The Funding Landscape for the Wider Wellington Region

26 June 2023
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Grant funding is an important, and often essential, source of revenue for sport, active recreation, schools, and communities. 

We know that with the impact of COVID, venues closing and sinking lid policies, many organisations are receiving less than “normal” grant amounts. We also know that some organisations haven’t applied for funding before because they’re not sure how to go about it and that others choose not to apply for Class 4 funding due to gambling harm. 

This article aims to provide you with an overview of the grant funding options and help you to understand what’s available in the wider Wellington region. 

The different types of funders:

A lot of people think of grant funding as money that has come from pokie machines, but there are various types of funders and ways that the money for funds is generated. The following provides a simplified overview: 

  • Class 4 Societies – Class 4 relates to money that is generated from the proceeds of gambling on electronic gaming machines (pokies) outside of casinos. 
  • Community Trusts – established by the NZ Government in 1988, there are 12 Community Trusts nationwide. We have two in Wellington (refer to the list further down this article). Governed by a Board of Trustees, the Trusts invest their capital and use the investment returns to provide grants that meet the needs of their communities (as outlined in their deed) and which provide inter-generational benefits. 
  • Community Grants – this includes Council funds. Each council has community grants to support local activities that benefit their communities.  
  • Charitable trusts – an example are trust funds established with Public Trust from assets provided in a will that are held specifically for pre-determined charitable purposes.  
  • Foundations – there are various types, but an example is Nikau Foundation which uses donations and bequests to invest and then the interest is used as grant funding. 
  • Crown Funding – managed by the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), there are a number of crown funds in place to support communities. DIA receives an annual appropriation for each fund, each of which aims to achieve specific Crown purposes and objectives which Ministers have overall responsibility for and report to Cabinet on. 
  • Lottery Grants - distributes the profits made from New Zealand state lotteries, such as Lotto and Instant Kiwi, for the benefit of New Zealand communities. Sport New Zealand receives funding from Lotteries which it then invests into how it supports the play, active recreation and sport sectors. Sport NZ also has funds like Tū Manawa Active Aotearoa, the Rural Travel Sport Fund, and other funds (which are currently closed) such as the Disability Inclusion Fund and Young Women’s Activation Fund. 

Tū Manawa Active Aotearoa Fund:

Tū Manawa Active Aotearoa provides funding for the delivery of activities for children and young people. Activities can be new or existing, and your application needs to show how you’re meeting the needs of young people. This fund has a particular focus on groups who are less active, including girls and young women, disabled people and those living in higher-deprivation communities. 

Distributed by Nuku Ora, the funding rounds for 2023-24, beginning 1 July 2023, have just been announced. Click on this link to see the dates for both the Open Fund and Smaller Project Fund rounds: https://www.nukuora.org.nz/funding/tu-manawa-active-aotearoa/funding-rounds/  From here you can also navigate through to information on Fund Eligibility, Kaupapa Māori Applications, School and Kura and other relevant information. 

Where to find information on grants:

Nuku Ora has a grant funding overview for the wider Wellington region on our website but it doesn’t have all funders so there are other sites that you should also take a look at. 

Sport NZ has a directory of play, active recreation, and sport, grants, awards and scholarships. Using the filter, you can search the directory to see the funds offered to help individuals, community groups or organisations support their play, active recreation or sports projects, activities, resources or services. Click on each fund in your results for the application details and eligibility criteria of the fund. 

Te Tari Taiwhenua/DIA have set up the Community Matters site which has links to grants like the Community Organisation Grants Scheme (COGS) and Lottery Community grants. 

