Major Events Fund - 2025/2026

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Major Events Fund Guidelines

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Objectives

The Major Events Fund is an annual contestable fund that is designed to support the attraction, development and growth of events in Palmerston North. The objective of the Major Events Fund is to support Event Producers to deliver world class events that drive sustainable growth in domestic visitation and promote Palmerston North’s unique identity to a wider audience.

Council’s investment will be targeted with a specific focus on events that:

  • Promote domestic tourism and increase visitor nights, promoting longer stays and increased tourism activity, and generating visitation in the shoulder or low seasons;
  • Telling and showcasing Palmerston North’s unique story;
  • Generate positive media exposure for the region;
  • Generate opportunities to leverage the city's profile and/or create a long-term legacy for the city; and
  • Contribute to a diverse range of events across the region’s wider event landscape.

For help, contact Major Events at MEF@pncc.govt.nz or 06 356 8199.

Allocation

Council’s intention is to support a number of events during the year from the Major Events Fund. There will be events that have been committed to beyond the current financial year which will impact the fund’s investment level. A maximum of three (3) year’s funding from the Major Events Fund can be applied for in a single application.

The minimum application amount of funding to the Major Events Fund is $10,000 with a maximum amount of $30,000 per annum. Other financial support the event has already secured will be taken into account. Assessors will consider a range of factors when allocating funding levels including economic and social factors. They will also look to develop a well rounded calendar of funded events across the year and sectors of the event industry. Assessors may recommend a different level of funding support based on the factors above. 

Council may also provide in-kind support or allocate a leverage budget to maximise economic and social benefits through activations and/or increase marketing and profile of the event, and will be considered as part of the assessment process.

For more information, see the council's Support and Funding Policy https://www.pncc.govt.nz/Council/Official-documents/Policies/Support-and-funding-policy

Criteria for Applications

All applications and applicants to the Major Events Fund must align with the measurement framework and:

  • Contribute towards Palmerston North’s vision of being a creative and exciting city;
  • Cover all their own costs associated with the application and investment process (including preparation of their application, providing further information and access to referees, and negotiation of any investment agreement etc.);
  • Include sufficient information about the event, how the Major Events Fund investment will be used and the expected outcomes. Any undertakings, dependencies, assumptions or conditions must be clearly identified;
  • Nominate a contact person within their organisation for purposes of the application, and applicants must only engage with Council in respect of the application via Council’s nominated contact person(s); 
  • The assessment will also consider the event viability including organiser capability, growth potential/ plans, and marketing activity.
  • All successful recipients will be required to provide economic impact reporting at the conclusion of their event.

Event Eligibility

To be eligible to apply for funding from the Major Events Fund, the Event and/or Event Producer(s) must meet the following criteria:

  • Be held within Palmerston North (consideration will be given to events within the wider
    Manawatū region by exception);
  • Drive visitation/media exposure from outside of the city;
  • Demonstrate sustainable environmental practices in the organisation and staging of the Event;
  • Evidence opportunities provided to use local talent and community groups to develop their skills;
  • Be a public facing event (and not a trade show or convention);
  • Planning, management, and delivery of the Event is in a finalised stage;
  • The Event Producer must be a legal entity such as a trust, company or incorporated society, and must be able to provide evidence of this status if requested;
  • Not receive funding from another Council funding programme ;
  • The Event/Event Producer must fully declare any additional funding, grant or koha/donation for the event;
  • The applicants must comply with all event regulatory and statutory requirements in relation to the preparation and delivery of the event, including obtaining all necessary permits and consents through the relevant parties.

Funding Exclusions

One of the items of supporting documentation requested is an Event Budget. Applicants must indicate how the Major Events Fund investment will be used to fund specific components of the budget, or to help offset the overall cost.

Some types of events and event related costs are not eligible for funding through this fund. These include:

  • Private functions where the public is unreasonably restricted from attending
  • Trade shows or conventions;
  • Applications that are incomplete or fail to meet the fund requirements;
  • Private functions, lunches or dinners;
  • Political events;
  • Events that promote religious, ministry or political purposes;
  • Events that present a hazard to the community or pose a significant risk to the public or to Council;
  • Events that are primarily a fundraiser for the organiser or aligned charity;
  • If you have had approved event funding or grants for any other areas of the event from Council (e.g. Sports Event Partnership Fund);
  • Events that have breached previous funding agreements with Council including post-event reporting criteria;
  • Insurances and legal costs;
  • Capital or equipment costs;
  • Prize money or awards;
  • Full-time or permanent employment.

