Major Events Funding Grants Opening Soon

If you're looking to establish a Major Event on the Coromandel you could be eligible for money from our MAJOR EVENTS SPONSORSHIP FUNDING. Two application rounds are planned for the 2014-15 financial year in June and September.

The first round of funding will target the upcoming Spring /Summer events window, while the second round of funding should be open for applications in September, to target the Autumn/Winter 2015 events window.

Applications are to be assessed using the following criteria (from the events strategy):

• The event is unique to the Coromandel
• The event will garner strong national and regional media profile
• The event will attract holiday-home owners back to the Coromandel
• The event will attract domestic tourists (and internationals if they are already in NZ)
• Preference is given to shoulder-season events (off-peak)
• The event will attract strong support from our RTO and the private sector
• The event has the potential to grow to become an icon event

An annual event is preferred - if it is a ‘one-off’ event, it must have a track record of success in other places.

Beneficiaries of the 2013/2014 Major Events Funding areILLUME COROMANDEL TOWN WINTER FESTIVAL OF LIGHt ($50,000), the THAMES MINDSPORT FESTIVAl ($12,500) and theTAIRUA WET AND WILD JETSKI EVENt ($2,500).

Decisions will be made in July 2014 for the first round of funding applications, TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE MAJOR EVENTS SPONSORSHIP CLICK HERE.

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NEED BUSINESS SUPPORT OR FUNDING?.

If you run, own or are involved in a business that needs financial assistance for food and/or technology, ag-research and development, then it's well worth getting in touch with theWAIKATO INNOVATION PARK.

Peter Davey of the WAIKATO BUSINESS INNOVATION PARK gave a presentation to the Economic Development Committee regarding opportunities it can provide to businesses around the Coromandel which includes business coaching and mentoring and business grants.

OPC IN WHITIANGA and AGRISEA in Te Aroha are two Coromandel businesses which have already benefited from Waikato Business Innovation Park.

"Our organisation is paid by central government, Trade & Enterprise and Callaghan Innovation’s initiative to boost business capabilities," says Mr Davey.

The Waikato Innovation Park offers a free business assessment service to determine the priority needs of each business, and then will help plan how to develop and innovate to accelerate and sustain growth. We will signpost other providers that could help, and will determine a business’ eligibility for funding support from either the Capability Voucher programme or the R&D grants programme.

"We're the natural first point of contact for businesses in seeking government assistance, are responsible for managing the initiative; giving eligible business owners free access to funding, advice and support. We have distributed tens of thousands of dollars towards business training and more than $10million in technology and development funding to businesses throughout the region," says Mr Davey.

The Food Innovation Network capabilities are also delivered out of the WAIKATO INNOVATION PARK AND TO FIND OUT MORE CLICK HERE.

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BUSINESS GRANTS

A $20,000 BUSINESS GROWTH FUND to help grow private sector and create new jobs on the Coromandel will be available for local businesses to apply for this year.

The ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE is supporting the $20,000 Business Growth Fund programme as set out in our 2012 Ten Year Plan.

We'll be advertising expressions of interest. Short listed companies will then be asked to present their business case to the Economic Development Committee.

A final decision will be made in October.

The funding should be used for costs relating to:

• Developing new premises or expansion of existing premises
• Related infrastructure or plant that will directly lead to the creation of new jobs on the Coromandel Peninsula.

To be eligible applicants must be active within one of the key growth-sectors of the Coromandel's economy:

• Tourism and tourism-related enterprises
• Aquaculture
• Manufacturing
• Forestry/Agriculture
• Information Technology
• Health
• Education

Businesses must either be new to the Coromandel or not directly competing with other locally established companies. Business owners and/or directors must be resident in New Zealand.

To be eligible, applicants must also:

• Develop and present a business case, which among other things must include:
• Financial viability and proof of a sound track record
• Demonstrate tangible job growth
• Evidence as to why the business needs the funding
• Demonstrate how the funding will add value to existing activities
• Demonstrate how the funding will add value to the Coromandel

TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE BUSINESS GRANT FUND CLICK HERE.

Last year's business grant recipient was GURU DIGITAL MEDIAwho used the grant to fit out new premises at the old Placemakers site in Thames.

This enabled the business to build a new office environment to support significant increases in staff numbers, which has allowed them in turn to secure significant private and public sector contracts across New Zealand.

"Our company has increased in staff from 7 staff to approximately 20 within approximately 12 months," says GURU DIGITIAL MEDIA owner Sean Cuttriss. "We are also picking up national and international clients and our business has ambitions to develop the Placemakers site with its owners into a collection of like-minded and entrepreneurial businesses - a development for Thames given the site has remained idle and vacant for some years," says Mr Cuttriss.

Guru met the business grant criteria as it didn't compete with any other existing local I.T. businesses given the scale of operations and the type of work it was doing with a very large client base outside of the district.

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ISITE AND VISITOR FUNDING

With DESTINATION COROMANDEL taking on ownership and operation of two key I-SITEs at Thames and Whitianga, the Economic Development Committee has now approved Service Level Agreements.

This will set service level expectations and funding commitments for these two i-SITES, which are to remain district funded.

DESTINATION COROMANDEL requires additional budget to fund costs associated with the changeover and to repair the Whitianga i-site building.

Funds for the Service Level Agreement for both the i-SITES will be:
• 2014/15: $120,000
• 2015/16: $100,000
• 2016/17: $90,000
• 2017/18: $90,000

Meanwhile DESTINATION COROMANDEL is spending considerable time with the I-SITE staff and are working closely on the transition. Destination Coromandel will also be reforming the business model to confront issues facing the general network in New Zealand such as increasing use of technology by tourists to find information and book holidays. Destination Coromandel will also incorporate Visitor Information Centres into their strategic planning going forward.

The Mercury Bay Business Association (current operators of the Whitianga I-SITE) formally requested the Council to facilitate the transition of ownership to Destination Coromandel by 1 July 2014.

The transition of the Thames I-SITE to Destination Coromandel is scheduled for 1 July 2015.

The Visitor Information Centres at Whangamata, Tairua, Pauanui and Coromandel Town will transition to Community Board funding models from 1 July 2015.

TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT VISITOR CENTRES ACROSS THE COROMANDEL CLICK HERE.

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE

All these topics were on the agenda and discussed by our Economic Development Committee that meets every six weeks.

TO READ THE FULL AGENDA CLICK HERE.

Our Economic Development Committee is made up of three external members, Brent Page, Leigh Hopper and Grahame Christian, Mayor Glenn Leach, Deputy Mayor Peter French and Tairua-Pauanui Community Board chair Bob Renton.

TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE COMMITTEE CLICK HERE.

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