Arthritis New Zealand

What Arthritis New Zealand does

Arthritis New Zealand (trading as Arthritis NZ, Māori name Mateponapona Aotearoa) is a national nonprofit health charity founded in 1965 and headquartered in Wellington, New Zealand. It is a registered charity (CC55546) and Inland Revenue-approved donee organisation whose mission is to improve the lives of the more than 850,000 New Zealanders living with arthritis — roughly one in six people — across osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, psoriatic arthritis, lupus, and rarer forms, including adults, teenagers, and children.

Its service portfolio combines free direct-to-consumer support with digital self-management tools. The human-delivered layer includes a national 0800 helpline, the Arthritis Assist coaching and clinical-advice service, online and locally organised peer support groups, the National Arthritis Advocacy Network campaigning for the 2026 election cycle, and Project Knit Well, a volunteer community initiative. The digital layer consists of the MyRA mobile application for rheumatoid arthritis self-management and the MyJointPain web platform for osteoarthritis symptom relief, supported by an Arthritis Resource Library of factsheets, booklets, and the Joint Support magazine. The underlying technology stack is conventional web and mobile delivery rather than a proprietary platform.

Arthritis New Zealand employs 51–100 staff and operates a donations-and-grants business model: all services are provided free of charge, with revenue sourced from individual donations, bequests via the Arthritis Legacy Circle, corporate partnerships (including AbbVie, Blackmores, ANZ, Sharp, Public Trust, Pub Charity, and others), and grants from bodies such as the Lottery Grants Board and various community trusts. Government funding is described as minimal, and the charity is a member of the Fundraising Institute of Australasia.

Name

Arthritis New Zealand

Legal name

Arthritis New Zealand

Website

https://arthritis.org.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

1965

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Arthritis New Zealand is a national nonprofit charity providing free education, helpline, peer support, and advocacy services for the 850,000+ New Zealanders living with arthritis, funded by donations, bequests, and grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Patient Support Services

NAICS

Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (62412), Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (624120)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Chronic Condition Lifestyle Coaching (Non-Clinical) (HSADAGAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Family Caregiver Coaching, Education & Support (HSABAIAI)

Keywords

• Arthritis support services
• Patient education resources
• Chronic disease advocacy
• Health self-management tools
• Nonprofit health charity

Headquarters

HQ city

Wellington

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: Arthritis NZ relies primarily on donations from individuals, corporate partners, and community fundraising activities to fund their support services, advocacy work, and research initiatives.
2. Bequests and Legacy Gifts: The organization receives bequests and legacy gifts through Wills, with supporters leaving contributions to Arthritis NZ as part of the Arthritis Legacy Circle program.
3. Grants and Funder Contributions: Arthritis NZ receives grants from various organizations including Lottery Grants Board, corporate foundations, and health-related trusts to fund specific programs and services.
4. Sponsorship and Partnership: Corporate partnerships provide funding through workplace giving programs, cause-related marketing, event sponsorship, and in-kind support from businesses.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Arthritis New Zealand is a national nonprofit charity that provides free support, education, advocacy, and self-management resources for the more than 850,000 New Zealanders living with arthritis. Its offering centres on direct-to-consumer services including a national helpline, the Arthritis Assist coaching programme, online and local peer support groups, a digital and printed resource library, the National Arthritis Advocacy Network, and digital self-management tools (MyRA app and MyJointPain website). All services are provided free of charge and funded through donations, grants, bequests, and corporate sponsorships.

Product overview

Arthritis New Zealand (Mateponapona Aotearoa) is a national charity providing support, information, education, and advocacy for the over 850,000 Kiwis affected by arthritis. Its digital product portfolio consists of two consumer-facing health management tools — MyRA, a mobile app for rheumatoid arthritis self-management, and MyJointPain, a web platform for osteoarthritis — alongside a broader service ecosystem. Core services include Arthritis Assist (telephone and coaching support), an Arthritis Resource Library of factsheets and printed materials, Peer Support groups (online and local), the National Arthritis Advocacy Network, and the Project Knit Well volunteer programme. The offering functions as a unified charity service model rather than a modular software platform, with the digital tools complementing direct support, education, and advocacy work.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• MyRA

Quantifiable outcome

• Supporting over 850,000 people living with arthritis in New Zealand

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand: NZ charity working to improve mental health through advocacy, resources, and campaigns. Comparable as a fellow NZ national health charity addressing mental wellbeing components overlapping with Arthritis NZ's whole-person care model.
• Diabetes New Zealand: National NZ charity supporting people with diabetes, providing education, resources and advocacy. Comparable chronic-condition charity with similar self-management content, helpline-style services and donor-funded model.
• Multiple Sclerosis Society of New Zealand: National NZ charity providing support, advocacy and information for people with MS. Comparable chronic-condition charity operating with a similar donation-funded model, helpline and regional support structure.
• Cancer Society of New Zealand: National NZ health charity delivering support, information and advocacy for people affected by cancer. Comparable as a fellow NZ national condition-specific charity funded by donations and grants with helpline, support services and advocacy remit.
• Muscular Dystrophy New Zealand: NZ charity supporting people with neuromuscular conditions through information, advocacy and fieldworker support. Comparable chronic-disability charity operating with similar fieldworker/helpline model and donation-based funding.
• Heart Foundation New Zealand: National NZ charity focused on cardiovascular disease, providing education, support and research funding. Comparable as a peer NZ national health charity competing for the same donor pool and government grants.

Emerging players

• Lupus Foundation of America: US nonprofit dedicated to lupus, providing education, support and research funding. Comparable as a condition-specific charity whose beneficiary population overlaps with Arthritis NZ's lupus/autoimmune arthritis community.

Direct peers

• Versus Arthritis: UK national arthritis charity formed from the merger of Arthritis Research UK and Arthritis Care, providing information, support, funding research and campaigning. Closest international comparable in mission, scale and integrated service model.
• Arthritis Australia: National arthritis charity in Australia providing education, support and advocacy for people with arthritis. Directly comparable in mission, service mix (information, peer support, advocacy) and target population, operating in a neighbouring market.
• Arthritis Foundation (US): Largest US nonprofit dedicated to arthritis, providing patient education, advocacy, research funding and community programmes including Walk With Ease and JA camps. Comparable mission and broad service portfolio, though operating at materially larger scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCGrg2mI4fUVpJoFRXDg7sCg
• Facebookfacebook.com/arthritisnewzealand
• LinkedInnz.linkedin.com/company/arthritis-new-zealand
• Instagraminstagram.com/arthritis_new_zealand
• TikToktiktok.com/@arthritisnz
• Xx.com/ArthritisNZ

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Arthritis New Zealand