Applications are now open for round one of the Chinese Poll Tax Heritage Trust Fund. Applications close 28 September 2022 with a decision being made by 9 November 2022.
Applications for round two will be open in February 2023.
The Trust provides funding to individuals and not-for-profit organisations. Branches of not-for-profit organisations with a national body may also apply independently.
Applicants are not required to be Chinese or descendants of early settlers. The Trustees encourage members of the Chinese poll tax descendant community and members of the wider community to seek funding from the Trust for suitable projects.
Ngā kaupapa ka tautokona ā-pūtea / What we fund
The Trust promotes, but does not limit itself to, funding:
- learning and use of the Cantonese language
- awareness and understanding of the history of Chinese communities in New Zealand
- the recording and preserving of Chinese New Zealand history
- greater public understanding of ethnic diversity with particular emphasis on the contributions of Chinese New Zealanders
- Chinese arts and culture (including Chinese New Zealand creative and cultural expression).
Requests for funding must have:
- a budget outlining the costs of the project
- goals and deliverables that are clearly linked to the aims of the Chinese Poll Tax Heritage Trust
- endorsement from a reputable organisation within the Chinese poll tax descendant community
- evidence that proposal and the organisation you belong to is not-for-profit
- a letter of support from a referee who can verify the community benefits of your project
- a declaration of any other funding that has been provided for your project
If funding of more than $5,000 is sought, applications will need to show:
- evidence of the financial and technical viability of the proposal
- that funding sought is not the responsibility of central or local government
- that the proposal does not seek funding for things already funded by central or local government through other channels
- evidence of other fundraising activities – larger projects need to show support from other sources.
If seeking more than $50,000 a copy of a feasibility study or a business or strategic plan must be provided.
Ngā kaupapa kāore e tautokona ā-pūtea / What we don’t fund
The Trust does not fund requests that are:
- to repay debt or loans
- made retrospectively for projects or part of projects that have been completed
- seeking to promote commercial, political or religious objectives.
Ngā kaupapa matua / Priorities
The Trust’s current priorities for funding are requests for the following projects:
- histories of Chinese restaurants and takeaway shops (Chinese cuisine or otherwise)
- New Zealand Chinese Association Branch histories
- histories of Chinese wives and mothers pre 1970’s
- restoration of gravestones (where there are no surviving family members to take on this role)
- commemoration of poll tax payers.
Histories can be from a regional or national perspective.
Requests for projects of this type are not guaranteed funding and must meet the same requirements as any other request to the Trust.
More information can be found here.