The latest funding round for the Creative Communities Scheme has highlighted various issues for Creative Taupō chair Toni Sullivan.
By Chris Marshall
A positive was the range of applicants for the arts funding round held in September and deliberated on in October, but a cause for less optimism was the likely size of the pool of funds in future.
While how much money will be available for distribution ahead isn’t known now, Sullivan says the pressure is all downward, citing cuts to Creative New Zealand’s budget and local bodies facing calls to cut costs.
“it’s the way of the world at the moment, despite the known mental, social and community benefits of arts participation.”
Less money to go around will mean arts groups will have to carefully consider how they and any individual projects they run can be as financially self-sustaining as possible, she says.
This could mean being innovative in the use of location, partnering with local businesses or collaborating with other arts groups to share costs.
“We want to assist a variety of groups with money, but we also are accountable and decisions have to be justifiable as fitting the Creative New Zealand (CNZ) criteria.
“It is really helpful to the committee if applicants lay out the financial details for a grant application in a one-page budget that highlights expenses, income and which items the grant will be put towards,” she says.
She also urges any applicants to turn up to their application meeting and briefly explain their project – not just to sell it to the committee but also to meet other applicants.
“A surprising number of helpful connections occur at a grant meeting,” Sullivan says, “groups start sharing ideas, resources and sometimes it is a breeding ground for future collaboration.”
New ideas and collaborative projects tend to do well in terms of public buy-in, she says, and the committee is also keen to promote more projects in centres outside Taupō town.
“These two additional criteria are not compulsory, but they are initiatives we’d like to see fostered. All applications have to select which of the three standard criteria they fit – access and participation, diversity or young people – some will also clearly be innovative and or involve rural reach.”
According to CNZ: ‘access and participation’ means a project will create opportunities for communities to engage in local arts activities, ‘diversity’ is where a project will support the diverse arts and cultural traditions of communities, enriching and promoting their uniqueness and cultural diversity, and a project identified as for ‘young people’ will encourage young people (under 18) to actively participate in the arts.
The committee was amazed with the breadth of applications this round, Sullivan says, and while some groups missed out, by turning up in person they found out how, with a little extra thinking, they could revise a project to ensure they more closely align with the funding criteria.
The next CCS application round is in April 2027, with decisions in May.
Sullivan says groups should keep their eyes out for workshops through Creative Taupō or Taupō District Council around sustainability, governance and funding.
“Taking part in these can all help groups create successful events, better applications and foster sustainability in an organisation.”
Groups or individuals who received part or all of the funds they applied for in the September round were: Amelia Lategan, Centre Stage, Kinloch Families Trust, Lakilua Sports and Cultural Club, Print Council Aotearoa New Zealand, Sue Graham, Taupō Art Connection, Taupō Concert Band, Taupō Society of Ballet and Dance, Towncentre Taupō, Tūrangi Community Events, Whakamaru School.