New website a one-stop-shop for funding information

Sport Hawke’s Bay general manager Ryan Hambleton, left, Hawke’s Bay Foundation executive officer Amy Bowkett and Hawke’s Bay Funders Forum chair and Hastings District Council community grants and partnership advisor Kevin Carter

Community groups seeking financial assistance now have a new one-stop-shop resource to find and access potential funding in the region.

The brainchild of the Hawke’s Bay Funders Forum, it’s a website that outlines the different available funding opportunities in the region, and gives tips on how to apply for funding.

Established in 2007, the forum members comprise the four Hawke’s Bay councils, along with local charitable trusts, sporting bodies, central government agencies and gaming trusts, and was established to strengthen co-ordination in the sector and provide better access to funding.

Forum chair and Hastings District Council community grants and partnership advisor Kevin Carter said the website was the latest initiative to achieve this goal.

“For community groups it means they now have an easy, quick tool to find what funds are available and the points of contact for the different organisations and agencies so they can start the process of assessing what kind of funding their project might be able to attract.”

Sport Hawke’s Bay general manager Ryan Hambleton said most charities were supported by a dedicated and committed volunteer workforce.

“As a collective, we wanted to support this workforce in making it as simple as possible for them to access funding and to allow them to do the great mahi they do in our communities.

“This new, one-stop resource will provide all charities the relevant information needed so they can spend less time in front of a computer and more time supporting those across the region.”

Hawke’s Bay Foundation executive officer Amy Bowkett said feedback from conversations with local charities accessing funding highlighted that the process was time consuming and sometimes a bit of a maze to navigate.

“We want to make it as simple as possible for our local charities to keep doing the wonderful work they do in Hawke’s Bay by consolidating all funding options into one accessible site that is free to use.”

The Hawke’s Bay Funders Forum also runs events such as the HB Funding Roadshow, another of which is set to take place on June 8 this year.

The roadshows aim to connect community and not-for-profit groups and organisations directly with funders in Hawke’s Bay, so they can get information and advice about funding opportunities.

The roadshow will be held at the Havelock North Function Centre on Wednesday, June 8 from 7am to 9am and people can register to attend through the website www.HBFunding.nz 

19 May 2022

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