Lottery Minister's Discretionary Fund

The Lottery Minister's Discretionary Fund provides one-off grants to not-for-profit organisations for projects that fall outside the scope of other Lottery Grants Board distribution committees. The fund does not support business-as-usual activities. The Lottery Grants Board provides funding for natural disaster emergencies recovery through this fund. The fund has three priority areas: volunteer firefighting and emergency ambulance services projects, animal welfare projects, and learning and development projects (particularly financial planning and good governance training with an emphasis on children's organisations). These priority areas are not covered by other Lottery funds. Organisations must demonstrate how their grant will benefit the New Zealand community and achieve measurable outcomes. The fund may support costs for trainers, venue and equipment, catering, and event promotion for learning and development projects. For emergency services, organisations must provide evidence that funding is not available from Fire and Emergency New Zealand or existing government contracts. The fund does not support vehicles for emergency ambulance services, on-road vehicles for volunteer firefighting, permanent residential housing, gambling services, sporting projects, arts projects, debt repayment, political or commercial objectives, fundraisers, overseas aid, alcohol and drug treatment services, or retrospective funding. Overseas travel is unlikely to be funded.