Event Benefits

Successful applicants will be required to enter into a Funding Agreement with Council. The Funding Agreement sets out the key terms of the funding, capture how the event will deliver on the agreed outcomes, and provide full accountabilities for allocation of the Major Events funding (including reporting and audit).

A key term of the Funding Agreement with Council is the Event Producer’s obligation to provide of event benefits (leverage) to Council. The event benefits include:

  • Brand exposure in all promotional material and event publicity;
  • Opportunities for public appearances by key figures associated with the Major Event (e.g. drivers, team captain, “star” players/performers) in Palmerston North preferably at Council delivered events if timetabling allows (e.g. autograph signing sessions);
  • Opportunities for workshops, coaching or behind the scenes exclusive experiences designed to engage, inspire and or educate the Event's target audience of Palmerston North region pre-event;
  • Where applicable, provision of event ticket giveaways for co-promoted Social Media Competitions
  • Where applicable, provision of signed pieces of memorabilia:
  • Provision for access to the event database/target audience for Council promotions;
  • Provision of event ticketing insights and crowd data post event as part of the Post Event Report; and
  • Provision of access to post event media e.g. videos and photos for promotional use

Support Priorities

Event proposals that demonstrate all of these factors:

• contribution to outcomes achieve goal 1 and 2 of Council’s strategic direction;
• promotion of domestic tourism and increases visitor nights (i.e. promoting longer stays and increased tourism activity, and generating visitation in the shoulder or low seasons);
• showcase of Palmerston North’s unique story;
• generate positive media exposure for the region;

In addition to the above factors, proposals will receive a higher weighting if the initiative demonstrates either:
• the ability to generate opportunities to leverage the city’s profile and/or create long-term legacy for the city;
• contribution to a diverse range of events across the region’s wider event landscape of both demographic or timing; or
• contribution to outcomes that achieve goal 3 and/or 4 of Council’s strategic direction.

Terms and Conditions

1.0         Definitions

1.1        Definitions: In this agreement, unless the context otherwise requires:

1.2        Applicant means the person, persons, or entity applying for funding from Council, and may also be referred to as the Event Producer.

1.3        Council means Palmerston North City Council.

1.4        Funding Agreement means the contract entered into with the Applicant detailing the agreement between Council and the Applicant.

1.5        Major Events Portfolio means the aggregate of the events that Council considers to be a major event.

1.6        MEF means the Major Events Fund that Council oversees and allocates subject to these terms and conditions and the terms and conditions in the Funding Agreement.

2.0         Funding

2.1        Council maintains and runs the MEF in its sole discretion.

2.2        The Council Major Events funding is capped. Council is not obligated to grant the entirety of the MEF in any year nor carry over unallocated amounts to future years.

2.3        The MEF is for funding events only and cannot be used for funding any conventions, conferences, trade shows or similar.

2.4        These Terms and Conditions will also form part and be included as part of the Terms and Conditions of the Investment Agreement entered into with the successful applicant.

3.0         Application process

3.1        The application submitted by an Applicant must be online through the Smarty Grants portal. Applications submitted outside of Smarty Grants may be rejected.

3.2        Each applicant must disclose all matters likely to be material to Council's consideration of its application or which might have a bearing on the outcomes to be delivered from the funding.

3.3        Council at its sole discretion, reserves the right to:

3.3.1         Change the criteria, parameters, date, timeline, or any other aspect of the Funding Application or  decision-making application process and waive any application requirements;

3.3.2         Reject any application;

3.3.3         Require applicants to supply additional information;

3.3.4         Suspend or cancel the funding process in whole or in part;

3.3.5         Impose conditions on the approval or payment of Council's funding (i.e. a requirement to successfully obtain a level of private funding or generate a certain number of entries for an event);

3.3.6         Engage a third party to audit the applicant’s financial statements;

3.3.7         Seek independent advice and/or crossreference any information provided by the Applicant.

3.3.8         Council may carry out due diligence in respect of an application. This may include due diligence on Applicants, organisations, or personnel involved. It may extend to financial due diligence and relevant track records either as part of the application assessment process or as part of any subsequent contract negotiation. By making an application, the Applicant consents to Council making due enquiries with third parties in this regard and agrees to provide access to referees where requested by Council.

