FAQs about applying
Applying for a grant
Q: When does the 2024 Nikau Foundation grants round open?
A: Applications for Nikau Foundation's 2024 Grants Round were open between Monday 12th of February 2024 and midnight Monday the 18th of March 2024. Please note that applications for our 2024 Grants Round are now closed.
Please note that due to a large volume of applications this year, we are sadly unable to accept applications submitted after midnight on Monday the 18th of March 2024.
Q: How do I apply for a Nikau Foundation grant?
A: To apply for a grant, please fill out and submit our grants application form.
When applying, we will need to know a few details about your organisation and how we can help you through funding (the project you are applying for), Charity Services or Incorporated Society Number (if applicable), your organisation’s bank account details and proof of account (e.g. bank deposit slip or screenshot of your account details).
We will require your financial statements if they are not currently up to date on the Charity Services website. If you are applying for over $15,000, we will require a Project/Strategic Plan. NB: in 2024, we anticipate that our grants will be in the range of $3000 - $7,500, although in some cases they will be less or more.
Q: When can I apply for a Nikau Foundation grant?
A: To ensure we can process applications as efficiently as possible, we are only able to accept grant application forms within the official grants round period.
Q: How many applications can my organisation submit?
A: Nikau Foundation accepts one grant application per organisation.
The one exception to this is if your organisation has multiple branches throughout the Greater Wellington region. In the case that your organisation has multiple branches e.g. XYZ Organisation Kāpiti AND XYZ Organisation Wairarapa, we are happy to accept an application from each branch.
Q. Can I save my application form halfway through completing it?
A. Yes, if you need to save and come back to your application, please scroll down to the bottom of the form, click 'save' and enter your email. You will then be sent an email with a link you can revisit at a later date.
Q: What do I need to keep in mind when applying?
A: Please keep the following things in mind when applying for a Nikau Foundation grant:
We want to hear your story in your words. It’s so important to us that your organisation’s unique story and kaupapa shines through authentically so please don’t ever feel like you need to use ‘'buzzwords’' or we are looking for certain lingo.
The email you add to our ‘email’ field in our application form is the email we will use to update you on your grant application. Due to this, please ensure it is an email that is checked regularly (including your junk mail folder as from time to time, correspondence will end up there)
As part of our due diligence process, we check all names against the legal name in Charity Services and the deposit slip. Please make sure these match.
Please make sure that the costs for which you are applying are clear. For instance, if you are applying for salaries so you can run key projects, please specify this.
Q: I have a question about applying. Who is the best person to ask?
Although most information can be found in these FAQ’s, if you do have a question that’s not covered here, you are most welcome to get in touch with our fantastic Funding and Relationships Manager, Lindy (to the right).
Her email is lindy@nikaufoundation.nz
Eligibility Criteria
Q. Is my organisation eligible for a Nikau Foundation grant?
A. To be eligible for a Nikau Foundation grant, your organisation must:
Be based in the Greater Wellington Region or deliver a substantial portion of your services within the Greater Wellington region.
Be a not-for-profit
Have a mission at its core that enhances our community (i.e. a charitable purpose)
Have a sustainable financial model
Have a strategic plan and/or an articulated vision for the future
Q: What doesn’t Nikau Foundation fund?
A: There are some things that Nikau Foundation doesn’t fund. These are:
Activities that benefit an individual in a commercial sense
Political parties
Divisive religious activities
Individuals (excluding scholarships)
Activities outside of the Greater Wellington Region, unless specified by a donor
Although Nikau Foundation donors and funds support a wide range of areas, we have fewer funds that currently support the below kinds of organisations so it is unlikely that they’ll receive funding. However, as we are guided by the giving goals of our donors, this may change in the future.
Educational organisations
Sports
Scouts/Cadets
Community music groups
Arts
Please note that although your organisation may not be eligible for funding from Nikau Foundation, it be may eligible for funding from other organisations based throughout Te Upoko-o-te-Ika-a-Māui the Greater Wellington region and Aotearoa New Zealand. You can find links to some of these funders on this page.
Q: What type of things can our organisation apply for?
