Welcome to our first Newsletter for 2021. Our team is pleased to be back in the office after the summer holidays and we have been busy processing applications, visiting community groups and responding to a wide variety of enquiries as the new year kicks off.

The Trust held its first board meeting on Tuesday the 23rd of February. Trustees had a busy first meeting approving over $930,000 to 37 community organisations around Otago.

The Clutha Parks Trust are celebrating after learning that further funding has been secured for the Naish & Centennial Park Redevelopment. The $300,000 grant is a vital contribution to the first stage of what will be a transformative park upgrade for the town's adjoining parks. This is an exciting project for South Otago and one that the Otago Community Trust is pleased to be supporting. 

Otago Community Trust once again signed on as naming rights sponsor for the Dunedin New Zealand Masters Games 2022, awarding a $100,000 grant to the Dunedin (NZ) Masters Games Trust and we will be looking forward to enjoying the comradery and fun the Games bring in early 2022.

Just a small reminder that as we navigate through different COVID-19 alert levels our accessibility to the public does changes. Our website has detailed information that outlines how Otago Community Trust will respond to changes to the NZ COVID-19 alert levels. However, we wish to assure you we will remain open for funding regardless of any changes in alert level status and will continue to be available to answer all funding questions.

If you have a community project and or event to be held in 2021 and would like to discuss it further with the Trust please contact us on 0800 10 12 40 or email: info@oct.org.nz. 

Our Grants Manager, Sue Stewart will be in Central Otago, South Otago and North Otago over the coming months, please make a note of the various funding clinic dates that can be found on our website and are in this newsletter and feel free to pop along to these if you have any questions on our funding process.

Barbara Bridger, CE