3.4        Council will inform an Applicant of the success (or otherwise) of an application.

3.5        Council is not obliged to grant all or a certain percentage of the full amount sought in the application. Acceptance of an Application also does not mean the Applicant is entitled to the full amount applied for or can expect to receive a specificed amount or percentage. Council will inform the Applicant of the level of funding it is prepared to contribute which will be outlined in the Funding Agreement.

3.6        No decision is binding on Council until the Funding Agreement between Council and the Applicant is agreed and the parties have signed and executed the agreement.

3.7        As part of the application, the Applicant should provide an integrated marketing plan focussing on event and destination promotion including cross-promotion of other Council events where possible which the Applicant can work in conjunction with Council to develop and optimise if successful.

3.8        The Applicant warrants that all information provided in relation to its application is true and correct in all material respects, at all times, and is not misleading whether by omission or otherwise. If circumstances or information changes after making an application,the Applicant must immediately notify Council.

4.0         Privacy

4.1        Council is committed to the Applicants privacy and will comply with applicable privacy laws, including the Privacy Act 1993, to the extent possible when sharing the Applicant’s information with third parties in connection with all aspects of the application process. The Applicant acknowledges that their data may be shared for the purpose of evaluating their application.

4.2        Council may share details contained in any application with Elected Members and consult with them on any application for funding.

4.3        Council may publish or publicly release information in relation to the MEF and specifically in relation to the funding amounts requested.

4.4        Council is governed by the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987. Council is committed to being transparent about its activities and its major events fundings and as such may publish funding and ratepayer contribution to events. Further, Council may publicly disclose its financial and other involvement in and/or contribution to any/all events in Council's Major Events Portfolio at its sole discretion.   

4.5        By submitting an application, the Applicant acknowledges that the information in their application may be disclosed publically, or to a third party, and agrees to the disclosure of such information.

5.0         Termination

5.1        Council may terminate its consideration of, or reject, an application at any time prior to an Funding Agreement being signed and executed.

5.2        Council is not required to give a reason where it terminates or rejects an application.

6.0         Conflicts and disclosure

6.1        The applicant should detail any actual or potential conflict of interest (including anything which might have the appearance of a conflict of interest) which could compromise the decision on the application or bring the process into disrepute. For example, the applicant should identify any situation where a person involved with the event has a connection with someone who is an elected representative, serving on the board of, is a contract provider to, or working within Council or any CCO. Failure to disclose a conflict will result in immediate termination of an application or Funding Agreement.

6.2        All Applicants must disclose to Council any other funding sources, including any sources where the Applicant has lodged an application for funding and whether or not that funding has been confirmed. Further the Applicant must disclose any corporate or commercial sponsorship arrangements irrespective of whether the sponsorship arrangement includes direct funding or in-kind support.

6.3        Applicants must not directly or indirectly seek to influence Council's funding decisions in any improper or unethical manner (or in any way which might have the appearance of being so), nor attempt to solicit or garner non-public information from Council which might give an unfair advantage in the application process.

7.0         General

7.1        Confidentiality: Except as required by law, and subject to these terms and conditions, both parties shall preserve as confidential any information of a confidential nature that they acquire in relation to the other.

7.2        Dispute resolution: Should a dispute arise in relation to the interpretation of these terms and conditions the Applicant must notify Council in writing, detailing the problem. Council will determine whether there is any dispute to resolve and will inform the Applicant of its decision in writing, and if there is a dispute to resolve, then the process that will be followed.

7.3        Severability: If any part of these terms and conditions is held by any court to be illegal, void or unenforceable, such determination shall not impair the enforceability of the remaining parts of these terms and conditions.

7.4        Jurisdiction: These terms and conditions are governed by the laws of New Zealand and the parties submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the New Zealand courts.

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