Got a great idea for an environmental project and need funding support?

The Ministry for the Environment wants to work with you to help make a positive difference to the environment.

If you have a great idea for a practical, community driven environmental project visit the Ministry’s Sustainable Management Fund website www.smf.govt.nz to see if you can apply for funding.

The Ministry for the Environment wants to work with you to help make a positive difference to the environment. Our Sustainable Management Fund (SMF) provides funding to support community groups, iwi, businesses and local government in taking practical actions that produce long-term environmental benefits, as well as encouraging proactive partnerships and promoting community action.

So if you have a great idea for a practical, community driven environmental project that directly supports one or more of the Ministry’s priorities outlined opposite, we would love to know about it.

Encouraging sustainable households	Targeting householders to bring about practical action and behaviour change in water use and conservation, waste minimisation, energy efficiency and conservation, transport, and building and renovating.
Sustainable land and water management	Contributing to improved land and water management practices, and directly contributing to practical rehabilitation or enhancement initiatives.
Supporting sustainable business practices	Building the capability of businesses to address issues such as sustainable business strategies, design and development processes, energy use, water use, transport, and waste management.
Meeting the challenges of climate change	Practical initiatives which increase the capacity of communities to adapt to the effects of climate change and to help understand their vulnerability to climate change impacts.

Funding details

Volunteer replanting the riparian
margins of the Waitate Stream in
Waihi with support from the SMF.
Photo courtesy of Habitat
Enhancement and Landcare
Partnership (HELP) Waih

Funding is available for up to three years (for a minimum of $10,000 to a maximum of $200,000 per financial year).

The SMF will fund a percentage of the total project costs with the balance secured by your organisation which may be from cash or in-kind contributions. For:

community / iwi the SMF will fund up to a maximum of 80 percent of your total project costs
local government the SMF will fund up to a maximum of 60 percent of your total project costs
businesses the SMF will fund up to a maximum of 50 percent of your total project costs.

Key dates

Event	Date
Funding round opens (applications invited)	October
Funding round closes (deadline for applications)	January
Successful projects begin	1 July

For specific dates refer to the timeline at www.smf.govt.nz

Application process

Our website www.smf.govt.nz details the steps needed to prepare for and complete a funding application form.

Checklist for your application

Before you begin, ensure you can answer ‘yes’ to the following questions:

Is your organisation a legally registered New Zealand entity?
Are you able to demonstrate strong support and involvement in your project from other organisations?
Will your project promote and encourage practical community action for the environment?
Will your project directly support one or more of the Ministry's priorities?
Will you have a suitably experienced and skilled project manager?
Does your organisation have access to the necessary resources such as office space, internet access and email?

Contact us

For more information about the Sustainable Management Fund please visit our website www.smf.govt.nz or contact:

The Projects and Partnerships Team
Ministry for the Environment
PO Box 10362
Wellington 6143, New Zealand

Phone: 04 439 7400
Fax: 04 439 7700
Email: funds@mfe.govt.nz

Cycle image: Water image: House image: eDay image:

Cycle image:
Cyclists enjoying the cycleway/walkway between Christchurch and Little River developed with support from the Christchurch-Little River Rail Trail Trust and the SMF.
Photo courtesy of Christchurch-Little River Rail Trail Trust and Bryan Morgan Photography.

Water image:
Volunteers checking the water quality of the Waitate Stream in Waihi with support from the SMF.
Photo courtesy of Habitat Enhancement and Landcare Partnership (HELP) Waihi.

House image:
Teams from tertiary institutions are building and retrofitting sustainable homes with the support of Otago Polytechnic and the SMF.
Photo courtesy of Team Whareuku and the Sustainable Habitat Challenge (SHaC) 09.

eDay image:
eDay is a practical community response to raise public awareness of the environmental risks of dumping electronic waste (e-waste) in landfills.
Photo courtesy of eDay and Gareth Cooke Photography.