Fund details
Closing date: Applications accepted all throughout the year and are considered each month subject to availability of funds.
Contact: Funding Team: funding@wcc.govt.nz
Value: $245,000 available in subsidies each year. See past subsidies (186KB PDF)
About the grant
The grants make the Venues Wellington facilities more accessible to Wellington-based community groups. Venue grants support free or low-cost events with wide community benefits.
The grants are only available for the following venues:
- Adam Auditorium City Art Gallery
- Michael Fowler Centre
- Opera House
- Shed 6
- St James Theatre
- TSB Bank Arena
Contact Venues Wellington to enquire about availability and request a quote. Applications are considered at the end of each month and will be responded to by the second week of the following month.
For the Adam Auditorium at City Gallery you will need to contact Experience Wellington to enquire about availability. You can get in touch with them by email or via the Experience Wellington website.
Priority will be given to groups that:
- are Wellington-based community groups or organisations
- have not received other funding from the Council for the same purpose
- show evidence of financial need.
Projects that will be considered are:
- free or low-cost events that are open to the public and clearly benefit the Wellington rate-paying area
- events that support at least one of the Council's cultural, economic, environmental or social strategic outcomes.
The following will not normally be considered:
- applications from organisations with outstanding accounts with any of the venues
- catering and technical costs
- social functions
- fundraising dinners or events
- conferences and expos which don't have strong local community involvement
- events in which the primary purpose is religious ministry or political lobbying.
Criteria
- The event makes a positive contribution to achieving the Council's Strategic Outcomes and Points of Difference as listed in our Annual Plan.
- The event primarily benefits the people of Wellington city.
- The applicant group provides evidence of (or, if a new group, systems for): sound financial management, good employment practice (where applicable), clear and detailed planning, clear performance measures, and demonstrated ability to report back on past funding as appropriate.
- Failure to report adequately on past Council funding can result in a group being considered ineligible for future funding.
- The project should be physically and financially accessible either by a wide range of people or by the intended users.
- The principal intent of the event is not for private or commercial financial gain, though such gains may occur as a side effect of the project.
- The application must demonstrate an awareness of the Treaty of Waitangi, in particular when involving mana whenua and taura here.
First-time applicants
Read the information on this page, then register and apply online through our funding portal: Funding Portal - Apply online
Check your application status
You can apply for the fund through our Funding Portal. You can also check your application status if you've already applied for funding. If you receive an error message when trying to access the funding portal on a mobile device, please use these instructions or contact the Funding Team.
Go to Funding Portal