Whanganui Funding Expo to demystify funding opportunities
Published on 06 April 2023
A free event focused on funding is coming to the Whanganui War Memorial Centre on Thursday, 27 April 2023.
The Whanganui Funding Expo is open to anyone in the community wanting to connect with funders, learn more about funding opportunities or seek advice on applications.
“This forum will be an opportunity for funding seekers to speak face-to-face with funders and cultivate connections”, says Whanganui District Council’s creative community advisor, Anique Jayasinghe.
A panel of experts will take a deep-dive into funding, as well as taking some audience questions. Sitting on the panel are Maggie Regan, community advisor from the Department of Internal Affairs, Stephen Brandon, foundation manager of Whanganui Community Foundation, Jenni Giblin, director of Funding HQ, and Rach Hoskin, strategic lead of capability from Whanganui & Partners.
“We hope to lift the lid a little on the funding world”, Rach Hoskin says. “Attendees can leave empowered to submit applications independently. So come along with your questions ready!”
Alongside those represented on the panel, funders attending will have stalls representing a broad range of matters including arts, environment, recreation, heritage, youth and community development. Funders include Ngā Tai o Te Awa, Inland Revenue, Sport Whanganui, Ministry for Pacific Peoples and the council. In the lead-up to the expo, more funders will be announced via the Facebook event.
Council community activator, Harriet McKenzie, says, “We are so pleased to work alongside our local funders to help bridge the gap and demystify the details of funding for communities. There are funding opportunities out there, but the difficulties are knowing what’s available for your specific vision, how to craft a successful application including exploring an appropriate legal status for your group. We aim to tackle some of these questions at the expo.”
Whanganui District Council is partnering with Whanganui & Partners, The Department of Internal Affairs and Whanganui Community Foundation to organise the inaugural expo.
Guests are encouraged to register first for the event, and can submit questions to the panel prior to the forum through the registration form.
Funders who wants to be involved can contact: communitywellbeing@whanganui.govt.nz
Check out the Facebook event.
Schedule:
Doors open – 3.00pm
Panel one – 3.30pm to 4.00pm
Panel two – 5.15pm to 5.45pm
Expo finishes – 6.00pm.
Note: the panelists will be the same at both sessions with similar content discussed.