This long-anticipated opening of the Lake Dunstan Trail commenced with a ribbon-cutting in Clyde on Saturday, 8 May 2021. Followed by community celebrations in Cromwell on the Sunday.

Welcome to our May Newsletter. This month’s newsletter includes lots of great information and resources for community groups.

A new series of four videos has been created to help those who are new to their chair role and prepare people who may aspire to take on the position.

Otago Community Trust has committed, once again, to being the naming rights partner for the New Zealand Masters Games, Dunedin, 5-13 February 2022.

The Vodafone NZ Foundation, in partnership with The Centre for Social Impact, Nicholsons Consulting and Deloitte, conducted an extensive literature review, engaged with community practitioners around Aotearoa and brought together a broad collection of government datasets that paint a picture of young people’s lives around the country.

The Tindall Foundation is excited to announce new ‘EMBRACE’ funding stream.

In the late 1990’s the New Zealand Society of Authors became conscious of the need to record its history, and untraversed aspects of New Zealand literary history, while an older generation of writers were still alive and available for interview. A $1,500 grant from Otago Community Trust is helping to capture and record a number of Otago authors stories as a taonga for New Zealand.

Otago Community Trust is pleased to announce it has approved a general grants budget of $10 million for this coming year.

A sizeable grant from the Otago Community Trust is a big step towards funding an upgrade for the Oamaru Public Gardens playground.

The Vodafone Foundation’s Thriving Rangatahi Population Explorer is a free interactive digital tool which draws on government and community data.

Otago Community Trust was pleased to award a $51,071 grant to assist with the cost of establishing a kindergarten and family hub in the small South Otago town of Clinton.

Below is a quick summary of our recent grant approvals for March and April 2021.

The Dunedin Midwinter Carnival is one of the most spectacular and accessible community events held in Dunedin. Last year due to COVID-19 the festival was cancelled, however the festival is back this year on Saturday 26 June 2021 and the theme has been set as "A Moonlit Garden".

Applications for Events should reach the Otago Community Trust at least three months prior to commencement or opening.

A reminder that the Otago Chamber of Commerce offer a range of courses targeted at the Not For Profit sector. These courses are generously subsidised by the Otago Community Trust for Not For Profit organisations.

National Volunteer Week honours the collective energies and mana of volunteers in Aotearoa. Otago Community Trust provides grants to so many different community groups that support and rely on volunteers. We understand first hand how volunteer's grow our people, open minds, open hearts and create joy. National Volunteer Week for 2021 runs from June 20th to 26th, we encourage you to get involved if you can.

The Incorporated Societies Bill was introduced into Parliament last month and will modernise the old Act that was written in 1908!

The new Climate Action Toolbox is a free, easy-to-use online tool that shows you how to reduce emissions. This toolbox maybe of interest to community groups and not for profit organisations who are starting to think about ways to reduce emissions.