Tauranga creatives with a great artistic idea for a project are invited to apply for funds in the latest round of the Creative Communities Scheme.

This scheme is offered jointly by Creative New Zealand and Tauranga City Council and promotes community involvement, diversity and young people participating in the arts.

'The council has recently taken the application process in-house with the intention of making clearer
connections between the various funding programmes we offer to the community,” says Tauranga
City Council arts and culture manager James Wilson.

'The questions are very much as before but you now apply through an online portal, where you will
also find links to useful information about funding priorities.”

The portal allows applicants to save their application as a draft, so they don't have to write all of it in
one go.

Zinefest received funding in a previous Creative Communities Scheme funding round. Photo: Supplied.

Creative NZ spends more than $3.2 million annually supporting about 1800 projects through the
Creative Communities Scheme. There is no limit to how much people can apply for – however the
majority of grants are $2000-$4000 plus GST.

A total of $56,000 plus GST is available in the October 2022 round for the local community, for
projects taking place between November 21, 2022 and May 31, 2023.

The number of projects supported varies depending on the round, but as a guide Tauranga receives
an average of 45-50 applications per round, with an approval rate of about 35 per cent. The average
value of approved grants in the previous two rounds was $3076.

'We're really looking forward to hearing about creative projects and ideas,” says James, 'Please
don't hesitate to get in touch directly if you have any questions about the funding process. And don't
forget you can also talk to Annie Hill at Creative Bay of Plenty for advice on funding and the Creative
Communities Scheme in particular.”

The deadline for this round is midnight Sunday November 20. The next round of funding will open in
February 2023 for events that take place from March 2023 onwards.

Access the portal at: www.tauranga.govt.nz/community/grants-and-funding/creative-communities-
fund

For more information, email creativecommunities@tauranga.govt.nz or Annie Hill at:
annie@creativebop.org.nz