12 July 2018

Funding round opens

The Dunedin City Council and the Otago Community Trust are pleased to announce the second round of the Arts and Culture Capability Building Fund, which is open now and closes on 30 August.

The contestable fund is open to any group in the Dunedin area which is committed to supporting and contributing to Ara Toi Ōtepoti: Our Creative Future – Dunedin’s Arts and Culture Strategy. Funding will support a variety of initiatives ranging from strategic planning and succession management to audience engagement and development programmes.

Creative Dunedin Partnership Chair Cr Aaron Hawkins says the feedback from first round recipients made it clear that this kind of support was both needed and well received.

“We’re all better as a city when our creative community is in good shape. With relatively small amounts of money, we’ve been able to help 13 local arts organisations build strength and sustainability.”

The DCC committed $30,000 towards the fund as part of Ara Toi, and the Otago Community Trust agreed to match this, bringing the total fund to $60,000.

Otago Community Trust Chief Executive Barbara Bridger says the availability of this fund meant that arts and culture organisations often working within very tight budget constraints could think about specific projects aimed at improving their capability.

“This fund, a collaboration between the Dunedin City Council and Otago Community Trust, reduces the funding burden on organisations applying as only one application form and one post activity report need to be prepared. The Trust is very mindful of the need to reduce the administration and associated burden of applying for and reporting back on grant funding received in environments where organisations are predominately volunteer led.”

Visit www.dunedin.govt.nz/capability-building-fund for more details and an application form.

The successful applicants will be announced in early November.

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