Applying With A Funding Partner

A Funding Partner needs to be a non-profit organisation that is a legal entity and operating in our area - Southland, Queenstown, Glenorchy, Arrowtown, Tapanui and Heriot areas including;

• An incorporated society or an incorporated charitable trust. You can check if you are incorporated at Societies & Trusts 
• A company with charitable purposes that  is registered with Charities Services
• Non profit organisations established under the following Local Government Act 2002, Maori Trust Boards Act 1955 or Education Act 1989

(Registration with Charities Services does not mean your organisation is a legal entity)

We recommend that your group and your funding partner enter into a written and signed agreement that outlines such things as:

• The roles and responsibilities of both parties e.g.
  • grant administration i.e. submitting an application, ensuring funding conditions are met, overseeing the use of the grant
  • financial management of a grant i.e. releasing approved funding, evidence of expenditure required for payments, clarifying whether funding partner or the group pays invoices, record keeping of spending such as  copies of receipts 
  • accountability reporting i.e. completing and/or endorsing

Your Funding Partner can apply on your behalf anytime for requests under $100,000, but they will need to apply before the project has started as we don’t fund projects that have already happened.

Applications are made online and if you haven’t applied before you need to register by providing your name, organisation and email address as well as creating a password – it  only takes a moment.

We carry out an initial review of your application to ensure you can apply.

Our staff then review your application to help trustees to make an informed decision. We will often contact you to ask further questions about your project or application.

What we look for

Depending on the size of your request and nature of the project, your application will be assessed against some or all of the following:

• Project alignment with our strategic plan
• A clear understanding of the identified need, gap or opportunity supported by evidence
• Awareness of current and future trends in the field the application relates to, such as  community demographics
• Degree that  the project complements other existing initiatives
• Level of community benefit - projects for the exclusive benefit of a limited number of people will be a lower priority
• Applicant commitment to the project
• Credibility and capability of the organisation and ability to deliver
• Strength of community support
• Demonstrated connections, consultation and/or partnerships such as  with communities, between organisations, across levels within sectors or across sectors
• Demonstrated need for funding and provision of a comprehensive and realistic budget
• Extent that  other funding sources have been explored and secured
• Ongoing viability and sustainability of the project in the longer term
• Extent that  the project demonstrates value for money i.e. extent of community benefit relative to level of grant funding sought
• Extent of understanding of the likely outcomes and community benefit (i.e. who, how many and likely changes) and how this will be measured
• Project responsibility
• Risks associated with project

$10,000 & Under

It takes up to 6 weeks for a decision. 

$100,000 & Under

It takes up to 8 weeks for a decision.

Generally we are able to meet these time frames but sometimes, when we have a lot of applications, more complex applications or we haven’t got all the information we need then it may take longer.