Sport Northland Brent Eastwood 'Sport Thought': Tū Manawa fund open for applications

The fund specifically targets community-based programmes and projects aimed at tamariki and rangatahi. Photo / File

Sport Northland has opened applications for a new fund from Sport NZ to support play, active recreation and sporting organisations to increase physical activity opportunities for young people across Northland.

Named Tū Manawa Active Aotearoa, the fund replaces and improves on Sport NZ's old Kiwisport Fund. Where Kiwisport only focused on organised sport, Tū Manawa will also fund play and active recreation projects and initiatives. It also has a distinct application and assessment process for kaupapa Māori organisations.

The fund specifically targets community-based programmes and projects aimed at tamariki (children aged 5-11 years) and rangatahi (young people aged 12-18 years), who are most at risk of missing out or being less active.

The previous amount available from Kiwisport in Northland has more than doubled, with a total of $847,000 set to be granted over the next 12 months. This funding has been allocated by Sport NZ to each region based on both population and deprivation modelling.

In the first year of the new fund, Sport NZ has placed special emphasis on those tamariki and rangatahi whose physical activity levels have been impacted most by Covid-19, which they now know from their research are girls and young women, disabled people, those in higher deprivation communities and a slightly higher age bracket of young women aged 19 to 24.

Sport Northland will be working closely with regional sports organisations (RSOs), clubs, schools, councils, sports hub entities, kaupapa Māori groups and active recreation/play groups to ensure that the funding targets these low participation groups, in the process providing play, active recreation and sporting opportunities that would previously not have been available to them.

In particular, Sport Northland will be looking for applicants to target the high deprivation areas in Northland to ensure that those young people most in need do not miss out on opportunities to become active.

Sport Northland chief executive Brent Eastwood. Photo / File

Sport Northland is already working in a community-led way with 10 higher deprivation communities across Northland in an attempt to sustain more physical activity, so this fund aligns nicely with that work, providing funding for organisations to activate young people in ways that those communities actually want.

Those 10 communities are Ahipara, Kaitaia, Kaikohe, Moerewa/Kawakawa, Dargaville, Paparoa/Maungaturoto, Onerahi, Raumanga, Otangarei and Hikurangi.

Applicants can apply for costs for programme or project delivery (eg, venue or equipment hire, transport to event etc), equipment (as part of a programme or project), officials, where these are required for the delivery and delivery staff wages (eg, activity leader, coordinator).

There are two funds available in Northland. A Fast Fund will grant a maximum of $10,000 and is open year round and assessed monthly,

The Full Fund will have three funding rounds per year and does not currently have a maximum limit on how much can be applied for. The first Full Fund closing date is October 31, while the Fast Fund closes on the 10th of each month.

Tū Manawa is available for new and existing programmes and projects, and funding will be provided for up to 12 months.

Applications for Tū Manawa from within Northland are now open at www.sportnorthland.co.nz