Community and Volunteering Capability Fund – New Zealand

Deadline: 05-Jun-2024

The Community and Volunteering Capability Fund is providing grants to not-for-profit organisations for services and projects that improve leadership and strengthen the capability and capacity of New Zealand’s diverse community and voluntary sector.

Priorities

Sector leadership
- Organisations with a national focus, whose primary role is to provide leadership and build capability across the sector or within a specific interest area of the sector.
- Sector leadership grants are made to organisations with a national focus whose primary role is to provide leadership and build capability:
  - across the whole community and voluntary sector, or
  - within a specific interest area of the community and voluntary sector.
Organisational capability
- Community organisations with a development need that requires them to use a skilled professional for a period of time to develop and improve that organisation’s work.
- This funding cannot be used to fund a new or an existing permanent position.
- Requests are more likely to be funded if the applicant organisation shows it:
  - has robust management and controls
  - can be a good employer, and
  - can meet the planned outcomes for the internship.
- A home agency may want to:
  - build stronger ties with a community, hapū or iwi organisation, or gain a better understanding of how it works
  - learn more about a community or build stronger links with it, and
  - give an employee an opportunity to share their skills or develop in a community setting.
- When planning an organisation capability request, think about:
  - why the project is needed and what will be achieved
  - how the skilled professional will improve the applicant organisation’s ability to do its work and make it stronger
  - the amount needed to pay the skilled professional (this should be the same as their current income)
  - ways to support the skilled professional during the project
  - what systems the applicant organisation has in place to manage the project
  - how the applicant organisation will achieve the project outcomes
  - the benefits and outcomes from the project, even after it is over
  - ways to share knowledge after the project is over.
- There is no closing date for organisational capability funding under the CVC.
- Requests may be made at any time, but allow 4 to 12 weeks for them to review your request once they have received all the required information.
Volunteering
- Māori, Pacific and ethnic, youth or community organisations for original one-off projects that will promote and support mahi aroha or volunteering (the total funding available for volunteering projects is $80,000 across all projects)
- Regional volunteer centres for promoting good practice in managing volunteers, recruiting and training volunteers, and providing training and networking for organisations that use volunteers
- Volunteering New Zealand for working with community and voluntary sector organisations and regional volunteer centres to promote and support volunteering in New Zealand
- This fund recognises that volunteering can have a special meaning for Māori, Pasifika and ethnic communities. The CVC caters for the different approaches to volunteering and needs of different sectors.
- For Māori, voluntary work is called mahi aroha. Mahi aroha is unpaid activity that is done out of duty and caring for others.
- Mahi aroha follows the principles of tikanga (Māori customs and values), to preserve māna (spiritual force) and rangatiratanga (authority) rather than for financial or personal reward.
- For Pacific people, volunteering includes serving one another, as well as cultural responsibility, spirituality and duty. These concepts are reflected in the customs and values of Pacific organisations.
- Ethnic communities often view volunteering as fulfilment of family or social duties and responsibilities. It applies especially to activities involving helping, sharing and giving within families, extended families, communities and then the wider community.
- The CVC also recognises the roles of Volunteering New Zealand and regional volunteer centres in promoting good practice and new ideas for managing volunteers. They are also responsible for developing skills and abilities within the voluntary sector, both nationally and within regions.
Youth worker training
- Training or akoako that directly supports the capability of youth workers in their work with rangatahi
- Requests from community groups, hapū or iwi who have limited access to training opportunities. Training must directly relate to supporting the capability of youth workers in their work with rangatahi
- Collaborative training events that meet the needs of youth workers and are open to all youth workers in the area
- There is $200,000 available to distribute nationally.
- Priority is given to:
  - training or akoako that directly supports the capability of youth workers in their work with rangatahi
  - requests from community groups, hapū or iwi who have limited access to training opportunities — training must directly relate to supporting the capability of youth workers in their work with rangatahi
  - collaborative training events which meet the needs of youth workers and are open to all youth workers in the area.
- The funding of an individual will be through their youth work organisation.

What they fund?

Sector leadership
- The Crown Panel will invest in requests that:
  - contribute to achieving this fund’s aims and outcomes
  - support collaboration and connection across the sector
  - support social enterprise
  - support volunteering
  - support community-led development
  - support initiatives that expand services or contribute to the community and voluntary sector.
Organisational capability
- Organisational capability grants may only be used for covering the skilled professional’s usual income or salary during the project.
Volunteering
- There is just over $1 million available for:
  - Māori, Pacific and ethnic, youth or community organisations for original one-off projects that will promote and support volunteering/mahi aroha (total funds available: $80,000)
  - regional volunteer centres for promoting good practice in managing volunteers; recruiting and training volunteers; and providing training and networking for organisations that use volunteers/māhī aroha (total funds available: $747,000)
  - Volunteering New Zealand for working with community and voluntary sector organisations and regional volunteer centres to promote and support volunteering in New Zealand (total funds available: $175,000)
Youth worker training
- You can apply if you are:
  - a community organisation with legal entity status
  - a group or sub-committee that comes under the umbrella of a community organisation with legal entity status
  - an individual sponsored by an eligible community organisation.
- Funding may be provided for:
  - short-term (up to one week) courses, conferences, and training events that improve youth workers’ knowledge and skills
  - courses that may be part of longer-term study, such as a university paper, or polytechnic course module — however, the full course of longer-term study is not eligible for funding
  - the national youth work qualifications (workplace assessment).
- There is no closing date for the youth worker training priority.
- Funding is broken up into regional areas:
  - Auckland
  - Canterbury/West Coast
  - Central North Island
  - Lower North Island
  - Nelson/Marlborough
  - Northland
  - Otago/Southland
  - Westland

