Community groups benefits from council funding

From City Scene, published on 6 July, 2008

Community group funding now available

Auckland City Council is inviting applications from community groups for this year's community board local fund. Each of the council's 10 community boards has $25,000 available to distribute to community groups working within their area, with applications for this year's grants closing next Friday, 11 July.

Grants are open to local groups and cover a range of needs, from staff training and new initiatives, to promotion and small equipment purchases.

Previous recipients include the Orakei Sea Scout Group, which received $1700 towards purchasing life jackets, and the Migrants Support Services Group, which received a $1000 contribution towards health and safety workshops for new migrants in the Maungakiekie area.

"We welcome applications from all eligible groups who can show that their project or activity will benefit the wider community," says chairperson of the Community Services Committee, Councillor Paul Goldsmith. "Community groups make a major contribution to our city and this funding will help support groups to expand on their existing work."

Grant helps volunteer programme

Lifewise, formerly the Methodist Mission, is one of more than 145 community groups that recently received a Community Group Assistance Funding grant from the council.

The grant will enable Lifewise to expand its support services for the city's homeless people through a new volunteer training programme. "The grant will help us develop the use of volunteers to provide transitional support to homeless people, with a focus on getting them into permanent housing," says Lifewise's development manager Lesley Mynett-Johnson.

The council's Community Services Committee allocated $355,950 last month to groups working on community projects and initiatives in our city.

"This funding assistance is chiefly about increasing community groups' capacity," says chairperson of the Community Services Committee, Councillor Paul Goldsmith. "The grants support activities that enable Aucklanders of all backgrounds to gather and work together to improve their communities."