Generosity New Zealand is an incorporated society and registered charity that provides a service to funders to maintain an up-to-date listing of their funding. This is available on their platform givUS which you have to pay to access, but most council libraries subscribe to givUS on behalf of ratepayers, which enables FREE public access (you just have to go to the library and use their computers). givUS offers access to grants and schemes for communities, volunteer organisations, schools, groups, sport clubs and Iwi and provides assistance for nearly everything, including: 

  • Operational costs 
  • Building redevelopment 
  • Project-based resources 

Exult – helping non-profits grow has fantastic information on grants, sponsorship, and revenue sustainability as well as other useful information relating to governance, volunteerism, management etc. There is a membership fee to access the full range of resources but even without becoming a member, it’s worth checking out. 

Applying for funding:

To help you through the process of applying for funding, Nuku Ora’s Applying for Funding guide advises you on what you need to do so that you have all of the necessary documents and information ready prior to starting your application. If you are new to applying for grants we highly recommend that you read this as it will ultimately save you time and frustration! It also covers what to do if you’re approved - or declined. Depending on the reason for being declined, don’t think that you can’t apply again! Don’t let it put you off trying again and/or trying other funders. 

What can you apply for?

You need to visit the funder's websites and check their authorised purpose and/or page outlining what they’ll fund as it varies, but so long as the costs aren’t retrospective, generally, you can apply for things like; playing uniforms, equipment, playing/training costs, sporting events/tournaments (travel and accommodation costs) first aid kits, grounds maintenance, rent, salaries/wages, certain event-related costs, advertising (relating to increasing non-commercial participation). Some cover insurance and power and some also cover capital assets such as buildings (provision and maintenance), vehicles, and computers. You do need to read each funder's website before applying to check what exactly they provide funding for – and you can call them to ask if what you’d like to put an application in for is ok (and get advice on your application before submitting it). 

Funders who provide funding to the Greater Wellington region:

Links to most of the funders listed below can be found on Nuku Ora’s funding page on our website. This is not an exhaustive list! It is based on what we found at the time of writing this article so there might inadvertently be omissions. Let us know if you’re aware of a Wellington region funder that isn’t listed below. 

Class 4 

  • Air Rescue Services 
  • Four Winds Foundation 
  • Grassroots Central Trust (formerly Infinity Foundation) 
  • Lion Foundation 
  • NZ Community Trust (NZCT) 
  • NZ Racing Board 
  • One Foundation 
  • Pub Charity 
  • Pelorus Trust 
  • The Trusts Community Foundation (one venue in Johnsonville)  
  • Trillian Trust (have one venue in Carterton, Wairarapa) 
  • Trust House Foundation (Porirua and Wairarapa) 

Community Trusts 

  • Wellington Community Fund  
  • Eastern and Central Community Trust (ECCT) 

Council Community Grants 

Look at each of the council's websites as they all have grants; Wellington City Council, Lower Hutt,  Upper Hutt, Porirua, Kāpiti, South Wairarapa District, Carterton District, Masterton. 

Other Trusts and Foundations 

  • Hutt Mana Trust (Hutt Valley, Porirua, Wellington North) Next round opens 1 September. 
  • Eastern Suburb Sports Trust (ESST) if your activity is in the Eastern Suburbs of Wellington. 
  • Nikau Foundation 
  • The Lindsay Foundation 
  • TG Macarthy Trust (schools, early childhood centres, kohanga reo, toy libraries, play centres, Plunket and Pacific Island language groups automatically receive funding but there are other contestable funds). 

Lotteries 

  • Lottery Community Grants    
  • Community and Volunteering Capability Fund 

Crown funding

  • The Community Organisation Grants Scheme (COGS)  

Others that we’re aware of that provide funding for our sectors 

In our next article on funding, we’ll look at some of these funders in more detail and provide an overview of what they fund, what they’re more likely to fund, locations that they focus on/return funds to, and how often you can apply to them. 

Nuku Ora is in the process of organising an online webinar with Jenni Giblin of Funding HQ to look at the variety of potential funding options including grants, sponsorship, and community fundraising. If you are interested in receiving information on this webinar, please email Matthewr@nukuora.org.nz. 

If you have any questions or feedback on this article, please contact Kirstenk@nukuora.org.nz. 

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