15th April 2024 - RY UPDATE
Tēnā koutou katoa,
RainbowYOUTH is today announcing a restructure taking effect from April 2024. This restructure is required to keep the organisation sustainable within the challenging times and financial position that we find ourselves in.
Our mission to support queer and takatāpui rangatahi to know who they are and be who they are has been unwavering since RainbowYOUTH was established in 1989. We are committed to ensuring that our mission and our focus on rangatahi can continue long into the future. Our focus on our rangatahi is unwavering, and it is our priority to serve our community that will guide us through these challenging times.
As part of the restructure, some staff roles will be affected. Unfortunately four wonderful staff members will no longer be employed by RainbowYOUTH. The organisation is saddened to farewell our hard-working kaimahi, and is grateful to all of our staff for their service to, and love of, RainbowYOUTH. Our drop-in centres and offices in Auckland, Whangārei, Tauranga, Wellington and Taranaki will remain open.
These decisions have been extremely difficult and have not been taken lightly. These are challenging times for all non-profit organisations, and RainbowYOUTH as a Queer charity has been navigating increasingly complex funding and financial conditions. With regret, it has become clear that the present organisational direction was not sustainable, and that without significant changes, RainbowYOUTH would not be able to continue.
Those wishing to support RainbowYOUTH can do so by making a donation through our website and by offering aroha to our kaimahi as we navigate this tough time together.
We want to thank all our supporters who have funded and supported RainbowYOUTH to date. Many funders, government agencies, councils, other charities and more have been fundamental to achieving our mission to support queer and takatāpui rangatahi. How we work is evolving by necessity, and we will engage more with our key supporters in coming months on this new direction.
Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou,
On behalf of the Board of RainbowYOUTH.