A: Nikau Foundation understands that every organisation needs different kinds of support to grow and give back to the community.
Whether you need help to keep the lights on and rent paid, to expand key services, to keep great team members or to transform blue sky ideas into reality, Nikau Foundation may be able to help.
The type of things we help to fund are below:
Q. Is my community organisation eligible if our HQ is based outside of the Greater Wellington region, or we also do work outside of the region?
A. No, your HQ does not need to be based in Wellington. However, your services/programme do need to benefit communities and be delivered within the Wellington region. Please estimate the proportion of service delivery within the Greater Wellington region and include these details in your application.
Q. Is my community organisation eligible if a staff member only works part-time within the Wellington region?
A. Yes, please estimate how much time your staff member/members work within the Greater Wellington Region and include these details in your application.
Q: How do the Sustainable Development Goals affect Nikau Foundation’s eligibility criteria?
A: Nikau Foundation uses the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) as a framework for our grantmaking.
Although this does not affect our eligibility parameters or change our donors’ priorities, increased consideration will be given to community organisations working towards one or more of the goals identified below.
SDG 1: No Poverty
SDG 2: Zero Hunger
SDG 3: Good Health and Wellbeing
SDG 5: Gender Equality
SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
SDG 13: Climate Action
SDG 14: Life Below Water
SDG 15: Life on Land
An example of how we will apply the SDGs in our decision process:
Every year we are over subscribed in a number of areas including health and while we have a number of funds which have specified health charities as their remit deciding between these is always challenging because there are so many impactful and important causes operating in this area. To make the assessment process more transparent and to give guidance as to which will get funding we will overlay the SDGs. This would mean that a health organisation that is working in health (SDG3) and also contributing to addressing inequalities (SDG 10) is more likely to get funding.
Addressing climate change continues to be an urgent challenge and so we welcome applications from organisations working in these spaces (SDG 13/SDG 14/SDG 15).
Q: Do I need to specify to which Sustainable Development Goal my organisation’s kaupapa aligns?
A: No, leave this with us - we will determine how your organisation fits with the SDG’s during our grants application review process.
General
Q: What amount of funding can we apply for?
A: You should apply for the amount of funding you require to complete your project or part thereof if you are applying to other trusts for funding as well.
Unless your organisation is named by a specific donor or based in Porirua, we are unlikely to be able to make grants larger than $7,500. This year we are anticipating that the average grant given out will be between $3000 and $7500 per organisation*.
For organisations carrying out work in Porirua, we welcome applications up to $30,000.
*Please note that this is the average range and in some cases, smaller (or sometimes larger!) grants will be given out.
Q: Can we apply for funding for items that we have already purchased or for work we have had done?
A: No. These items will be deemed “retrospective”.
Q: Can we apply to a specific fund (i.e Porirua, Tindall, Milne?)
No, you can leave this part to us. Once we get all applications in, we work internally to match requests for funding to the focus of our funds (e.g. if your organisation works in the environmental space, we will match you to a fund dedicated to funding environmental projects).
Read more about our amazing donors and what their funds support.
Q: Who has received funding in the past?
To see who received funding in the past, feel free to download our last Impact Reports below.
Or, take a look at some of our stories of impact below.
Grants Application Review Process
Q. How does Nikau Foundation work?
A. Nikau Foundation is the Greater Wellington region’s community foundation. While there is no ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to giving to Nikau, many of our donors set up funds that are dedicated to supporting different areas. For instance, the O’Dea Illingworth Fund was established to give back to organisations supporting climate change action and soil science research, and the Edith Sprott Fund to give grants to organisations supporting older people and people with dementia.
We also have local funds in Kāpiti, Porirua and the Wairarapa, which are dedicated to supporting organisations in their regions.
When applications come in, it is our job to match them with these funds.
Q: We’ve submitted an application, what happens next?
A. Last year, we received over 370 applications. Nikau Foundation runs a lean and efficient model, with a small team of passionate staff and volunteers. While we work as quickly and efficiently as possible, we know how much work goes into each application and want to take the time to review each one.