What they don’t fund?

Sector leadership
- Organisations that apply for this funding must meet the key funding criteria to be eligible.
- They are unlikely to fund organisations:
  - that do not have a national focus
  - whose primary role is not focussed on providing leadership and capability building to the sector (e.g. the primary role of the organisation is service delivery, advocacy, to provide for its membership etc.), or
  - whose primary focus is too narrow (e.g. pest control in the environment sector, or women in the sport sector).
Organisation capability
- Organisation capability priority funding does not fund:
  - requests from individuals
  - requests from community organisations that do not have a legal entity
  - day-to-day business activities between applicant organisations and home agencies, consultants, contractors, self-employed
  - permanent jobs or start-up wages with an applicant organisation
  - requests for skilled professionals from outside New Zealand
  - students or people wanting practical experience to meet study needs
  - work experience for new graduates
  - the costs of running or supporting a project (grants are only for paying a salary or wage)
  - requests where someone could personally benefit, but the possible conflict of interest has not been stated or dealt with properly
  - projects that have already taken place or start before a grant is made
  - debt repayment or debt servicing
  - projects to develop commercial, political, or religious activities, including political advocacy, employment and/or business initiatives and commercial enterprises
  - projects specifically intended to generate a profit, though profits are allowed if the purpose is to achieve ongoing sustainability for the applicant organisation.
- Organisational capability funding is not available to any applicant organisation or skilled professional who has received (participated in) a grant from this priority in the last 2 years.
Volunteering
- Volunteering funding available through the Community and Volunteering Capability Fund will not be provided to:
  - individuals
  - projects or activities that will not directly promote and support volunteering
  - projects or activities that have ended or started before a grant is made
  - repay or service debts
  - raise funds, including professional or commercial fundraisers that distribute money to others
  - political activities
  - projects that involve buying land, buildings, furniture or fittings
  - projects where someone could personally benefit, but the conflict of interest has not been stated or dealt with properly
  - duplicate, or for business-as-usual volunteer services, programmes or activities that will continue into the future (apart from the services provided by Volunteering NZ or regional volunteer centres)
  - projects intended to generate a profit – any planned profit or surplus must be shown in the budget and contribute to the project’s volunteering outcomes.

Outcomes

Sector leadership
- Grants can be made to organisations who can show how the grant will help meet these outcomes:
  - leadership and capability across the sector is strengthened
  - collaboration and connection across the sector is strengthened
  - social enterprise is fostered
  - volunteering is supported
  - community-led development is supported and enabled.
Organisational capability
- The partners to an organisational capability grant need to show how they will benefit and achieve outcomes that:
  - develop the applicant organisation or improve the work it does
  - share their skills, expertise and points of view.
- Requests need to show how a project will:
  - meet a need for developing the applicant organisation
  - provide the skilled professional the opportunity to gather new experiences, build new networks and gain a new community perspective
  - enable the home organisation (where applicable) to draw on the skilled professional’s broadened experience, renewed energy, and new ideas
  - enable the skilled professional to share their learning across their sector, which enables wider sector impact.
Volunteering
- The outcomes for volunteering funding are to:
  - recognise and value volunteers and volunteering
  - have in place systems and processes to protect volunteers
  - support national standards and best practice in volunteer management
  - have options available to support and enable māhī aroha and youth volunteering.
- Requests for grants need to show how these outcomes will be achieved.
Youth worker training
- The intended outcomes of youth worker training funding are:
  - effective and capable youth workers
  - valued youth workers
  - well-functioning programmes and projects targeted towards young people
  - networked and capable groups supporting young people.

Eligibility Criteria

You can apply for multi-year funding of up to 3 years if you are applying under these priorities:
- sector leadership
- volunteering (only Volunteering New Zealand or regional volunteer centres can apply for multi-year funding).
To be eligible for multi-year funding you must:
- have been established for at least 2 years
- demonstrate a good grant management history (with the Department of Internal Affairs and other funders)
- have evidence of good governance and management systems
- have experience in, or can demonstrate experience in, running a similar service, activity or project for which funding is requested
- be a legal entity if the application is for $10,000 or more, for any 1 year.

For more information, visit Community Matters.