Otago Community Trust - November eNewsletter 2022

In recent years Kaikorai Valley College has developed its own Urban Farm on land at the back of the school. This is a unique and outstanding learning environment that has become a valuable and popular part of the Kaikorai Valley College learning experience and that of other visiting schools. Kaikorai Valley College's Urban Farm programme was one Otago Community Trust’s Learning Impact Fund recipents back in 2018. A grant of $142,300 was approved to support the programme at that point in time. Over the last four years it has continued to develop and evolve to support learning differently.

The first round of applications under the Tamariki and Rangatahi Sector Capability Fund were considered at the Trust’s October board meeting. This new fund, under the Trust’s new Tamariki and Rangatahi Strategy which was launched this year, are designed to fund projects and activities that support organisations working in the youth sector to grow and succeed.

The Funding Network NZ’s Generosity Generator is an online fundraising training programme specifically designed for small, grassroots charities in Aotearoa New Zealand. The programme teaches you how to plan, create and promote a successful crowdfunding campaign and how to grow your giving community. It also provides a unique opportunity to put this learning into action through a 12 day crowdfunding campaign on Givealittle.

The Grand Business South Awards 2022 is almost here Otago and we are really looking forward to celebrating the region’s innovative and talented businesses /community groups at the Awards gala dinner on November 18 at the Dunedin Town Hall.

The Waitaki Whitestone Geopark Trust celebrates connections between the geological, natural, and cultural heritage of the Waitaki District by providing a unifying platform for stories relating to significant sites. Otago Community Trust was pleased to have provided a $20,000 grant to fund Project Aware and Care in 2021 - an interpretation and signage development project to protect and promote 20 of the Geopark sites.

Otago Community Trust aims to be a broad community funder; however, we recognise we cannot meet all demands for funding. Previously, as a general policy the Trust has not considered applications from Aged Care / Rest Home Facilities as the Trust does not have the resources to support these facilities with grant funding in competition with commercial finance and commercial activities. However, in August this policy was reviewed by the board and changes made.

Incorporated societies are invited to visit an information hub established by Parry Field Lawyers that shares articles, guides, videos, FAQs, and links to upcoming free seminars to get prepared to take action under the new Incorporated Societies Act 2022.

Welcome to our November Newsletter. It’s hard to believe that Christmas and the summer holidays are just around the corner. After some typical spring weather madness, it is nice to see the days draw out. This time of year is always a very busy one for organisations across the sector and here at the Trust we have also been busy with two large granting rounds in September and October with close to 100 applications being approved to support some great community projects.