Grant-making processes
Once we receive all applications, we go through the below process to learn more about your organisation’s kaupapa, check application details, chat with our donors, local volunteers and funding partners, cross all our I’s and dot all our T’s.
Review
We love to read about your mahi and make sure we take the time to go through every application thoroughly so we truly understand your organisation’s kaupapa and the impact you are making for your communities. We also double check important things like your Charity Services number and your bank account at this stage.
Allocation
We match your application to Nikau Funds supporting projects and organisations in your area (e.g. if your organisation works in the environmental space, we will match to a Nikau Fund that aims to support environmental projects and initiatives).
Consultation
The Nikau whānau is made up of many donors, local volunteers and funding partners. We take the time to personally consult with each of them so we are giving in the most impactful, meaningful way and in line with our donors’ giving goals.
Sign off
Once we have all grants allocated, these are signed off by our board. We will then let you know the outcome of your grant application form and start making payments.
Q: When will I hear about the outcome of my grants application?
A: After the application deadline, we take around 12 weeks to process all applications. Please note that you will be notified of the outcome by email.
To keep you in the loop, the timeline we are aiming to work to this year is as below:
18th March - applications close
End of May - application outcomes will be communicated by email
Early - mid June - grants will be paid out
Q: We’ve been asked to provide supporting information, why?
As a funder, it is critical that we perform due diligence.
You will be asked to provide your Charities Services number (if you have one) and a copy of your organisation’s bank deposit slip or screen shot of the bank account. if the application is for over $10,000, we recommend providing several supporting documents, such as an Impact/Annual Report and/or project plan and financial statements.
Q: Can I ring you to find out the status or success of my application?
A: While we encourage you to connect with us, we cannot provide specific detail on the status of your application until our grants have been approved by our Board. A notification will be sent by email to let you know the outcome of your application.
Reporting and Use of Grant Funds
Q: What do we have to provide in our reporting?
A: We love to hear about how funding has impacted your organisation and your communities. Our evaluation form (which will go live later in 2024) will ask for you this feedback. We also request some photos you’re happy for us to share with our Nikau whanau and some feedback on how we can improve as a funder.
We kindly ask that if you are successful in your Nikau Foundation grant application, you provide us with an evaluation by late September 2024. We will be in touch with a reminder later this year.
Q: The project/position/programme we applied for funding for is no longer going ahead, what should I do?
A: We understand that things can change, and are happy to work with you to either transfer the grant to another project/position/ programme you are running, or alternatively you can return it to us.
If your circumstances have changed, please touch base with Lindy via lindy@nikaufoundation.nz.
Q: We have surplus funds left over from our funding – what should we do?
A: If you find you have not used all the grant you received, we are happy to work with you to either transfer the remaining amount to another project/position/programme you are running, or alternatively you can return it to us. If you find you have surplus funds left, please get in touch with Lindy (lindy@nikaufoundation.nz).
Q: Is there a time limit on spending the funds?
A: We generally expect that grant funds will be spent within four months of being paid. However, we understand that not all projects can be completed in this time and in some cases, such as if funding is being used to support operating expenses, this may not be possible.
Q: How is GST treated in your grantmaking?
A: A Nikau Foundation grant is regarded as an 'unconditional gift' for tax purposes. There is no contract between Nikau Foundation and the grantee for any exchange of goods or services. The grant payments are not payments in return for services and you will not be issuing invoices to us. Your proposed or estimated budget for grant funding must list the ‘real costs’ only.
If your organisation is GST registered, your 'real costs' are EXCLUSIVE of GST. This is because you will be claiming back any GST yourself and it will be cost-neutral to you.
If your organisation is not GST registered, your 'real costs' are INCLUSIVE of GST. This is because you will not be able to claim back the GST.
Either way, do not add GST costs on top of your estimated ‘real costs’.
Please state in your grant application whether your organisation is GST registered or not and make clear which of the above options apply.
Other Funders
During our 2023 Grants Round, we received over 370 applications for funding from across the Greater Wellington region. Although we acknowledge every organisation’s mahi and the role they play in supporting our communities, we are unfortunately unable to fund every application.
As we know the challenges that come with securing funding, we are happy to supply a list of other funders here.