Twelve months of community event funding wrapped up in February after the Tauranga Western Bay Community Event Fund panel met to allocate funding to events in the final round of 2023/2024.

A total of 13 applications were approved at a total of $88,000 for events throughout Tauranga and Western Bay of Plenty.

The 2023/2024 funding year is now complete, and the panel are excited to see the final events from their second year of this collaborative fund take place from March until June.

TWBCEF 2023/2024 round four funding recipient’s events:

-Third Culture Film Festival held from 8 – 10 March 2024 at multiple venues.

-The Welcome Bay Lions Kids Fun Day held on 9 March 2024 at Tye Park in Welcome Bay.

-Vaisakhi Mela 2024 held on 23 March 2024 at Queen Elizabeth Youth Centre.

-La Sportiva National Speed Championship 2023/2024 held on 24 March 2024 at Speed Wall, Blake Park.

-Kabaddi Tournament Papamoa 2024 held on 31 March 2024 at Gordon Spratt Reserve.

-Echo Walking Festival held from 8 – 21 April 2024 at multiple venues.

-Tauranga Shakespeare Festival held from 19 – 21 April 2024 at The Historic Village.

-Matthias Balzat: Cello Mastery held from 24 – 26 May 2024 at Baycourt Addison Theatre.

-Mai Te Uira held on 31 May 2024 at Te Puke Intermediate School.

-Cats the Musical held from 15 – 22 June 2024 at Baycourt Addison Theatre.

-Katikati Matariki Series held on 28 June 2024 at multiple venues.

-Bay of Plenty Symphonia Concert held on 29 June 2024 at Holy Trinity Church.

-Philippine Independence Basketball Tournament 2024 in Tauranga City held from 29 – 30 June 2024 at Mercury BayPark Arena.

The website has more details on these and other events supported by the TWBCEF.

Acorn Foundation Chief Executive Lori Luke says wrapping up another year of the community event fund is a great achievement for all involved.

“Having worked with the key funders for the past two funding years, we are proud to be providing a co-ordinated approach to the support of community events taking place throughout our region.”

“With the recent Vital Update research identifying loneliness and disconnection as a real issue for many in our community, supporting these events allows locals the opportunity to connect with the Western Bay of Plenty in new ways.”

Sustainable Waihī Beach - Live Life Greener, Community Beach Clean Pod Launch. Photo: Supplied.

The fund aligns with the community focus of each partner’s existing funding frameworks and streamlines the process for applicants to one centralised fund. This fund also provides access to new and additional funding previously not available.

Event organisers will be thankful that there is no break period before the 2024/2025 funding year opens for the TWBCEF, as round one opened on February 21 2024.

BayTrust’s Chief Executive, Alastair Rhodes, says organising events is a hard task. Therefore, ensuring that, as funders, we can make the process as streamlined as possible for applicants is one of our focuses.

“Seeing applications for existing or new events that focus on active participation and inclusion throughout Tauranga and Western Bay is what we want to continue seeing for 2024/2025, so our local community and visitors have endless event options to enjoy.”

There are a maximum of five funding rounds each funding year, and the maximum funding cap per event is $50,000 for events in Tauranga and $15,000 for Western Bay of Plenty events.

The total funding pool for year three of the fund (2024/2025) will be confirmed in March 2024.

Applications for 2024/2025 round one of the TWBCEF are now open through www.communityeventfund.nz. This funding round is for events taking place from July 1 2024 onwards.

A child and dog at Healthy Pets New Zealand Dogs Day Out. Photo: Supplied.

Fund partners, Acorn Foundation, BayTrust, Tauranga City Council, TECT and Western Bay of Plenty District Council are inviting community event applications to be submitted before the April 20 2024 cut-off date. Decisions for round one will be released by May 20 2024.

For any queries, please contact Sarah Young, Grants & Event Fund Advisor info@communityeventfund.nz

The TWBCEF is a collaborative fund created in partnership with funders throughout the Western Bay, consisting of Acorn Foundation, BayTrust, Tauranga City Council, TECT and Western Bay of Plenty District Council. The fund is designed to simplify the process and reduce the barriers to applying for community event funding.