Youth Week Fund

Youth Week is a nationwide festival of events organised by young Kiwis to celebrate the talents, passion and success of local young people. It is coordinated by Ara Taiohi. 

Find out more about Youth Week and Ara Taiohi:

Ara Taiohi Youth Week (arataiohi.org.nz)

We are keen to see events and projects that bring people together for a common purpose, which could be to share ideas, learn new things, make connections, break down barriers, celebrate or do good in the ‘hood.

Some examples include:

• workshops to try something new
• talks with guest speakers
• public celebrations and socials (e.g. silent disco, festival)
• expos and swap-meets
• community clean-ups
• activities that support our diverse communities and offer opportunities to connect and create understanding (e.g. sharing circle)
• activities that address social challenges, like addiction, poverty, violence, inequality and mental wellbeing
• arts, sports, environmental, health and wellbeing.

To be eligible to apply:

• You must be aged between 12 and 24 and live in the Whangārei District.
• Your event or project must happen in the Whangārei District and during the month of May.
• The event or project must be youth-led. You can have support from an older adult, but the idea and the mahi must be yours.
• Your event or project must provide a positive impact for local young people or the wider community.

We will prioritise applications that align with one of our funding priorities (Arts, Culture and Heritage; Recreation and Sport; Environment; and Community Wellbeing).

We are also keen to see applications that celebrate New Zealand Music Month and New Zealand Sign Language Week.

Community organisations wanting to organise an event for Youth Week (or any time of the year) can apply to the Whangārei Communities Fund.

Whangārei Communities Fund 

Your event or project must meet at least one of our Community Funding Priorities:

1. Arts, Culture and Heritage: To support and celebrate the history, language, culture, and arts of our diverse communities.
2. Recreation and Sport: To support and deliver a variety of recreational and sporting opportunities for all ages, abilities and life stages.
3. Environment: To support initiatives that:
   • make a positive difference to our environment
   • enable kaitiakitanga of our taiao
   • raise environmental awareness
   • support resilience to climate-change impacts.
4. Community Wellbeing: To support initiatives that:
   • enable equitable outcomes
   • raise community resilience, participation and connection
   • help create safe, healthy and thriving communities.

We are also keen to see applications that help to celebrate New Zealand Music Month and New Zealand Sign Language Week.

In making our funding decisions, we consider the:

• range of ages applying and age groups catered for

• uniqueness of your idea
• quality of your plan and budget, and your ability to deliver
• benefits of your project for the participants and the community
• equitable share of the funding amongst the four Community Funding Priorities, our diverse communities and across the District.

You can apply for funding to help pay for the things that you need to deliver your Youth Week event or project.

We can consider requests from $100 through to $1,500 from this fund.

You can use the funds for most costs involved to deliver your project, including:

• venue and equipment hire – like a stage and sound system
• materials and consumables – like stationery and rubbish bags (but aim for zero waste)
• marketing – like printed posters or social media boosted campaigns
• koha for performers, speakers or helpers.

If you are planning a much larger event and need more than $1,500, then either the Whangārei Communities Fund or Creative Communities Scheme might be a better option for you. Talk to us about putting an application in to either of these.

Whangārei Communities Fund

Creative Communities Scheme

There are some things that we can’t provide funding for, and we’ve provided some examples below. We’ll let you know if there is anything on your budget that we can’t support.

• buying of equipment – like computers or phones
• merchandise – like event t-shirts (unless it is for an arts workshop)
• prizes and giveaways (try sponsors for these)
• alcohol, cigarettes, vapes or drugs
• sponsorship funds for individuals
• events or projects that are for fundraising purposes
• events or projects that support, endorse or promote any commercial, political, ideological or religious viewpoint or entity
• events or projects that may cause harm to people or property or pose a reputational risk to Council or other organisations.