our projects should be based on the United Nations measurements of poverty. Therefore, our focus is on Africa, Asia and Latin America according to the needs.
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World Vision is a Christian aid agency and we help people on the basis of their need. This means our assistance is given regardless of race, religion or creed. In some projects we co-operate with local church leadership. This must be appropriate in the context of the programme. The families in these communities are given an opportunity for Christian education appropriate to their own culture but it's their choice to participate.
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World Vision is committed to sending as much money as possible overseas, and tries to keep the cost of administration and marketing to a minimum. Over the last five years an average of 79.6% of the money received by World Vision has gone to fund our development work overseas.
We are fortunate to get generous advertising rates from television, radio, print and billboard media and many of the ads you see on tv are shown in free spots, which helps our marketing budget immensely.
Our annual accounts can be viewed on our website - HERE
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World Vision offices in needy countries receive many requests from communities living in poverty. When we are approached by a group or community for help, we discuss with them their greatest needs and which solutions might bring maximum benefit to the whole community.
It takes many months of planning and discussion before the aims and goals are formed and the project established. Even once the needs have been identified and the priorities established, the project is funded for two years before being opened for sponsorship. Called "seed funding", this stage is to prepare the communities and establish relationships - like planting a seed
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Just because a project finishes it doesn't mean the development activities in the community have finished. The whole aim of the projects is ongoing sustainability - the community will continue planning and implementing activities and develop the skills they have learnt through the development process.
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Our projects are designed to develop and encourage self-determination. Therefore, we aim to employ local people wherever possible. We have a very limited recruitment programme for overseas personnel - whether paid or voluntary - because it is our policy to employ nationals of the countries we work in.
This not only gives extra employment opportunities but also avoids problems that expatriates can experience relating to visas, work permits, living conditions and language. We employ expatriates with specialist qualifications for short-term contract positions in areas where the skills are not locally available.
If you are interested in working in paid employment for World Vision overseas, the World Vision International web site contains a current list of jobs available through out the partnership. Go to www.wvi.org for more information
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As of March 2008, NZers sponsor more than 83,000 children through World Vision projects.
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In our relief projects, World Vision personnel administer funds and in our development projects each project manager submits monthly reports. These reports are consolidated and monitored by experienced staff in our New Zealand office.
Projects are also visited by New Zealand staff experienced in development for firsthand monitoring of the programme. World Vision New Zealand is independently audited every year. A full copy of our latest financial statement is available by contacting our Customer Services Team (0800 800 776) and a summary is available HERE
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World Vision is an international partnership of Christians whose mission is to work with the poor and oppressed, to promote human development. Because our mission is to help the poorest of the poor we do not make a distinction between faiths. Following the lesson of the Good Samaritan, we believe neighbour is defined by need, not faith or geography.
World Vision believes that all people of faith should be able to worship in peace and security, and calls on all governments to protect their faith communities. We call on people of all faiths to rise above indifference, prejudice and hate. And we pray that, in solidarity, people will come to the aid of all innocent victims of abuse, war, hunger, disaster, terrorism and disease.
We pursue our mission through an integrated, holistic commitment to:
- Transformational development that is community-based and sustainable, focused especially on the needs of children
- Emergency relief that assists people afflicted by conflict or disaster
- Promotion of justice that seeks to change unjust structures affecting the poor among whom we work
- Partnerships with churches to contribute to spiritual and social transformation
- Public awareness that leads to informed understanding, giving, involvement and prayer
- Witness to Jesus Christ by life, deed, word and sign that encourages people to respond to the Gospel
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World Vision affirms and defends the right of all Christians and faith-based organisations, including our own staff and World Vision itself, to witness through their lives, words and deeds.
Witness is not, however, the same thing as proselytism. World Vision defines proselytism as the use of aid as an inducement or source of coercion for religious conversion. World Vision believes that nobody should be coerced or manipulated into converting to Christianity; accepting Christ must be a free decision based on consideration and judgment. World Vision condemns proselytism and does not tolerate its practice by staff.
Christian witness is an essential and integral part of the mission of World Vision. Christian witness should never involve the use of pressure or inducement but equally it is unethical and inappropriate to hide that Christian teaching is the underlying motive for all of World Vision’s work
Tax Certificate FAQs
What do I need to know about tax certificates and receipts?
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If World Vision has your email address, your tax certificate for the financial year ending 31 March 2011 will be emailed to you between 16 April and 23 April. If you haven't received it or have trouble opening the attached tax certificate pdf document, please call our customer services team on 0800 800 776.
If World Vision does not have an email address for you, your tax certificate will be mailed to you on Friday, 16 April. If you haven't received it by Friday, 23 April, please call our customer services team on 0800 800 776.
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You may claim a tax credit of 33.3 per cent on the total amount of your contribution noted. So, if you sponsored one child for the entire financial year, your tax credit will be $159.84 - well worth the effort. To lodge a claim, visit www.ird.govt.nz. On the home page, scroll down to 'Forms and Guides' (see right-hand panel) and click on 'Tax Credit Claim Form IR526'.
If you would like to make your original donation work twice as hard, why not consider donating your entire rebate to World Vision. We have a growing number of supporters who do this each year, enabling us to assist children and families in need even more effectively. On behalf of World Vision, we thank you for your support.
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To lodge a claim, visit www.ird.govt.nz. On the home, page scroll down to 'Forms and Guides' (see right-hand panel) and click on 'Tax Credit Claim Form IR526'.
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Email World Vision at nzcommunications@worldvision.org.nz or phone us on 0800 800 776 and we will send you a copy. Be sure to tell us the period for which period you are requesting a copy.
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You don't need World Vision to prepare separate certificates if you are sharing a certificate between yourself and your partner. You only need to complete another tax credit claim form, and attach a note explaining that you are sharing certificates and give his/her name and IRD number.
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As of 1 April 2008, the Government removed the cap on the amount you're allowed to claim. You may claim a tax credit of 33.3 per cent on the total amount of your contribution noted. So, if you sponsored one child for the entire financial year, your tax credit will be $159.84 - well worth the effort.
The five per cent maximum limit for companies was also removed, and they too will be able to claim a tax deduction for donations up to the level of their annual net income. The company deduction is also being extended to unlisted companies with five or fewer shareholders
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If requested, World Vision will mail you a tax receipt that relates to a specific donation. We prefer to send an immediate acknowledgement that we have received the contribution, followed by a tax certificate at the end of the tax financial year after we have determined the total amount of contributions made. Please note, if you have received a tax receipt during the year, the tax certificate will not include this amount, and you will need to use both the receipt and tax certificate when submitting a tax credit claim.
