From tomorrow, community groups around New Zealand can apply to a $36 million fund established to encourage locally-led solutions as communities rebuild and recover from COVID-19, announced Minister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni and Minister for Community and Voluntary Sector Poto Williams.
“The Community Capability and Resilience Fund (CCRF) builds on the success of grant funding provided by the government to support communities during the COVID-19 Alert Level 4 lockdown,” Carmel Sepuloni said.
“We saw communities step up to support each other in innovative ways, using locally-led solutions during the lockdown, and we want to continue to back them with their work as we rebuild and recover from COVID-19.
“Community-led initiatives under the CCRF might include helping people to work remotely, health and safety measures for whānau, building financial capability, or developing and implementing COVID-19 recovery plans.
“We know that our smaller community groups, and individuals in our community, are well placed to provide essential and critical services quickly for local community members who need them. The CCRF will focus on allowing this kind of valuable work to continue,” said Carmel Sepuloni.
Hon Poto Williams says CCRF funding will be targeted towards community-led initiatives that support priority groups, which include Māori and Pacific communities, as well as culturally and language diverse (CALD) populations.
“We learned during the lockdown that there was high demand for support amongst these priority groups and it is important that we look to meet this need. The CCRF will play a vital role in supporting the wellbeing and resilience of communities as we face the ongoing impacts of the pandemic,” said Poto Williams.
The CCRF will be administered through the Ministry of Social Development and funding will be available in waves. The first funding round opens on 1 August 2020. The next funding round will start in November 2020. More information about the CCRF and how to apply will be available on the Ministry of Social Development’s website
