Climate Change Community Grant

Funding available: A total of $50,000 is available this year. Applicants can apply for grants up to $25,000 for a single proposal.  

The Council welcomes innovative proposals that directly or indirectly reduce greenhouse gas emissions within the Nelson region and proposals that increase our resilience to the impacts of climate change. Please carefully read the application guidelines (238KB PDF) and criteria before applying. 

Apply Here

Carbon sequestration projects fall outside the scope of this grant. Projects exclusively targeting waste minimisation are already covered by the Waste Minimisation grants provided by the Nelson City Council. Additional exclusions can be found in the application guidelines (238KB PDF).  

Support is available to applicants if you have any questions or would like further clarification of the fund criteria or how to apply. Please email climatechangeteam@ncc.govt.nz, with “Community Grant” in the subject line.  

Applications for projects of $5,000 and over are required to contact climatechangeteam@ncc.govt.nz, with “Community Grant” in the subject line, to assess if their project qualifies prior to completing the application process. 

The extent to which proposals reflect Kaupapa Māori (integrating Māori traditional knowledge, skills, attitudes and values)*, or is of benefit to/involve Māori**, will be a key consideration in our evaluation. 

This includes: 

• Kaitiakitanga (guardianship): Striving for the collective goal of environmental respect and sustainability, focusing on how resources can be utilised for the benefit of many. 
• Whanaungatanga (building collaborative relationships): Exploring ways your project can foster meaningful partnerships to effect change, potentially involving collaboration with iwi organisations or rangitahi when appropriate. 
• Manaakitanga (compassion): Emphasising kindness and respect in interactions, giving back to the community, and valuing the knowledge and perspectives of  others. 
• Mahaki (generosity and humility): Sharing knowledge with openness and humility to empower the community and promote collective wellbeing. 
• Ako (learning and teaching): Committing to educate future generations – both Māori and non-Māori, while preserving and honouring ancestral knowledge.  

* Principles of Kaupapa Māori: https://whatworks.org.nz/kaupapa-maori/  

** Section 2 – Empowering Māori of Aotearoa New Zealand's First Emissions Reduction Plan (https://environment.govt.nz/assets/publications/Aotearoa-New-Zealands-first-emissions-reduction-plan.pdf) and the Te Tauihu Intergenerational Strategy (https://www.tetauihu.nz/) provide additional information to assist this component of your application.