Community groups and organisations in the district are set to be better served by grant funding due to changes to Council's Community Grant and the Creative Communities Scheme.
Community Grant
Following the formation of a joint grant between Council and Ahu Community Trust (previously known as Community Trust Mid and South Canterbury), Council discussed the make-up of the new grant in its meeting on 21 July 2026. The changes outlined below are effective immediately:
- The full year's funding of $60,000 will be split into two rounds in October and April.
- Grants of any amount up to $10,000 can be applied for.
- The committee will decide how the $30,000 is distributed in each round. This could be any number of grants of varying values making up the $30,000 and could mean that some grants are funded partially to share the funds.
- A change to the funding criteria means that operational costs can be included in the application. This can include electricity, insurance and rent but excludes wages and salary.
- Applying for this grant does not exclude the organisation or group from also applying to Ahu Community Trust, meaning that it might be possible to get a larger project funded through multiple grants.
- The committee member from Ahu Community Trust will have voting rights alongside elected members on the committee when choosing recipients.
Creative Communities Scheme
Ahu Community Trust is generously contributing just over $6,000 per year to the Creative Communities Scheme to increase funding available to support arts and culture within the Waimate District. This takes effect immediately and is agreed for three years. This grant opens, typically, in March and September each year.
All grants will be advertised when they become available. For more information, go to waimatedc.govt.nz/grants.
