Here’s your Good Numbers good news for April 2026 — a quick round-up of the what's happening in the world of small nonprofits, and the tools we’re building to support them.
The early adopters of the Good Numbers App are starting to say how much they love using it, especially as they go through year-end for the first time. Here's some things they've said:
I would love you to please either forward this email, or share a link to our Good Numbers app to one person you think might benefit.
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The Good Data Series turns hundreds of thousands of data points held by Charities Services into something useful for small non-profits. This data already exists, but it’s rarely translated into something clear and practical.
For example, Part 1 - Assets, Income and Resilience tells us that 70% of our smaller non-profits have three or more months of operating expenses in the bank. That's generally considered healthy, if you remember the guide on working capital from March.
However, it also tells us that while Tier 3 charities' resilience has largely remained the same over the last six years, for Tier 4 - our smaller charities spending less than $140,000 a year - resilience has got worse compared to before the pandemic.
There are many other interesting findings, and I encourage you to give it a read. Over the next 12 months, we intend to publish several reports examining various factors of charities, such as age, sector, region, and more.
Thank you, Mark, host of Purposely Podcast, for inviting me to talk about Good Numbers.
I promise it's not just a boring chat about bookkeeping! A good listen, whether or not you're into numbers.
From Purposely:
Welcoming Duncan Matthews, founder of Good Numbers, to Purposely Podcast - a purpose-driven fintech built to solve a problem Duncan couldn't stop thinking about after 15 years working in and around small charities in Aotearoa: why is it so hard for volunteer treasurers to do the basics?
In this episode, Duncan talks about the pain points he witnessed firsthand at Rainbow Youth and Foundation North, why tools like Xero leave small nonprofits behind, and what it really feels like to back your own idea for the first time — after years of backing everyone else's.
GST is one of the most common — and most misunderstood — questions we hear from small charities, clubs, and community groups. The $60,000 threshold gets repeated everywhere, often as a simple rule: go over it, and you must register. But in practice, it’s not that straightforward. We’ve seen groups stress unnecessarily, register when they didn’t need to, or worry they’ve got it wrong — all because the detail behind that number isn’t widely understood.
After a surge of interest in this topic (and a lot of great questions from the sector), we’ve pulled together a clear, practical guide to how GST actually works for small non-profits in Aotearoa. We unpack what “taxable activity” really means, which types of income count toward the threshold (and which don’t), and how to make a confident call for your own organisation. No jargon, no scare tactics — just the clarity you need to know where you stand.
Friend Jade has been working on a new tool called simpactAI, exploring how AI can support impact reporting and storytelling for community organisations. It’s grounded in a simple idea: capturing and sharing the story of your mahi shouldn’t be time-consuming or overly complex, especially when time and energy are already stretched.
Till next time! Thanks for reading
Ngā mihi nui,
Duncan @ Good Numbers
Ask Duncan anything — big or small. He’ll get back to you ASAP, and your questions will help improve the information here for everyone.
