When you are at a crossroads, it's a question of choosing the right road ahead.
The Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind was at a crossroads in the 2006-2007 fiscal year.
Our strategic planning process clearly showed that the volume of services we provide, the way we deliver them, and the historic way of funding them simply was not sustainable. In fact, when projecting to 2020, there was a huge gap between the future cost of service provision and our projected income from public donation, government funding, sponsorships, etc. (Just one-third of our annual $22m cost of providing services comes from government sources.)
To ensure the Foundation's long-term sustainability, we began to make several significant changes, completed key pilot projects and, at the same time, continued to deliver a wide range of services to our approximately 11,600 blind, deafblind and vision-impaired members.
Our digital talking books pilot proved that we can deliver talking books over the internet, and that members loved this option. And our "Seeing the Possibilities" pilot helped us deliver services more efficiently and effectively to new members through a centre-based approach that also utilised the wisdom and support of existing members.
Major changes also involved successfully passing the "baton" to a new Chief Financial Officer and preparing for the transition to a new Chief Executive, improving our planning processes so that activities were more closely linked to our goals and objectives, and working more closely with members and our consumer organisations.
Yes, it was a challenging and successful year that saw the Foundation carefully, but boldly, choosing the correct road ahead.
To our staff, management team, volunteers and other stakeholders, we offer a heartfelt "thank you and well done". To our members, we pledge to continue doing our best to deliver the services that you require. To our donors, key sponsors and partners like Bayleys Realty Group and Vodafone, as well as our many other friends, we thank you for your ongoing support.
Sincerely
Don McKenzie
Chairman
Paula Daye
Chief Executive