Community fund opens

Community
Written By Kim Manunui

Light projection installation at the Mercury Light Hub at the Malcolm Flowers Insurances Taupō Winter Festival 2025.

Non-profit organisations are being invited to consider the Mercury community fund.

The fund, open from September 15 to October 15, is seeking applications from eligible individuals, charitable or non-profit organisations. 

The annual $30,000 pool which was formalised last year makes a maximum of $5,000 available for projects or community groups within the township, around Lake Taupō and along the Waikato River as far north as Whakamaru.

Mercury says applications from communities near the company’s power stations will be considered first for funding.

Community engagement manager Katy Scoullar said last year the company received 55 high quality applications seeking more than $250,000 in support and was sadly not able to say ‘yes’ to all, but made grants to 20 that between them spanned many community groups.

Applications should fit into one of two broad categories, Ngā Tangata – People, and Kaitiakitanga – Stewardship, meeting one or more criteria within each which are aligned with Mercury’s core community values.

Ngā Tangata criteria: to live better lives (schools/kura, upskilling, inclusion & diversity), connections between people (clubs, events), safety and wellbeing (public safety, supporting health and mental health).

Kaitiakitanga criteria: care for the environment, long term inter-generational thinking, New Zealand’s decarbonisation journey (such as supporting bikes and e-vehicles).

Application forms and more details on the fund, including examples of previous grants and reporting requirements, are available at: mercury.co.nz/ taupocommunityfund

Previous successful applications have included:

Taupō Strings, Rural Support Trust, Volunteer Great Lake Taupō, Taupō Community Gardens, Lake Taupō Cricket Club and Anamata Trust.

Kim Manunui

Hi, I’m Kim and I work with a great team to help individuals, as well as small and not so small businesses get their message, product and services to the world using digital media and creating wonderful websites that don’t cost the earth.

I was born in Canada, and grew up around Vancouver and the mountains of British Columbia. My love of pristine environments led me to New Zealand and eventually to the mountains, lakes and rivers of the central North Island which is home. My family’s heritage is here, and it’s from here that Korio traverses the planet.

The digital world is never static and neither are we.

And I say ‘we’ because I work with an awesome group of talented people who I gather together as required to complete a project.  Whatever your business, not-for-profit or individual needs are we gather the best team to get the job done.

Collaboratively we are creative, share sustainable values and work hard for great outcomes because that’s the buzz of satisfaction that drives us.

If you have an audience and market to reach, we can make that happen. Creative design, words that work and smart behind the scenes stuff that cuts through the online noise. We’ll design your website and then build it. We’ll manage the content as well as all your hosting needs. We can handle your online advertising so you get noticed,
and we’ll manage your social media presence so you get the clicks, likes and engagement to grow your business. All within the budget you set, because none of this needs to cost the earth.  And the job doesn’t stop when your website goes live. We are your virtual business partner.

https://www.korio.co.nz
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