Upcoming Funding Rounds

Please note: Always check-in with individual funders BEFORE YOU APPLY. While every effort has been made to ensure information given is correct at the time of publication, funding availability and other details may change frequently. 

With the summer holidays fast approaching, I have also listed some funds that open in late Jan/early Feb to give you time to prepare your applications before the summer break.

Sargood Bequest – National – Closes 31 Dec
Makes grants to projects and activities in the Children & Youth, Cultural, Sports & Outdoors, Educational and Environmental categories with a focus on Access, Participation, and Inspiration. Majority of grants are under $5,000. Trustees favour projects where funds are specifically targeted. Grants paid in May.

RhinoKids – Carpet Court – Nationwide- Closes 31 December
Is the flooring at your Playcentre old and threadbare? Or perhaps you have a new space where there’s no flooring at all. You could be eligible to receive $2,000 + GST from the RhinoKids Flooring Fund to go towards new flooring!
All you have to do is take a few photos and complete the easy online form telling them how your educational space would be improved with new flooring.

Auckland Council Board Local Grants – Auckland Council area – UNI
Opens mid Jan/early Feb depending on the Board
These grants tend to be for higher value grants (over $2,000) than the Quick Response Grants and are available once or twice a year. Each Board has their own outcomes and priorities.

Hamilton City Council Single Year Community Grants (up to $10,000) – Hamilton City boundary – CNI
Opens 1 Jan 2023
Operating and admin costs; programme development and implementation; community events and cultural festivals; equipment and resources that support the project or organisation. They support small not-for-profit community organisations that deliver services, programmes and activities that benefit the social, cultural, arts and environmental wellbeing of communities in Hamilton. Contestable fund of over $300k for events and projects taking place from May 2023 to January 2024. Max grant $10,000. In assessing grant applications, the panel gives priority to the number of volunteer hours and in-kind donations contributed to an organisation or the project. Results in April.

Waikato Sunrise Rotary Club – CNI
Applications close on 31 March and 31 October.
Grants are generally less than $5,000 with priority to children, education, and local community.

Trust Horizon – Bay of Plenty – CNI
They meet monthly and will fund energy related projects and events for those in the Whakatane, Kawerau and Opotiki District Council areas and Kaingaroa village. You must be an electricity consumer connected to the Horizon Energy Distribution network, your Centre must also be the owner of the building (or the building owned by one of the 3 DC) and not have applied for the last 2 years.
Items they would consider funding – heat pumps (if your building is insulated), LED lights, insulation, double glazing. Once you have registered, the Trust will come and visit and discuss eligible funding options for you before you get quotes.

Nikau Foundation – Wellington Centres – LNI
Opens mid Feb, closes 15 March
Helping local non-profits make a transformational impact in their region (Wellington, Hutt Valley, Wainuiomata, Porirua, Kapiti or Wairarapa). Need to have a mission to enhance your community in some way, have a sustainable financial model and a strategic plan/articulated vision for the future. Will fund salaries (including salary support for additional specialised staff resources), capital expenditure, operating costs, capability building costs, program costs and travel. Porirua area can apply for up to $30,000. Elsewhere usually fund between $3,000-5,000.

Whanganui Community Foundation – LNI
This includes Rangitikei, Waimarino and Whanganui. They offer Quick Response grants ($10k and under) and meet monthly. They provide funding for parenting programs but will not currently consider funding maintenance or other capital projects.

Roy Owen Dixey Charitable Trust – Christchurch City, Waimakariri and Hurunui (not Banks Peninsula or Selwyn) – USI
Opens 1 Feb, closes 28 Feb
Must be registered charity. They will fund general charitable purposes.

Otago Community Trust – Otago
Always open.
They have a variety of funding options including Community Response Grants (Under $10k and over $10k), Capability Funding and Capital Project Grants.

Community Trust South ECE Playground Funding– Southland – always open
Can apply once every five years.

Stonelake Foundation – Otago/Southland
Any New Zealand charity/organisation can apply to be the official game day charity at a Highlanders home game. You will have the opportunity to raise funds through donation buckets and selling match day sheets (you must provide the volunteers for this); receive $1 for every ticket sold; raise awareness of your charity via social media and game day big screens and receive $1,000 contribution from the Stonelake Foundation. 

Fonterra Hapori – nationwide
Fonterra Grassroots stopped about 3 years ago. Fonterra now try to have a broader approach to funding by building strong relationships with their communities. If you would like to request support for your community, download an application form from their website.

