Sports

Sports grants will only be made to support amateur sport. By this, we generally mean any amateur sporting activity, organisation or club that is:

• affiliated to a recognised national body

• genuine and real (has standards, rules, etc) 

• played regularly as part of a significant competition   

• open to public membership.      

We can fund most things required to play a sport, this includes playing uniforms, equipment, grounds maintenance, first aid kits and coaching.

Travel and accommodation costs for teams attending tournaments in New Zealand will be considered, provided costs are actual and reasonable and an official invitation or itinerary endorsed by the host's national body is supplied. 

The following items will generally not be funded:

• Overseas travel

• Professional sports, apart from where a professional is involved in coaching, training or development of junior sport

• Grants to non-affiliated social sports clubs or teams, including those playing in corporate leagues  

• Trade tournaments or sporting events staged primarily for commercial publicity and/or the benefit of a select industry group 

• Affiliation fees, individual or team memberships and subscriptions   

• Dress uniforms, footwear, training uniforms and personal gear bags    

• Laundry costs, commercial gym fees and major medical costs

• Cash prizes or large non-cash prizes

• Grants to any sports facility run for commercial profit, such as 10 pin bowling centres, billiard parlours, 'country clubs' for golf, or clubs with closed memberships

• Trips for supporters and spectators, or after-match functions

• Privately owned organisations or ventures operated for personal gain

• Firearms of any kind

Motor vehicles

Grants to help buy vehicles will generally be considered only in exceptional circumstances and generally only for disadvantaged groups that need a vehicle to help their members. Vehicle ownership must remain in the hands of the applicant organisation.

The following items will not be funded:

• Purchase or subsidy of vehicles intended for purposes associated with social functions   

• Tyres, servicing costs or repairs to motor vehicles

• Vehicles that are used for commercial or private activities      

• Mileage claims

Salaries

Grants for wages and salaries may be considered providing that the payment of a wage is necessary to achieve an authorised purpose and will clearly result in the development of the applicant organisation.

Applications for salaries/wages must be supported by an employment contract, job description, and a list of key performance indicators. If the role funding is requested for is a coach or development role details of the person’s coaching and development credentials is required.

Preferably, the employment contract will be signed by the person in the role. However, in circumstances where a person is not yet in the role (e.g. a new or vacant role), NZCT may still award a grant for this purpose, but will generally not pay out the awarded grant until a signed employment contract is provided. The person(s) in the position(s) being applied for must not be a signatory or contact person for the grant application. 

Social activities

The only social activities that may be eligible for a grant are those that directly benefit disadvantaged or cultural/ethnic groups or are considered by NZCT's Net Proceeds Committee to be for the benefit of the wider community, e.g. public concerts and seasonal community parades or festivals.

The following items will not be funded:

• Events that are principally social in nature (e.g. after-match functions, parties and balls)  

• Provision and maintenance of facilities set up to provide social activities  

• The purchase of alcohol, food and refreshments, paying staff for bar work, and maintenance or provision of bar facilities

• Family reunions

• Entertainment in pubs or clubs    

• Sporting trips for supporters or spectators

Advertising

Grants for advertising will be considered, provided the activity or event to be promoted is entirely non-commercial and benefits the wider community. This includes:

• advertising to encourage participation in amateur sport 

• promotion of public amenities, such as parks or museums 

• advertising for charitable appeals  

• advertising for non-profit cultural events.

Commercial advertising that does not have a clear community benefit will not be funded.

Educational purposes

Grants for essential, safety-related or sporting equipment for educational or training organisations, including kindergartens, play centres and schools will be considered case by case.

Grants for scholarships for further education, or personal development leading to a wider community or sporting benefit, will be considered case by case.

Generally, any approved grant would be made to the education provider rather than an individual.

The following items will generally not be funded:

• Educational resources, building projects or other items that would generally be regarded as core educational needs and the responsibility of the Ministry of Education

• Training that will result in commercial gain or career-oriented qualifications

Our grants criteria are reviewed annually

The Gambling Act 2003 requires us to annually review the criteria, methods, systems and policies we use for distributing our net proceeds. The 2026 review took place in February. One material change was agreed by NZCT trustees. The second NPC which considers applications of less than $15K will now consider applications of up to $20k.