Creative Communities Scheme

Funding to support community arts & culture projects in the Western Bay of Plenty

Creative Communities Scheme (Western Bay) is closed for application. The scheme will open again in February 2025.

Important notice: From 1 July 2022, Tauranga City Council will be administering their CCS fund in-house – visit their website for more information.
Creative Bay of Plenty will still be available to support applicants to make submissions and give advice. Email annie@creativebop.org.nz.

What is the Creative Communities Scheme?

Creative New Zealand spends over $3.2 million each year supporting around 1,800 projects through the Creative Communities Scheme (CCS). Creative Bay of Plenty, on behalf of Western Bay of Plenty District Council, administers the CCS for the Western Bay region. Western Bay stretches from Waihī Beach to Ōtamarākau, and excludes Tauranga, Mount Maunganui, and Pāpāmoa.

CCS aims to increase participation from the local community in the arts sector, support the diversity of local cultural traditions and encourage and engage young people to participate in local arts. ‘Arts’ is broadly defined to mean all forms of creative and interpretative expression.

Who can apply?

Any individual or group can apply on the basis that the individual is a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident.

Two rounds of funding are allocated each year.

The average size of a CCS grant is around $2,000 per project.

For the next round, the funds available for distribution in Western Bay will be approximately $24,000.

What are the criteria?

Your project must have both creative components and community engagement components and must focus on at least one of the following:

Access & participation – create opportunities for local communities to engage with, and participate in, arts activities
Diversity – support the diverse artistic cultural traditions of local communities
Young people – enable young people (under 18 years) to engage with and participate in the arts.

There are five local priorities that the assessors will be mindful of. If you can demonstrate alignment with at least one of them, your project will be more likely to receive funding. They include projects that are visionary, vocalise creative pursuits, add to vibrancy, increase the value people attribute to the arts, and that make the arts more sustainable. Details of these priorities can be found on the inside front cover of the application form.

It is important to note the emphasis on the community component or benefit in each application. If a project is seen as just benefitting the applicant or artist, it will not be funded. In addition, CCS funding will only be provided to help a project break even and will not be secured if the project expects to make a surplus.

How do I make an application?

The application form will be available on this page when the scheme opens.

I need help with my application…

You can download the Application Guide here, which you should read before completing your application.
Check out our handy tip sheet for making an application: Tip Sheet for Applications to Creative Communities Scheme.
We also run workshops in Te Puke and Katikati to provide guidance on making applications. The dates for the next workshops will be available here when the scheme next opens in August 2024.
Contact our Funding & Projects Advisor Annie Hill at annie@creativebop.org.nz to arrange a one-on-one appointment to discuss your application.

Find out more about what makes a strong community arts project, resources to develop your project, funding and support: Community Arts

What got funded?

Creative Communities Grant Recipients

October 2024 – Western Bay

Chrome Collective Charitable Trust – $1,120
Te Puke Māori Women’s Welfare League – $2,300
Te Tuhi Mareikura Trust – $3,000
Waihī Beach Community Events & Promotions – $3,000
Waihī Beach School – $1,500

February 2024 – Western Bay

Summer Shakespeare Tauranga Trust – $3,025
Tuatara Collective – $3,000
ReMakers Katikati – $1,220
Ngāwaiata Sellers – $2,850
Creative Te Puke Forum – $2,100

November 2023 – Tauranga

Te Tuhi Mareikura Trust – $5,571
The Mount Art Group – $1,948
Tauranga Opera Forum Trust – $2,756
One Love Charity – $1,300
JNP Aviation Ltd. – $3,990

October 2023 – Western Bay

He Taonga Tuku Iho – $3,414
Made in Te Puke Trust – $5,773
Maketu Ongatoro Wetland Society – $4,279
Te Puke Art Society – $1,000
Te Puke Māori Women’s Welfare League – $2,300

March 2023 – Western Bay

BOP Open Studios – $3,500
Katch Katikati – $1,685
Katikati Open Air Art – $1,720
Ōmokoroa Crochet & Crafters – $1,755
Western Bay Heritage Trust – $6,325

February 2023 – Tauranga

Glass Ceiling Art Collective – $4,000
Opus Orchestra Trust – $3,750
Purple Lab – Phreaze Factory – $3,740
RimuFest Trust – $4,000
Tauranga Chinese Cultural Arts Group – $1,000

November 2022 – Tauranga

One Love Charity – $2,000
Tauranga Opera Forum – $2,295
Te Puna Hauora Ki Uta Ki Tai – $4,725
Te Tuhi Mareikura Trust – $6,250
Mount Art Group – $1,000

September 2022 – Western Bay

Ngā Kākano Foundation – $4,000
Te Puke Māori Women’s Welfare League – $4,990
Katch Katikati – $1,958
Wright Rohde Theatre – $3,900
Western Bay Heritage Trust – $3,800

April 2022 – Tauranga & Western Bay

Bethlehem Pottery Club – $2,500
Envirohub – $2,500
Opus Orchestra Trust – $2,000
Omokoroa Public Art Group – $1,500
Tawhitinui Marae Reserve – $3,918

October 2021 – Tauranga & Western Bay

Curves O Plenty – $1,745
Eddie Page Productions – $4,000
Okorore Ngā Toi Māori Gallery & Studios – $3,000
Poetry Beat – $2,550
Tauranga Chinese Cultural & Arts Group – $2,700

June 2021 – Western Bay

Creative Te Puke – $2,500
Katch Katikati – $2,500
Katikati Community Resource Centre – $2,700
Waihi Beach Community Events & Promotions – $2,700
Western Bay of Plenty Primary Health Organisation – $3,300

April 2021 – Tauranga & Western Bay

Tauranga Zinefest – $6,000
Bay of Plenty Symphonia – $1,759
Okorore Ngā Toi Māori Gallery & Studios – $3,240
The Incubator Creative Hub – $2,575
Te Puna Quarry Park – $2,500

September 2020 – Tauranga & Western Bay

Purple Lab Hip Hop – $3,900
Create the Bay Inc. – $2,500
Waihi Beach School – $4,692
Omokoroa Public Art Group – $3,000
Young NZ Writers – $2,000

Project Completion Reports

For projects that have previously received CCS funding and are now completed, a completion report must be filled in and emailed to annie@creativebop.org.nz within two months of the project end.

Download Project Completion Report