Kaupapa Māori Event Fund

The maximum grant is $50,000 +GST, however, the average grant is around $10,000 +GST per event.

$225,000 +GST for events occurring between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2026. When the fund allocation is exhausted, we will update this webpage.

Applications will be considered throughout the year or until the funds are exhausted. We recommend that applicants apply at least three months before their event as it can take up to six weeks to receive a funding decision.

Events celebrating a public holiday:

• Waitangi event applications must be submitted by 15 November 2025
• Matariki event applications need to be submitted by 31 March 2026

Multi-year funding is not available for this fund. At the end of a successful funding commitment, the organisation may reapply to the Kaupapa Māori Event Fund for future events.

Check that you meet the criteria noted on this page, as well as the list of events we do not fund. If you have an event that you think may qualify for funding, we encourage you to send an email to Tauranga City Council’s Te Pou Takawaenga team at kaupapafund@tauranga.govt.nz to discuss your application.

Additional considerations:

• events that are predominantly commercial in nature are unlikely to receive support
• events and/or organisations that already receive substantial ongoing support from the fund partners, financial or otherwise, are less likely to receive support from the Kaupapa Māori Event Fund.

You will not need to provide quotes for all event expenses; however we may request to see quotes for any individual items costing $5,000 or over.  You must include written support and an outline of their involvement from the current chair or senior executive of the local iwi, hapū or marae, along with a budget as part of your online application form. You can either use your existing budget or our event budget template.

Budget template to download (17kb xlsx)

An Event Funding Panel comprised of representatives from TECT Community Trust, Tauranga City Council, Bay Trust, Western Bay of Plenty District Council, and the Acorn Foundation.

If your application is successful, we will email you to confirm your grant. Applicants will need to sign their application to formalise our funding support and agree additional deliverables and benefits if required (e.g. operational planning deadlines, logo acknowledgement etc).

If your event is held on public open space, it is likely you will need to work with our event facilitation team for an event approval.

For events taking place within Tauranga City boundaries, please read our guidance on running an event on public open spaces.

For events taking place within the Western Bay of Plenty District Council boundaries, please read their guidance on running an event on public open spaces.

If your application is unsuccessful, you will be advised of the outcome, along with reasoning why the decision was made.

Funding is released in two stages. 50% of the funding granted will be released prior to the event and 50% after submitting a post-event evaluation report (to the satisfaction of Event Development staff).

If you have already received funding from us for an event, you must submit a post-event evaluation report before another application will be considered. The report must include attendance and audience demographics, audience feedback, key learnings, how the event delivered against the relevant values and priorities, benefits to the region, media coverage and the final profit and loss summary.

Email Te Pou Takawaenga at kaupapafund@tauranga.govt.nz and one of the team will reply to you.

If your event is cancelled and the financial position of your event has been negatively affected by that cancellation, you may submit a written request to us to retain all or part of your event grant. You will need to address the following matters in your request to us.

1. The reason for the event cancellation (with supporting evidence).
2. The date the decision was made to cancel the event and who made that decision.
3. Whether you have event insurance and how this impacts your financial situation.
4. Whether you have investigated alternative ways for proceeding with the event (e.g. postponement, operational changes, online format etc).
5. How the event has been financially impacted by the cancellation. Please submit a profit and loss statement and detail what steps have been taken to mitigate costs.
6. What assistance (if any) other funding partners and sponsors are providing to support the cancellation of your event.
7. Whether you are seeking to retain all or part of your event grant. Please specify the amount you would like to retain.

Requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis and all decisions will be at our sole discretion. Please allow a minimum 10 business day turn around for decisions.

For more information, or to submit your request, please email Te Pou Takawaenga at kaupapafund@tauranga.govt.nz