Council funding increase welcomed as community group workload grows

Victory Community Centre manager Jenni Bancroft. Photo: Max Frethey / Nelson Weekly

Community groups have welcomed a council decision to increase funding to some organisations in line with inflation.

Nelson City Council had originally been planning to provide a 0 percent increase to community organisations in its draft Annual Plan for the 2023/24 financial year, which would have been a decrease in real terms for grant recipients.

However, additional savings were found and council will use those funds to give a 7.2 percent inflation adjustment to the Community Investment Fund and organisations that support Nelson's communities of greatest need.

Council also approved a 3.5 percent increase for grants to other community organisations, facilities, and both council-controlled organisations and council organisations.

"Any additional response to the cost of living is really useful, the fact that they are responding to that is a good thing," Victory Community Centre manager Jenni Bancroft said.

Almost entirely funded through contestable grants, a 0 percent increase would have likely had a "negative impact" on the centre's operations, and on any other groups that were successful in receiving council grants, as there would be less money to go around once inflation was accounted for.

"Every funding opportunity that comes up, you go in and you compete with every other organisation for those funds," Bancroft said.

With about 1600 non-governmental organisations in the Top of the South all competing for much of the same funds, the money does not go far.

And as more people approach the Victory Community Centre for food, help, support, and access to health and governmental services - including new demographics it has not had much work with before, such as retirees - each dollar counts.

Tāhunanui Community Hub manager Ventura Fitzgerald. Photo: Kate Russell / Nelson Weekly

"We're filling a massive gap that councils and government will always struggle to fill," Ventura Fitzgerald, manager of the Tāhunanui Community Hub, said.

"In a daily situation, we see people coming in with a lot of needs. A lot of mental health needs, a lot of needs around kai security."

She said funding from organisations like Nelson City Council was "utterly crucial" to the hub's operations, so she was "really happy" council gave some of its community funding a 7.2 percent inflation adjustment.

"But I also hope that wherever the allocation of funding goes - it's never going to be enough because the holes are massive - but wherever it goes, that it goes to people who are really tangibly making a difference."

Lee-ann O'Brien, manager of Whanake Youth, said any increase to community funding was "gratefully received", but added that "7.2 percent isn't a significant amount in terms of the increased work we are doing".

Whanake Youth manager Lee-ann O'Brien. Photo: Max Frethey / Nelson Weekly

Young people are also being impacted by the rising cost of living, such as having to babysit younger siblings while their parents work later hours, or by being expected to work to help pay for food and rent.

"There's quite a lot of pressure or expectations on young people to contribute to the family," O'Brien said.

And while Whanake Youth offers pastoral care, mental health services, and a place to hang out for young people, O'Brien added that the community itself had an important role to play.

"It's that collective impact, not only from a funding perspective, but from a whole community that's able to wrap around our rangatahi and our whānau.

"We're part of a whole community, so how do we do that together and better, with the limitations we have with the funding? It will be interesting to see."

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