The Ōmokoroa Skate Park was one of the fun locations visited by youth during the school holiday programme, which was funded with help from the community matching fund.
The Western Bay of Plenty District Council’s community matching fund is now open, with $140,000 available to help fund projects that make a difference across the district.
The fund is made up of a general fund for social, recreational and cultural initiatives ($100,000) and an environmental fund for projects associated
with the natural environment ($40,000).
Grants are matched on a 50/50 basis – council’s half is a cash grant, while the community contribution can be made up of any combination of volunteer labour, donated professional services, funds raised through other means and/or donations.
The amount contributed by council is most commonly between $1000 to $10,000.
Last year, 32 general and 13 environmental projects benefited from the community matching fund. To assist potential applicants, council is holding a series of walk-in workshop sessions at local library and service centres, where people can ask questions and receive guidance on their applications.
