KIWI GAMING FOUNDATION'S GRANTS POLICY

Policy

Decision by Net Proceeds Committee

•  All final funding decisions are made by Kiwi Gaming Foundation’s net proceeds committee.  

• Grant applications found to be non-compliant will not be approved.  In this context, “non-compliant” means grant applications that do not contain all the relevant information, are retrospective, where the application does not comply with Kiwi Gaming Foundation’s authorised purpose, or where there is information that the applicant has received funding from other source(s) for the full amount needed for the purpose applied for.  Non-compliance is determined by Kiwi Gaming Foundation’s chairperson, based on the information supplied and independent checks undertaken. 

   

Tips for Successful Grants

• Kiwi Gaming Foundation prioritises grants to organisations based in the same area as their gaming venues, i.e., the Foundation priorities local grants.  If Kiwi Gaming Foundation does not have a venue in your region, consider applying to another gaming society that does.  A list of the gaming societies and the location of their venues can be found by doing a Google search for “DIA funding for community groups”.
  
  
• Avoid applying for salaries, as salaries and wages are given a very low priority.  High priority is given to capital items that will last several years and benefit a large number of people.
  
  
• When applying for a grant, apply for items that will simplify the subsequent grant audit and accountability process that Kiwi Gaming Foundation has to undertake.  It is easy for Kiwi Gaming Foundation to verify that capital items (e.g., whiteboards, playground equipment and sports equipment) have been purchased in accordance with the grant. 
  
  
• Kiwi Gaming Foundation needs to be satisfied that the price of the item applied for is reasonable.  It is therefore important that the application includes two quotes from unrelated suppliers.  Grant applicants should obtain the quotes themselves, rather than have one supplier organise the second quote. If only one quote is available, it is important to state in the application why this is the case and to provide some other evidence to confirm that the price of the items for which funding is sought is reasonable.
  
  
• Kiwi Gaming Foundation is not permitted to fund items that have already been paid for.  The grant recipient must not pay for the item before the grant is approved.  To avoid breaching the retrospective rules, it is prudent not to apply for items that are required to be paid for within six to eight weeks of lodging the application.
  
  
• The grant money must be spent on the items specified in the grant form.  Grant applications should therefore avoid being too specific when describing the item in the grant form.  For example, if the grant application seeks funding for rent for the month of May, the grant money may only be used for the May rent payment.  To allow greater flexibility, it is better to simply seek funding for one month’s rent.
  
  
• If the grant applicant is GST-registered, the grant application should only seek the GST-exclusive cost.
  
  
• There is no formal prohibition on seeking funding for items purchased directly from overseas. However, New Zealand suppliers are preferred, as this makes the subsequent grant audit and accountability process easier.
  
  
• Avoid applying for clothing.  Grants cannot be made for clothing, playing strips and uniforms if the item of clothing will in reality become owned by the individual and tend not to be handed back to the club at the end of the season.  Playing uniforms or playing strips may be acceptable when the uniforms are clearly used by multiple people over a long period.
  
  
• Avoid applying for food or alcohol.
  
  
• Do not apply for purely social activities, such as end-of-year prize-giving ceremonies, school reunions or similar functions.
  
  
• Prioritise funding applications that involve youth, and avoid applying for funding for elite/high-performance sportspersons.
  
  
• Ensure that Kiwi Gaming Foundation’s grant form is used and filled out in full, and that all supporting documentation requested is provided.  One of the requirements is that a resolution seeking funding be provided.   Below is an example of the resolution wording:

It was agreed at the committee meeting held on the 15^th of October 2022 of the Canterbury Women’s Refuge to apply to Kiwi Gaming Foundation Limited for a donation to cover the costs of a new laptop.
I certify that this is a true and correct record of a resolution passed at this meeting.

 [Signed]
David Singh
Secretary
Canterbury Women’s Refuge 

•  It is also helpful to provide a clear cost breakdown.  Below is an example of a good cost breakdown:

• The directors have a large number of applications each month to consider.  It is therefore best to keep your pitch document clear and concise.  Keep it clear and short (half a page is best) and provide photos showing your organisation in action.
  
  
• If funding is received, it is prudent to promptly provide Kiwi Gaming Foundation with all the grant audit and accountability documentation requested.  If an organisation obtains a reputation for being tardy with their accountability documents, it is less likely to obtain future funding.  Kiwi Gaming Foundation should be promptly supplied with an invoice for the item purchased, evidence of payment, a bank statement showing the payment going out, and a photo of the item or event.  Any money not spent on the specific items requested must be promptly returned.

Authorised Purpose

Review our Authorised Purpose here: https://www.kiwigaming.org.nz/authorised-purpose.html

Prize Money

• Events run by primary, intermediate, and secondary schools are not automatically prohibited from receiving grant funding if they offer prize money.  The event will be eligible for funding if it advances education.  For example, a creative writing competition that offered $2,000.00 in cash prizes to secondary school students would be an event that advances education, and would be eligible for funding, despite the cash prizes offered.
  
  
• Events aimed at encouraging the general public (persons who are not already extremely fit and healthy) to participate in physical fitness are not automatically prohibited from receiving grant funding if they offer prize money.  The event will be eligible for funding if it promotes public health (a charitable purpose) by promoting physical fitness through amateur sport.  For example, a fun run with spot cash prizes would be an event that promotes public health via physical fitness and would be eligible for funding despite the cash spot prizes offered.
  
  
• Other events that offer prize money of no more than $150.00 per person are acceptable unless such events are held regularly, and one particular sportsperson is likely to regularly receive the major prize.  If one particular person does regularly receive cash prizes, enquiries will then be made to ascertain what costs the person incurs in participating in the sport.  Funding will only be made if the prize money received is less than the costs incurred.  However, as a general rule, if one individual is likely to receive more than $5,000.00 in cash prizes per annum, this will make the event unacceptable.

