The close off date for the next funding round will be Friday 16^th July 2010.

From 1^st May until 24^th May 2010 there will be reduced staff coverage in the office. Urgent queries which cannot wait until May 24 should be emailed to Barbara.Edwards@xtra.co.nz

It is an appropriate time to remind groups that this fund is the result of a collaborative initiative by the Tindall Foundation, the Todd Foundation, the J R McKenzie Trust and the Wayne Francis Charitable Trust. These four Funders continue their normal funding programs but have granted some resources to the Working Together More Fund to support this collaborative initiative. Details about the Working Together More Fund can be found on the pages of this site.

Caring for the environment

Applications for the next round of funding are required to be in our office no later than Friday 12th March. To help us care for the environment and save yourself much needed resources please only send the material requested on the application form. We will request any further information if it is required.

December 2009 grants

The launch of the Working Together More Fund – He Putea Mahi Tahi late 2009 was well received by community groups throughout the country. Applications came from both small rural communities and large metropolitan cities. The number of applications received was far greater than anticipated and highlighted the struggle that many groups are experiencing due to increased workloads and declining funds.

A large proportion of grants were made to groups who had identified other organisations they wished to collaborate with, had established the commitment of all groups and were now wanting to have a workshop to develop systems, strategies and protocols. Grants were made to cover all or part of the workshop costs for items such as facilitators or travel. For example:

• The goal of nine community groups in a small rural town was to establish a community house, which would house all nine groups and allow these groups to work together to provide the best services possible to their community. The groups and the community had joined forces to build a new house and now wanted an independent facilitator to run a workshop to assist them to develop the systems, strategies and protocols to enable the house to function effectively and efficiently. A grant was given to cover the cost of a facilitator.
• The goal of several community groups in a small rural town was to maximise a community resource to the benefit of all the community. A lack of clear procedures, protocols and governance had created disharmony between groups and the underutilisation of the facility. A grant was made to cover the cost of an independent facilitator skilled in the area of conflict resolution and community development.
• Two organisations in a major city that are providing the same service to the same population are committed to working together to provide a more effective and efficient service. Once they have established a good collaborative relationship their goal is to widen the collaborative to include similar organisations from other parts of the country. A grant was given to cover the cost of their one-day workshop.

Many groups requested a grant to cover salary costs for a worker to drive a collaborative initiative and or run a new initiative. As the fund does not cover ongoing costs a grant in these instances was made as a contribution towards the total cost for those parts of the initiative that were considered to need seeding money or support. The size of a grant varied in accordance with the size or complexity of an initiative. For example:

• The goal of two organisations that provided 24/7 services to victims of family violence was to merge to enable them to provide a more effective and efficient service to their community. They considered they did not have the time or resources to carry out the necessary work and requested assistance for a coordinator salary. A contribution towards the salary was granted.

A small number of applicants requested assistance for setting up costs. For example:

• The goal of three community groups working with youth in a major city was to join forces to provide a comprehensive and effective service in a central location for the youth of their community. They had located suitable accommodation and planned to share the venue, management, services and equipment. A contribution towards the cost of setting up the office was granted.

Several applications from throughout the country were received from one sector of the community. Before making a decision regarding these applications our Trustees plan to gather more information and develop a strategy for supporting this sector. A decision regarding these applications will be made in the next few weeks.