The Common Unity Project — Community Development Charity in Lower Hutt

The Common Unity Project is a Charitable Trust charity in the Community Development sector, based in Lower Hutt, Lower Hutt. Annual revenue: $0.3M NZD. Financial data as at March 2026.

Mission: We are a community-based urban farm and enterprise project, growing food, skills and leadership with local families. The overall purpose of the Trust is to grow vibrant and resilient local communities, recognising that this is inseparable from restoring and protecting the health of the environment, by lighting the magic in communities.

Registration Number
CC48997
Charity Type
Charitable Trust
Registration Date
2013-03-22
Status
Active
Sector
Community Development
Location
Lower Hutt, Lower Hutt
Email
finance@cupa.org.nz
Data as at
March 2026

Beneficiaries: Children / young people, Family / whanau, General public, Voluntary bodies other than charities

Financial Summary

Total Revenue
$0.3M NZD
Total Expenses
$0.2M NZD
Total Assets
$0.2M NZD
Net Assets
$0.1M NZD
Reserve Months
0.0 months of operating expenses
Staff Count
10
Financial Year End
2026-03-31

Financial History

YearRevenueExpensesNet Assets
2026$0.3M$0.2M$0.1M
2025$0.3M$0.3M$0.1M
2024$0.4M$0.6M$0.1M
2023$0.7M$1.0M$0.3M
2022$1.3M$1.1M$0.6M
2021$0.8M$0.6M$0.4M
2020$0.5M$0.5M$0.3M
2019$0.5M$0.4M$0.3M
2018$0.3M$0.3M$0.2M
2017$0.2M$0.2M$0.2M

Board Members and Officers

Current Officers (2)

NameRoleAppointed
Brent ChalmersTrustee2026-05-14
(Chih Hung) Christine HudsonTrustee2026-03-01

Former Officers (34)

  • Peggy Luke-Ngaheke — Trustee (departed 2026-07-20)
  • Brent Skinnon — Trustee
  • Hannah Pilbrow — Trustee (departed 2024-09-01)
  • Andrew Mitchell — Trustee
  • Kristie Carter — Trustee
  • Sally Babington — Trustee (departed 2023-08-25)
  • Frances Herrington — Chair
  • Katie Brown — Trustee (departed 2022-05-03)
  • Finn Collins — Trustee (departed 2023-08-14)
  • Murray Lu — Trustee (departed 2023-06-30)
  • Gretchen Leuthart — Trustee (departed 2023-06-30)
  • Leanne Dawson — Trustee (departed 2024-03-18)
  • Christopher Northmore — Trustee (departed 2025-12-15)
  • Wayne Paaka — Trustee (departed 2019-12-28)
  • Anna McMartin — Trustee (departed 2019-12-28)
  • Anna Griffiths — Trustee (departed 2019-08-31)
  • Kerrin Eckersley / Gallagher — Trustee (departed 2020-12-01)
  • Carolyn Watts — Trustee (departed 2021-04-01)
  • Mary-Jane Rivers — Trustee (departed 2019-12-28)
  • Mei Ling Sim — Trustee (departed 2017-02-15)

Funding Sources

  • Pub Charity Limited — $7,000
  • Kiwi Gaming Foundation Limited — $3,000
  • Pelorus Trust — $2,868.5

Similar Charities in Community Development

Community DevelopmentCharitable Trust

The Common Unity Project

CC48997Lower Hutt, Lower HuttRegistered 22 Mar 2013
Data updated: 1 Nov 2026
Financials7mo agoRating1mo ago

Financial data as at March 2026. Sourced from Charities Services register.

NR
Not rated — Summary-form filing — not enough detail to grade

XRB Tier 3 lets smaller charities (total expenses of $5M or less; $2M for periods ending before 28 March 2024) file a simple-format performance report instead of full PBE standards. The return reports totals but not the program/administration split or the line-item detail our template needs. No red flags were detected in what was filed, and revenue is below our $2M rating threshold. (Whether the accounts must be audited is a separate Charities Act test: audit from $1.1M of operating expenditure, review from $550K.) A letter grade is withheld rather than assigning one that would be driven by the template-fit, not the charity's operations. The charity's filed figures are shown above, and any structural concerns a donor would want to look at are surfaced separately. (v3.3 — set at the pre-2024 Tier 3 ceiling; matches Charity Navigator and CharityWatch US practice.)

How ratings work →
Revenue

$300.3K

Expenses

$235.4K

Assets

$197.7K

Staff

10

Financial data from Charities Services annual return (FY2026). Ratings calculated using CharityData v3.1.1 methodology.

About

Mission

We are a community-based urban farm and enterprise project, growing food, skills and leadership with local families. The overall purpose of the Trust is to grow vibrant and resilient local communities, recognising that this is inseparable from restoring and protecting the health of the environment, by lighting the magic in communities.

Who We Serve

Beneficiaries
Children / young peopleFamily / whanauGeneral publicVoluntary bodies other than charities

Key Statistics

Annual Revenue
$300.3K
Total Expenses
$235.4K
Net Assets
$128.3K
Staff
10
employees

Financial Trends

Financial Trends (14 Years)

Revenue Breakdown

Expense Breakdown

API Data

Based on annual return data. Detailed program/admin breakdown not available.

Financial Health Dashboard

Cents to the Cause
100c
For every $1 spent, 100c reaches programs
Strong
Sustainability
6.2mo
Could operate 6.2 months with zero revenue
Healthy
Fundraising Cost
-
No fundraising data
No data

Based on latest annual return data. Metrics are calculated from reported financial data and may not reflect the full picture. View methodology

Revenue Diversification

45
Score /100
Concentrated
HHI: 5,475
Other70.9%
Donations18.5%
Government Grants10.3%
Investment Income0.3%

HHI (Herfindahl–Hirschman Index) measures concentration across 6 income categories. Lower HHI = more diversified. Score above 60 indicates healthy diversification.

Peer Comparison

Ranked against 153 peers · Community Development · $100K – $1M

Rating Score
0
#37/154
Revenue
$300K
#71/154
Reserve Months
0.0
#1/154
Surplus
$65K
#45/154
Staff Cost %
66%
#154/154

Peers are charities in the same sector and revenue size band. Rankings are based on the latest available data.

Rating

Score: /100
Financial
0
Governance
30
Transparency
65
View Full Score Breakdown

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Latest Audit

FY2024
6 years of audit history

Contact Details

Address
Lower Hutt, Lower Hutt

Registration

Registration NumberCC48997
Entity TypeCharitable Trust
Registered22 Mar 2013
StatusRegistered

Companies Office

StatusRegistered
Entity TypeCharitable Trust
Incorporated18 Jul 2014
Registered office
40 Fitzherbert Street, Alicetown, Lower Hutt

Sector & Activities

Primary Sector
Community Development
Activities
Makes grants / loans to individualsProvides advice / information / advocacyOther - Acts an Umbrella body

Data sourced from Charities Services register and publicly available annual returns. Our datasets may not be complete. Automated analysis can produce errors. Scores are calculated using disclosed methodology and are analytical tools, not investment ratings or recommendations. If you believe any data on this page is incorrect, please contact us at hello@charitydata.co.nz. For informational purposes only. Not investment advice.