It has been a busy and exciting time since the launch of the Trust’s new Tamariki and Rangatahi Strategy and Funds. The announcement of the ringfencing of up to $10million (in addition to our regular grants budget) over the next 5 years to support the Tamariki and Rangatahi Strategy and the three new supporting funds has certainly sparked a lot of interest and excitement around the region and I have thoroughly enjoyed meeting with many of you to hear about the great ideas you have to improve outcomes for Otago’s young people.

The first of the new funds, the Impact for Tamariki and Rangatahi Fund, went live on April 1. This Impact Fund is an exciting step for the Trust and we are implementing some new approaches and challenging our usual funding processes in response to feedback from the sector. The Impact for Tamariki and Rangatahi Fund will support large scale, multi-year projects that have the potential for intergenerational change. Under this fund, the Trust will consider funding all costs associated with the project, including salaries.

Because of the scale of the projects we are hoping to support through the Impact Fund, we expect to only fund a small number of projects under the fund. We will be looking for projects that demonstrate a clear collaboration between partner organisations who share an ambitious vision to improve outcomes for tamariki and rangatahi. We also see this fund as an opportunity for the Trust to work in partnership with the organisations we support under the fund and look forward to working alongside you. More details of the Impact for Fund are available HERE.

The Impact Fund is live for at least 5 years, so there is no rush to apply to the Fund right away. We hope that by launching  Impact Fund we will give the sector the impetus to dream big and prompt conversations between agencies on how to put those dreams into action.

Please note that if you have a project that you believe fits with the Tamariki and Rangatahi Strategy but might not be right for the Impact Fund you can still apply to our general community grants at any time. 

In fact, we are excited to see new applications come to us in this space. 

You can contact myself or Sue Stewart at any time to discuss your project and we can guide you as to the best fund to apply to. Contact Liz Harburg, Community Engagement Advisor, liz@oct.org.nz or Sue Stewart, Grants Manager, sue@oct.org.nz or 0800 10 12 40.