Creative Communities Scheme

Purpose of the scheme	How applications are assessed
Funding available	Who assess applications
How to Apply	Closing dates
Who can apply	What to do if successful in gaining funding?
What can be funded	Application Form
What will not be funded	Successful Applicants/Allocated amounts

How applications will be assessed

Projects should meet one or more of the following Creative New Zealand criteria to be eligible for funding:  

Projects that increase participation in the arts

This may involve:

• Arts activity that provides opportunities for people to become actively engaged in the arts. 
• Arts activity that engages specific groups whose access to the arts is restricted by their circumstances. 

Projects that increase community wide interest in the arts

This may involve:

• Arts activity that introduces people to art forms and arts experiences that are new or unfamiliar to them.

• Activity that has the potential to develop future audiences for the arts in general.

Projects that enhance and strengthen the local arts sector

This involves support of projects that strengthen and develop organisational structures that support local arts activities, as well as the personnel, (such as volunteers and staff).

In addition, applications that fall within the following Creative Communities Scheme Allocation Subcommittee priorities will be taken into account for funding:

• Proposals that are well planned, with clear aims and objectives that the applicant intends monitoring. 
• Proposals for which the applicant is contributing a significant share of the funding - particularly for large requests (note: that applications for equipment require the group to contribute at least 50 per cent of the costs).
• Proposals involving co-operation, partnerships or the sharing of resources between two or more community groups in Waitakere City.
• An applicant may be considered ineligible if they have already received funding within the calendar year or for two years consecutively.

Each year, the Allocation Subcommittee will review the distribution of proposed funding to ensure that the groups applying are receiving a fair share of funds. Additional criteria may be included to give priority to groups or activities that have received less funding in the past. Other stakeholders may also be consulted to determine other priorities.

Unsuccessful applicants will be notified in writing with the reason for their project being declined, so they are in a better position to put in an application that will get funding in future. The Allocation Subcommittee's decision is final and there is no appeal process.

Please note however that this is a competitive funding scheme and if a group is not successful the first time they should keep applying in further rounds - what is unsuccessful in one round may be successful in another, depending on the number and type of applications received.

Note: Groups should not be reliant upon this scheme as an ongoing source of funding.