GST

• When a grant recipient is GST registered, a grant will only be made for the GST-exclusive component. 
  
  
• When a grant recipient is not GST registered, a grant may be made for the full GST-inclusive cost of the good or service. 

Audit Requirement

• Unless a later date has been agreed upon by Kiwi Gaming Foundation, the grant accountability documentation (including invoices and bank statements) must be provided to Kiwi Gaming Foundation within six months of the grant being made.
  
  
• As required by section 115A of the Gambling Act 2003, grant money may only be used by the grant recipient for the specific authorised purpose for which it was granted.  The grant recipient commits a criminal offence if section 115A is breached.
  
  
• If the funds are not spent for the specific purpose granted, Kiwi Gaming Foundation will request a refund.  If a funding surplus exists, the surplus must be returned to Kiwi Gaming Foundation.
• Where information is obtained by the net proceeds committee indicating that a grant recipient has received funding from other source(s) for the full amount needed for the purpose applied for, the net proceeds committee will use best endeavours to obtain a return of the money from the grant recipient.
  
  
• If the grant recipient has breached section 115A (failed to spend the funds on the specific purpose granted) and the money has not been returned, Kiwi Gaming Foundation will consider referring the matter to its solicitors for recovery action, and/or to the Police or the Department of Internal Affairs for prosecution.  Any other suspicion of fraud or potential criminal offending by a grant recipient will be notified to the Department of Internal Affairs.
  
  
• A random sample of grants will periodically be independently verified by Kiwi Gaming Foundation to ensure the funds have been spent as stated in the audit documentation.  The verification may include telephoning grant recipient suppliers, visiting grant recipients, reviewing social media, and reviewing photographs and other evidence supplied.
  
  
• The timeframes set out in this policy may be extended at Kiwi Gaming Foundation’s discretion.

Grant Forms

• Grants will not be approved unless the application is on Kiwi Gaming Foundation's grant application form.
  
  

Reasons

• Grant applicants will be provided with reasons for Kiwi Gaming Foundation’s decision if Kiwi Gaming Foundation decides to decline a grant application or not approve an application in full.

Complaints

• Complaints can be made to Kiwi Gaming Foundation’s Chairperson by writing to the Trust.
  
  
• Complaints about the conduct of Kiwi Gaming Foundation may also be made to the Secretary of the Department of Internal Affairs by post at  P O Box 10-095, Wellington or via email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Grant Commitments – Multi-Year Grants

Grants shall only be made from available net proceeds.  However, grants may be made by instalments in one or more years, if the following conditions are met: 

• the grant commitment must not exceed 4 years; and
• the grant applicant must be made aware, on or before the time that the first instalment of the grant is paid, that payment of any future instalments of the grant is conditional on –
  
  
  • Kiwi Gaming Foundation continuing to hold a licence; and
  • Kiwi Gaming Foundation continuing to have available net proceeds; and
  • the specific authorised purpose for which the grant was made continuing to be lawful; and
     
• each instalment of the grant must be re-confirmed by the net proceeds committee before payment; and
• the grant applicant must provide the net proceeds committee with documentary evidence that previous instalments of the grant have been spent for their intended purpose; and
• Kiwi Gaming Foundation must disclose the existence of multi-year grants it has entered into in its financial accounts and publish the details of its multi-year grants with its other grant information in a newspaper and on its website.

Subsequent instalments of multi year grants are made in principal, i.e. the existence of the future instalments is strictly conditional upon the above criteria being met.

Distribution Timing

• A substantial portion of the net proceeds received during a financial year will be distributed to the community for authorised purposes on at least a quarterly basis.
  
  
• All net proceeds received during a financial year will be distributed to the community for authorised purposes within three months following the end of that financial year.
  
  
• The above distribution requirements do not apply if funds are retained as expressly permitted under the regulations, for example funds that are authorised to be retained as part of a Covid-19 relief package or as working capital (regulation 11A).

Record Keeping and Website Publication 

• The following records will be kept in a database format and published on Kiwi Gaming Foundation’s website:

• the name of every organisation that has applied for funding;
• whether the grant has been accepted in full or declined in full;
• whether the grant has been accepted in part and declined in part;
• if the grant has been declined in full or in part, the reasons for that decision;
• the amount of the grant; and
• any “interest” that a net proceeds committee member has in relation to any successful grant applicant.

• The following additional records will be kept in various formats, but will not be published:

• the date that each grant is made (the date of the meeting/decision);
• the specific purpose of the grant;
• the cheque number or direct bank payment transaction details;
• grant request ID number; and
• the signatures of the persons approving the grant.

• A net proceeds committee member has an interest in a recipient of a grant if:

• the member may derive a financial benefit from the grant or may have a financial interest in the recipient; or
• the member is a part of the immediate family of the recipient; or
• where the recipient is an organisation, club, society, or association, the member is:
  • an officer or a member of the recipient; or
  • a part of the immediate family of an officer or a member of the recipient; or
  • the member is, or has been, the recipient’s lawyer or is under a professional obligation to the recipient in another professional capacity; or
  • the member is, or has been, employed by the recipient, or is, or has been, indebted to the recipient, or is, or has been, involved in business or financial dealings with the recipient; or
  • the member is otherwise connected to or involved with the recipient in a way that can reasonably be perceived as having influenced the decision to make the grant to the recipient.

    Part of the immediate family means a person who is the member’s

    • spouse, civil union partner, or de facto partner; or
    • parent, child, sister, or brother; or

    who is the parent, child, sister, or brother of the member’s spouse, civil union partner, or de facto partner.