Otago Community Trust’s Impact for Tamariki and Rangatahi Fund has awarded its first grant. A $690,000 grant was approved to He Ao Hou i Ōtepoti ki te Raki Charitable Trust. The Trust represents several groups and organisations within the North Dunedin Kāhui Ako | Community of Learning.

Welcome to our July Newsletter. We hope you are all keeping warm, safe, and well. It is certainly an unsettled time in the community, with Covid cases rising and the onset of winter illnesses.

Dunedin Community Builders have announced their resource for community and funders, Be the Change: Funding and Equity. This resource comes from the kōrero that Dunedin Community Builders have heard from across the community and funding sectors over the last two years and more. Download and read this insightful report in the article below.

Over the last few months we have been busy progressing the roll out of the three new funds that will support the Trusts’ Tamariki and Rangatahi Strategy. It has been an exciting time and also one of learning as we continue to listen to our community and do our best to support your kaupapa as well as test out some new approaches to funding. I am happy to share with you a brief update on the progress of our new funds.

Otago Community Trust is collecting feedback on our current Capability Funding and we would love to hear from you.

Below is a quick summary of our recent grant approvals for May and June 2022.

The Oamaru Tongan Methodist Parish upgrade has laid the groundwork for future generations. In July 2020, the parish received $319,229 from the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) to renovate its Eden St building, which had been damaged from water leaks.

The Karitāne School Pump Track grantee video captures how one small coastal school developed a bike track and a wonderful place for the local children to develop their motor skills, improve bike handling capabilities and build fitness.

This year marked the first year Aotearoa, New Zealand celebrating Matariki as a nation. It was an opportunity for whānau and communities to come together to reflect on the past year and prepare for the year ahead. Kahu Youth Trust have for many years held an annual Matariki community event bringing the community of Upper Clutha togeather. This year this event once again attracted hundreds of people to the Wānaka lakefront.

The Ōtepoti Youth Space grantee video captures how the Community Gallery in central Dunedin was transformed into a pop-up youth space for two weeks in May - coinciding with Youth Week (7th-15th May). Otago Community Trust was pleased to be a core funder of this initiative, which was facilitated by a collective of creative and youth organisations.

The Volunteer Awards were established in 2021 as dedicated awards for recognising the enormous work that is done in the Ōtepoti community with volunteering. This year, SBS Bank, Volunteer South, and Otago Community Trust have come together in partnership to meaningfully celebrate tūao | volunteers, volunteering and volunteer-involving organisations and community groups across Ōtepoti.

The Creatives in Schools programme is a wellbeing programme delivered by the Ministry of Education in partnership with the Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatū Taonga and Creative New Zealand. It provides funding of up to $17,000 per project.

🌈A reminder that the 2022 round of the Rainbow Wellbeing Legacy Fund (RWLF), will see up to $200,000 in grants being distributed to projects, activities and organisations that work to improve mental health outcomes for the rainbow community. The round closes on Monday 1st August 2022.🌈

The Cultural Sector Regeneration Fund is designed to support the arts, culture and heritage sectors to recover from the impacts of COVID-19, and help the sector thrive in the future. The fund will open for Expressions of Interest on Wednesday 27 July 2022.

Join Charities Services for a series of two webinars on the new Incorporated Societies Act 2022, which will enter fully into force around October 2023.

Otago Community Trust works closely with a number of funding bodies across Otago and we endeavour to hold funding clinics in a wide variety of locations around Otago throughout the year. Regrettably, with the arrival of the new Omicron variant we postponed and cancelled a number of funding clinics in the first six months of 2022. However, we are pleased to have a number of funding clinics running over July and August.

The Grand Business South Awards are held every two years by Business South to celebrate innovation, creativity and success in the business sector. The high-profile Awards have been a highlight of Otago’s business calendar for over 24 years. As well as offering recognition for your organisation, the Awards provide the opportunity to benchmark and gain expert advice on how you can continue to grow. Otago Community Trust is pleased to be Sponsor of the Excellence in Not for Profit Award.