PGG Wrightson Cash for Communities – rural communities
Register your Playcentre on the website, then promote the program to your local community and farmers. When PGG Wrightson account holders purchase Ballance Agri-Nutrients fertiliser, they can nominate your centre against their account. $1 per tonne purchased will be donated.

Digital Wings – National
The Digital Wings programme enables the distribution of electronic equipment (laptops, desktop computers and printers) from corporate donors to community organisations to enhance educational and employment opportunities. Charities, whānau / hapū and community organisations are invited to apply for refurbished computers to support their goals and outcomes, free of charge.
Preference is given to organisations working in rangatahi, youth development and education to employment initiatives. Please note that supply is dependent upon donation stock available and allocation to community is at the discretion of the Digital Wings Trustees. Please also note Digital Wings does not supply computers to individuals or private homes and they do not have ipads or tablets as the donations are from businesses. 

Sector News

Free Healthy Homes Workshops

Henderson-Massey, Whau and Waitākere Ranges local board areas

Ecomatters are offering free Healthy Homes workshops in the Henderson-Massey, Whau and Waitākere Ranges local board areas. They would love to work with local Playcentres to host this workshop so parents can learn more about how to keep their whānau warm and healthy over winter.

Host a free Healthy Homes workshop for your Playcentre whānau!
In this workshop they give many tips and low-cost ideas for attendees to easily put in place in their own homes, including DIY window insulation, how to read and reduce power and water bills, ideas to keep houses dry, warm and free of mould, and much more.

Workshops run for an hour, including time for questions, and can be booked for any day and time during weekdays. For a workshop to take place, a minimum of ten attendees is needed. The workshops are delivered by EcoMatters Environment Trust, and funded by the Henderson-Massey, Whau and Waitākere Ranges Local Board.

If you would like to host a workshop at your Playcentre, email Penelope at [email protected] with the days and times that suit you best and she will contact you to book you in. They would love to come along and present at a time you already have a group meeting, so people don’t have to go out of their way to attend.

Shout Out

Thank you to TG McCarthy (Public Trust) for their annual funding of $500 towards books, computers and new or replacement equipment for 56 Playcentres in the Wellington region.

Thank you to Rata Foundation for their ongoing recognition of the benefit of Playcentre in the Upper South Island with $225,000 of funding to be used at a regional and centre level supporting vulnerable centres.

If you have a ‘Shout Out’ you would like featured as a thank you to a funder or company who has supported your Centre, please email Tonya on [email protected]

Discounts for Playcentres

There is a “Centre Discounts” page on the members section of the website with offers from several companies including the Playcentre shops, Red Cross, Harvey Norman, Resene and Ecostore.

Please note that these are not exclusive/approved suppliers or specific Playcentre recommendations and you are more than welcome to use a local option, especially if they are cheaper.

Important Reminders

Property work funding

If you are getting property work done that is also being funded by Playcentre Aotearoa, be aware that it is important that the supplier is paid from the same bank account that the grant funds were paid into else you risk having to refund the grant. If Playcentre Aotearoa are paying the bill, you need to get written permission from the funder that this is okay and confirm that you will be able to provide a clear paper trail of the funds being paid from your centre to Playcentre Aotearoa and then onto the supplier. This is to ensure the funds are accounted for correctly.

GST

If your centre is GST registered, please check if your grant includes GST or not. Many funders do not include GST as you can claim it back, however I am finding several centres are including GST in Xero.

Registered Charities or Incorporated Societies

It is also important for centres that are registered charities to ensure their purpose, structure, officers, and rules on the Charities Register are up to date. Several centres still mention NZPF and Associations. It is also important that any centre that is a registered charity and an incorporated society has the same rules on both websites. Funders will look at your details online, and it is important that they are correct. Proposed amendments to the Charities Act will mean that registered charities will need to review their rules every year to ensure governance arrangements are up to date and appropriate.

Grants Support

You can find lots of information to assist you with your funding applications on the Grants section of the Playcentre website (you need to first be logged in as a member).

I will be on annual leave from Friday 23 December to Wednesday 4 January and then on leave again from 7 January and back to work on Thursday 26 January. If you need an affiliation letter or grant advice, please reach out to me soon.

I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and hope that you get to spend some valuable time with your children and families over the summer holidays. Take the time to rest and recharge ready for all that 2023 will bring.

Tonya Bristow
Accounts Administrator – Grants