How your money is used

IHC relies on donations from people like you for many of its ongoing commitments to support and advocate for the 35,000 people with intellectual disability in New Zealand.

A large number of our programmes are not funded by government so your donations are essential for IHC to carry out its mission.

Examples of the ways that funds are used include:

• Supporting families, whether it be helping to establish local family support networks or holiday programmes for children and their siblings

• Providing a volunteer programme to get friends in the lives of people with intellectual disabilities

• Maintaining New Zealand’s most important library on information relating to intellectual disability and making that information available free of charge. In 2010 around 1300 people borrowed almost 2000 resources from the library

• Running a community awareness programme called Take A Moment With Us showing people with intellectual disabilities in photos and video. It includes an exhibition, workshops and events for school children, families and professionals.

• Enhancing the living environments of IHC’s 850 homes and other facilities throughout the country by helping to fund furniture, equipment, the building or renovation of homes and other bits and pieces that are necessary to convert a house to a home

• Supporting a small advocacy team that prepares submissions for government and government agencies about issues that are important to people with intellectual disabilities. This includes issues such as work, health, benefits and rights.