Who Can Apply for a Grant?
To be eligible for a grant, your organisation must be a non-profit body and registered as an Incorporated Society or be affiliated to a body that is incorporated. It is also preferable that your organisation is registered with the Charities Commission.
Four Winds Foundation funds are available for activities that provide benefit to a significant portion of the community in a non-commercial sense. The type of charitable organisations that the Foundation envisages assisting generally falls within the following descriptions:
- Sporting clubs/teams
- Cultural (e.g. performing arts, historical societies and cultural groups)
- Philanthropic (organisations that are there for the benefit or welfare of the community e.g. health, foodbanks)
- Educational groups
- Groups who serve community purposes (e.g. scouts and senior citizens )
- Other groups that align to our funding criteria not specifically mentioned above
An important requirement for funding is the provision of a signed set of the organisation’s annual financial accounts in the application. Our preference is to distribute funds in and around the area where our venues are located (click here for a current list of our venues). If you are outside these areas, you should look at the www.dia.govt.nz website for a list of other gaming trusts in your area who may be able to help you.
Funding Rounds
The 'Four Winds Foundation Grants Committee' meets every month to consider applications received in the previous month. Meetings are usually held on the last week of every month, although some exceptions may apply.
This means that applications received in the Four Winds Foundation office in this current month (up until and including the last working day of the month) will be considered at the end of next month. This applies to every month of the year.
- ALL applications must be posted or hand-delivered to our office, emailed applications will not be accepted
- Only 4 grant applications per applicant will be considered in any 12-month period
- Only 1 grant application per applicant will be considered in any month
Important things to consider before applying
- Your organisation’s location: Four Winds Foundation gives funding priority to local communities around our venues. If we currently have no venues in or around your organisation’s area, your application would be unlikely to be considered favourably.
- The timing of your application: It is preferable that grant applications are received by our office eight weeks prior to the event or activity concerned. Funding must only be used after your application has been approved by the Four Winds Foundation Grants Committee. Funding cannot be granted for events that have already occurred before the meeting is held, even if the actual payment is after the meeting. Any amount used before the meeting, including but not limited to deposits, is considered retrospective and therefore cannot be approved.
Authorised/Non-Authorised Purpose
- All grants need to be for goods and services that originate in New Zealand
- All items funded must remain the property of the recipient organisation e.g. sports equipment and uniforms
- Authorised purposes must benefit the community and not result in commercial or personal gain.
- Click here to learn more about Authorised Purposes.
- Click here to learn more about Non-Authorised Purposes in relation to grant funding.
Grant Application Requirements
The second page of our application form outlines all the additional documentation required with the Four Winds grant application form.
IMPORTANT: The cost breakdown must be clearly filled in, with all items supported by cost evidence. Please note, budgets are not considered to be acceptable cost evidence.
If you are engaging the services of a fundraiser, in order for the application to be considered: they must be paid at a flat or hourly rate which is paid irrespective of the outcome of your grant application. If your organisation has another remuneration arrangement with your fundraiser, you must disclose this to us. You must not use any portion of grant funding received to pay a commission or success fee to the fundraiser.
Quotes
Quotes supporting the amount requested are essential for each application. No quotes – No funding! Quotes must be addressed to your organisation, be less than 6 months old, show the supplier’s name and contact details clearly as well as the GST content. For operational costs, the previous three months’ worth of operational invoices must be provided. Seasonal sports groups may provide invoices for the same timeframe from the previous year.
GST
The allocation of funds made by Four Winds Foundation is an unconditional gift. No portion is claimed by Four Winds Foundation as a deduction for Goods and Services Tax paid. If a Grant Applicant is GST registered, only the GST exclusive amount can be funded (as GST is not a real cost to such organisations).
Salaries and Contracts
All applications for salaries/contractor’s fees must include a current signed contract (with the job description) clearly supporting the amounts outlined in the application form "salaries cost breakdown." Applications can only be processed based on the evidence provided.
Applications for positions that are not yet filled will not be considered.
Successful grants for salaries/wages will usually be limited to a three-month period of time.
Resolution
- All grant applications must include a resolution of the organisation’s committee/board decision to apply for funding. It must be signed and dated by a member of the committee/board..
- The resolution must be specific to Four Winds Foundation and must include the amount to be applied for. The resolution must also be no older than 3 months.
- The resolution can be part of the committee meeting minutes. Whilst a copy of the minutes are not required, the resolution is.
- Click here for an acceptable example of a resolution format.
Sporting
To be eligible for sporting grants, your organisation must be affiliated to a regional or national body and your members must play on a regular basis.
The following is not funded:
- Training/after-match apparel (the only authorised kind of apparel is playing uniforms).
- Individual sportspersons unless the grant is made to and administered by an incorporated sporting body to which the individual is affiliated. If the individual is participating in an event that attracts prizes, then all prizes must be forfeited to that sporting body.
- Food and alcohol
- Sporting trips for supporters and spectators
- Costs associated with 'after-match' functions
Travel
Applications for travel need to be carefully prepared. All quotes need to be from New Zealand Travel companies. We do not fund departure taxes, insurance, overseas accommodation or domestic travel within an overseas country. Costs for travel and accommodation can only be approved when an official itinerary is supplied with a corresponding itemised breakdown of proposed costs.
Once an Application is Received in the Foundation’s Office
Please note we are unable to send confirmation for every application received into our office.
When an application is being processed, if there’s any required information missing, we would usually email the applicant requesting the missing information. This information would ideally be scanned and emailed back to us.
Otherwise, all applicants will only hear back from us by email once meeting results are processed.
It is therefore important to provide a current email address for each application.
Grants Payment
Approved grants are usually paid via direct credit by the end of the week following the grant approval date (exceptions may apply on certain months).
It is therefore important to provide an official bank document with the applicant’s bank account name and number for each application.
Resolution Example
This is essential and should be on your organisation's letterhead.
It was resolved that a request be made to Four Winds Foundation Ltd for funding for the amount of [Amount]. I certify that the above is a true and correct copy of the resolution of the [Committee or Executive] of [Organisation Name] dated [Date].
Signed: ___________________ Name of Secretary: _________________ Date: _________________
© 2021 Four Winds Foundation Ltd, Inc. All rights reserved.