PRESS RELEASE

"Roskill Decides" get up to $2000 for your community project. "Are YOU in?"

The Mount Roskill/Puketapapa Local Board is piloting a new approach to giving out local community grants. They have asked Roskill Together, a local community led development trust to organise an event where Mount Roskill people, not politicians, will vote on their favourite community projects and those with the most votes will get the funding.

The “Roskill Decides” event will be held on Saturday May 27 2017 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Fickling Centre, Three Kings, Mount Roskill.

"Roskill Decides" will see local grants of up to $2000 distributed to groups in the Mount Roskill area in a brand new way.

The difference from the usual approach to giving out grants is that those with the most votes from local people attending the Roskill Decides event on May 27th will be successful in getting the funding. Funding is being sourced from the Puketapapa Local Board and the Roskill Together Trust. A total of $20,000 will be available for local people to apply for on the day.

"Roskill Decides" is a participatory budgeting programme popular in the U.K. and the U.S.A. that lets community individuals or organisations pitch for project funding using a Shark Tank/Dragon's Den model, the outcome of funding is decided by the community. This is the first time that this approach has been used for public funds in the North Island. There are grants of up to $2000 available to deliver a project that meets the following:

- projects completing by December 2017: and providing community benefit Projects should fit within any of the following themes:

- improving the environment;

- improving the health of local people;

- helping people to identify and belong; or

- encouraging residents to become involved in community activity

At the Roskill Decides event, the local board will be present and other key funders have been invited to attend which include Foundation North, and the Department of Internal Affairs. This will enable other funders to partner with any groups or individuals who are not selected for funding at the Roskill Decides event.

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