Funds on offer for groups offering alternative education opportunities

Local agencies and organisations involved in supporting the district’s youth may be eligible for a helping hand courtesy of the Bay of Plenty Education Trust.

Up to $60,000 is available this year to such Bay of Plenty organisations offering alternative education opportunities, thanks to the Trust’s supplementary grants, which were introduced in 2021.

Applications can be submitted to the Trust up until May 9 by email to tom@inghammora.co.nz.

The Trust is already known primarily for its annual education scholarships and community trade training schemes that benefit youth in the coastal BOP from Katikati to Opotiki. The supplementary grants are an expansion of that desire to help young people, says the Trust’s chairperson Nick Earl.

“The supplementary grants, which are shared annually among a number of organisations, are benefiting an increasing range of projects,” Nick says.

An early recipient was ICONZ – an organisation focused on building resilience, self-worth and self-belief in young people, as well as a better attitude toward school, life, learning and school attendance. Other successful applicants have included, for example, the Graeme Dingle Foundation, the Youth Encounter Programme, Blue Light Ventures, House of Science (both Tauranga and Whakatane), and Edge BBNZ. Through those organisations, the Trust's support translates into science kits, dirt bike group therapy, a life skills programme, and an innovative woodworking initiative, to name but some.

Nick says the Trust is always open to considering other agencies and organisations to support, whether by way of sponsorship or in partnership with other parties and he urges people to apply.

While the Trust’s academic scholarships (involving about $115,000 in funding annually) benefit those heading off to begin tertiary education, the Trust recognises that not all students choose to advance their education through tertiary studies. 

“We are lucky to live in New Zealand, where our school leavers have the opportunity to choose from hundreds of different vocations and they have access to multiple courses and programmes to advance their education in doing so. Tertiary studies are not the only option,” Nick says.

He says successful supplementary grant applicants are most often involved in empowering students to overcome life’s obstacles and teaching them tools to build resilience and improve themselves.

“We love programmes that help broaden horizons and fuel aspiration in people. We are firm believers that with hard work, sacrifice and dedication, anyone can set and achieve realistic goals in life,” Nick says.

To find out more, see the Trust’s website at https://bopeducationtrust.org.nz/apply-grant