Wellington Community Trust’s Climate Action Fund is a 2 million dollar fund. Its purpose is to support community-led movements that tackle climate change. It is open to organisations that can deliver measurable outcomes around reduced carbon emissions, carbon sequestration, and community and ecological resilience, in the greater Wellington region.
We believe the greatest potential to move the Wellington region to carbon neutrality will come from:
Investment in Advocacy: Challenging and changing existing policies, power structures, and behaviours
Single organisations or coalitions may apply to this fund, with at least one organisation having a charitable purpose. Other coalition partner organisations may include:
Iwi or mana whenua
Charitable organisations or incorporated societies
Applicants must be able to show their work contributes to at least one of the following outcomes:
Measurable decrease in atmospheric carbon emissions
Measurable increase in carbon sequestration
Measurable increase in community resilience
Measurable increase in ecological resilience
Examples of work that applications may request funding for include but are not limited to:
Advocacy to local/central/regional government
Public campaigns around large-scale behaviour change
Community-based behaviour change
Work that directly sequesters carbon or reduces carbon emissions
Work that directly supports community resilience
Salaries, project activities, engagement activities, learning and evaluation, capability development, operating costs, equipment* and some capital costs*
*We will consider funding equipment and capital where the applicant can demonstrate there is a direct link between that equipment or capital expenditure and the projected outcomes
We want to create significant impact with this fund; therefore applications are expected be for a total minimum of $100,000, and a maximum of $1 million. Applications may request multi-year funding for a total of up to three years.
Applications must focus on at leastone of the following areas:
Community-led advocacy
Community Resilience
Ecological Resilience
Applications must meet at least one of the following criteria:
The initiative is led and driven by regionally-based groups with a deep understanding of local needs. The development of the initiative will have involved the people who will benefit
The initiative prioritises communities that will be most disadvantaged by climate change
The initiative involves meaningful active participation by the people and communities who benefit most
Applicationsmust meetall of the following criteria
The initiative can demonstrate the potential for lasting and long-term impact
The initiative reflects significant experience in the climate action space
The initiative must include the ability to review and measure its impact and produce and share learning that will contribute to a broader movement of change
All partners have considered their own environmental impact and have a robust policy/plan in place to mitigate
Activity that contributes significantly to negative ecological outcomes
Individual conservation initiatives like the restoration of one wetland or tree-planting in a specific park
Work that supports a single school, business, facility, or home to become carbon neutral
Activity that generates profit for personal gain
Purely research work, such as academic research, reports on the current amount of atmospheric carbon in the region, or reports that recommend climate change action
Purely individual education work, such as raising awareness of the impact of climate change for children
Retrospective funding for an initiative that has concluded
Duplication of a service that is primarily the responsibility of a local, regional, or central government body
Initiatives that provide a core government service
What is a coalition application? A coalition application involves creating a single application that will fund an initiative delivered by several different organisations working in the climate action space. The purpose is to encourage initiatives that may be too big or complex for any one organisation to deliver within a three-year timeframe. Coalitions must register as a separate organisation in WCT’s funding portaleven if some of the members have already registered. At least one member of a coalition must have charitable purpose. We will ask one of these members to act as the fund holder for any grants received.
What additional information will I need to supply if applying as a coalition? Applications from coalitions must include information about the governance and processes of working together, including roles and responsibilities
Can I request funding for an established, existing initiative, or for a new initiative? Yes
Can my initiative have national impact? Yes, if it’s locally led from the greater Wellington region.
Can I request some capability-building funding in my budget for my initiative? Yes
Can I request funding for equipment or capital expenditure? Yes, where there is a direct link between that equipment or capital expenditure and the projected outcomes
What information do I need to supply about how I will evaluate my programme? Please include the amount of money this evaluation will cost you, in your budget.