Finalists announced: NZ Volunteering Awards 2026 presented by Rosterfy
Tūao Aotearoa Volunteering New Zealand is delighted to announce the ten finalists for the NZ Volunteering Awards 2026, presented by Rosterfy.
Now in their second year, the awards celebrate outstanding impact and leadership in volunteer engagement across Aotearoa. Rosterfy returns as presenting partner. This year's finalists span aged care, disability, health, emergency services, homelessness, youth and community kindness, and together they represent thousands of volunteers in every corner of the motu.
Winners will be announced at the Volunteering New Zealand Conference 2026 in Rotorua on 16 October.
Michelle Kitney, Chief Executive of Volunteering New Zealand, says the quality of nominations made the judges' task a difficult one.
"Every nomination we received told a story of people who give their time with real care, and of leaders who make sure that time is well supported and well recognised. These finalists show what best practice in volunteer engagement looks like on the ground, from structured onboarding and training to recognition that comes from volunteers themselves. They are an inspiration to the whole sector, and they show why volunteer management deserves to be recognised as a profession."
Volunteer Programme of the Year finalists
This award recognises a programme of more than 200 volunteers that delivers meaningful, innovative and impactful volunteer engagement, aligned to Volunteering New Zealand's Feedback and Recognition Best Practice Guidelines. Finalists are listed in alphabetical order.
Bellyful NZ: Bellyful Heart Awards
Bellyful's Heart Awards are recognition by volunteers, for volunteers. In 2026 the programme was refreshed around Bellyful's values of manaakitanga, aroha and whanaungatanga, so volunteers are celebrated for the difference they make, not just the role they hold. This year 199 volunteers were recognised across all 25 branches, including 89 peer-nominated Shining Heart recipients and, for the first time, seven volunteers marking 15 years of service. Bellyful's 2025 survey found 98% of volunteers felt appreciated.
Cancer Society
Volunteers outnumber paid staff at the Cancer Society by up to 20 to 1, in roles that suit people aged from 13 to 96. Over the past year they contributed nearly 130,000 hours. Volunteer drivers covered more than 1.3 million kilometres to get clients to over 27,000 treatment appointments, and volunteers helped make possible nearly 70,000 nights of accommodation at Cancer Society lodges. The programme follows the full volunteer lifecycle and is now building a national standard for leading and managing volunteers.
Good Bitches Baking: Baking It Better
Across 32 chapters from the Bay of Islands to Invercargill, Good Bitches Baking volunteers bake at home for people going through a tough time. In the last 12 months they delivered 38,593 boxes of treats to more than 630 organisations, including hospices, refuges, mental health and grief support services. That represents more than $3.6 million in social value, supported by an HQ team of just three full-time equivalents. A simple online induction, flexible rostering and a no-questions-asked Cup of Sugar fund make the programme open to everyone, and 44% of volunteers have been on the roster for more than two years.
IHC New Zealand: Volunteer Friendship Programme
IHC's Volunteer Friendship Programme matches volunteers with people with intellectual disabilities based on shared interests. Over the past year, 437 volunteers contributed nearly 22,000 hours through one-on-one, online, group and skill-based friendships. What sets it apart is reciprocity: people with intellectual disabilities co-design resources and are increasingly stepping into roles as volunteers, administrators, facilitators and ambassadors themselves. As IHC puts it, the programme is changing perceptions of who can volunteer, who can lead and who belongs.
The Knox Home Trust
Knox's volunteer programme in Auckland has grown to more than 150 volunteers giving over 1,200 hours each month, seven days a week. In July alone, volunteers gave 1,241 hours, including 381 hours of companionship. A dedicated, now full-time Volunteer Coordinator matches volunteers to residents by skills, interests and culture. With 52 community partners and a thriving intergenerational programme with local schools, Knox keeps residents connected to the community around them, and some volunteers have gone on to become staff.
Leader in Volunteer Engagement finalists
This award acknowledges an innovative volunteer leader whose work over the past 12 months has delivered tangible results for their team and their community. Finalists are listed in alphabetical order.
Aditi Tiwari, Voice of Aroha
As Youth Engagement and Project Coordinator, Aditi led the Youth Empower Summit 2026 at Parliament and Pātaka in Porirua, a youth-led event focused on rangatahi from migrant, refugee and ethnically diverse communities. Young people didn't just help deliver it; they shaped it. Aditi has also brought Victoria University students into volunteering through the Kītea Impact Programme, and now serves as Youth Representative on the national Board of New Zealand Red Cross. Her focus is a pathway from participation to volunteering, leadership and governance.
Cathy Knowsley, Orange Sky Aotearoa
Cathy has been part of Orange Sky's Te Whanganui-a-Tara service since it began in 2019, and as Service Leader has helped grow its volunteer community to 679 people, including 309 new tūao in the past year. In that time the team delivered 327 shifts, 1,801 washes, 359 showers and 3,324 hours of conversation with people doing it tough. When the van was off the road for three weeks, Cathy and fellow Van Leaders Stewart McFarlane and David Lomborn kept around nine shifts a week running through local laundromats. She also helped develop safety and de-escalation training for volunteers.
Lee Mills, Hato Hone St John
As Volunteer Group Coordinator for New Plymouth's Emergency Ambulance Service volunteers, Lee identified a gap and filled it, creating regular volunteer-led training where none existed before. His sessions link current health topics, such as Women's Health Week and equity in healthcare, to volunteers' everyday practice. Lee also supports managers with assessments and onboarding. In a short time he has built a more engaged, connected team where volunteers feel safe to ask questions and learn from one another.
Sara Mitchell, Good Bitches Baking
As Volunteer Manager for a remote HQ team, Sara is the first point of contact for 3,581 active volunteers across 32 chapters. She co-designed and led a new online induction with chapter leads that lifted completion rates and cut help-desk queries, and built reporting that lets chapter leads track recruitment, resignations and deliveries. Sara recruits non-bakers as drivers and committee members and meets volunteers outside standard hours. At this year's chapter leads' hui she received the GBB Special Ingredient Award for Delivering Exceptional Volunteer Experiences.
Thu-Lena Tran, Child Cancer Foundation
Over the past year Thu-Lena has moved Child Cancer Foundation from largely informal volunteer engagement to a coordinated, organisation-wide programme. She introduced structured recruitment, screening, induction and training, with monthly information webinars and quarterly connection opportunities. The programme generated 73 expressions of interest and inducted 22 volunteers into meaningful roles. When fatigue emerged among long-serving volunteer leaders, she put wellbeing support in place, including regular check-ins and access to EAP services.
Join us in Rotorua
Ngā mihi nui to everyone who took the time to nominate a programme or leader this year, and to our judging panel. Every nomination is a reminder of the care and skill that go into volunteer engagement across Aotearoa.
Thank you to Rosterfy for continuing as presenting partner and for championing the people who lead volunteers.
The winners will be announced at the Volunteering New Zealand Conference 2026 in Rotorua on 16 October. Please join us in congratulating all ten finalists.
Find out more about the conference · Read about the awards