Whanganui District Council hands out $150,000 in community funding as demand remains high

The council is reviewing its contestable community funding this year. Photo / NZME

Twenty-two community organisations have received funding from the Whanganui District Council but the funding on offer was less than half the amount requested.

Pride Whanganui and the Whanganui Food Security Co-operative received the highest amount ($10,000 each) from the council’s $100,000 community fund. In addition, the Woven Rivers Charitable Trust and Balance Whanganui each received $25,000 as “projects of significance” - where the council partners with a community agency.

In total, $362,619 was requested by 36 applicants for the 2024/25 financial year.

The council received applications totalling $439,342 last year when the funding available was the same.

An additional $100,000 for community funding has been included in the council’s 10-year (long-term) plan, with some of that ($19,250) allocated to the Global City of Possibility Trust at a council projects and grants committee meeting this week.

The rest of the trust’s $25,000 grant came from the $100,000 community fund.

The trust is part of the Global Centre of Possibility, a project led by blind entrepreneur and disability advocate Minnie Baragwanath that aims to increase accessibility and associated technology.

Whanganui Mayor Andrew Tripe said he had spent time with the trust and it was a worthy initiative.

“It’s another first for us and realises that about 25% of our population across the world, across New Zealand and Whanganui, have a disability of some kind,” he said.

The council will conduct a review of contestable community funding this year.

Whanganui Deputy Mayor Helen Craig, who is leading the review, said it would look at streamlining the application process and identify any funding gaps.

“There are some areas of our community that cannot access grants from council and find it difficult to access grants from any other source,” she said.

“We could also consider the case for multi-year guaranteed funding.

“At the moment, apart from a couple of cases, everybody has to apply every year.”

Tripe said while it should not be arduous, there needed to be accountability for groups that received funding.

“Measuring some kind of impact on the community they are being funded for is necessary,” he said.

“We don’t want to give money and not know the benefit to the community.

“That doesn’t have to be overly complicated but we need to make sure we are spending our money correctly.”

Councillor Kate Joblin said successful applicants “absolutely had been” held accountable in the past.

“There is a rigorous approach to reviewing where the funding went, was it spent for its intended purpose etc.”

A report from community wellbeing manager Lauren Tamehana said the council administered its community funding “in a fair, equitable, and transparent manner”. Factors such as the past achievements or potential of the organisation and the value of the project to the community, in comparison to the cost to the council, were considered.

Community funding for 2024/25

$1250 to Whanganui Welfare Guardians

$2000 to Alzheimers Wanganui, CCS Disability Action Whanganui, Epilepsy Association of NZ

$3000 to Good Bitches Trust, Jigsaw for White Ribbon Event, Citizens Advice Bureau, Life Education Trust, Neighbours Day Aotearoa

$4000 to Whanganui Creative Space Trust

$5750 to the Global City of Possibility Trust (part of a $25,000 council grant)

$6000 to Stone Soup, Te Ora Hou, Birthright Whanganui, Youth Services Trust

$8000 to Women’s Network, Life to the Max Trust, Woven Whanau

$10,000 to Whanganui Food Security Co-operative, Pride Whanganui

Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.