More than 130 play, active recreation and sport organisations across the Waikato region have received a total of $811,705 funding from Sport NZ’s $15 million Community Resilience Fund Phase 2 to help alleviate the financial impact from COVID-19.

The fund, which closed on 30 September, is part of the $265 million Sports Recovery Package announced at Budget 2020 and focused on providing support to help play, active recreation and sport organisations recover, rebuild and grow stronger as a result of COVID-19.
 
The fund was increased from $10 million to $15 million due to the volume of applications received over the first few weeks. A total of 2,070 organisations across the county have received funding to cover fixed and operational costs for the period 1 July 2020 to 30 September 2020.                 

“The fund built on the previous Community Resilience Fund Phase One, in which a total of $6 million was awarded to nearly 2,000 clubs and regional organisations to cover fixed costs. This second resilience fund provided an opportunity for further support, but this time allowing applications of up to $25,000 to cover both fixed and operational costs,” says Sport NZ CEO Peter Miskimmin.

“The broadening of the eligibility criteria from the previous Community Resilience Fund has meant more organisations were able to apply for support, including applicants that were not affiliated to Sport NZ national partners. This has helped a wider range of community organisations to continue to deliver activities and programmes that have a key role in maintaining individual and community health and wellbeing.”

The Community Resilience Fund Phase 2 was distributed on behalf of Sport NZ by the country’s network of 14 Regional Sports Trusts, and Sport Waikato CEO Matthew Cooper says it has been great to see regional bodies supported by the fund.

“Grassroots play, active recreation and sporting organisations have been hit hard by COVID-19. It’s been fantastic to see how the Community Resilience Fund Phase 2 has made a real difference for these organisations. For many, it means they can now continue to deliver play, active recreation and sport to their communities – without this funding, they may have been unable to continue. That’s the harsh reality of the impact on this sector. So it’s been amazing to have this opportunity as an RST to help deliver the fund to those who need it the most,” said Cooper.

The Community Resilience Fund Phase 2 is part of a much broader recovery programme being managed by Sport NZ to help the sector through the impact of COVID-19.

Other initiatives include the $68 million Tū Manawa Active Aotearoa Fund for community-based programmes and projects helping children and young people get active, as well as additional investment to provide ongoing support for  Sport NZ’s national partners  and their national leagues and key programmes.   
In addition, Sport NZ’s Exceptional Systems Support Fund provided $1.88 million has supported 38 organisations including disability providers, recreation organisations and Māori national sporting organisations that did not already receive investment directly from Sport NZ.

Sport Waikato is also managing theTū Manawa Active Aotearoa Fund in the region on behalf of Sport NZ.
A list of all the CRF2 funding recipients can be found here.

ENDS
 
 
Media Contact
 
Philip Clark
Group Media Manager, Sport NZ
T: 0278 385 710
E: Philip.clark@sportnz.org.nz