Frozen Funds Charitable Trust
2025 Grant Round
IMPORTANT: Please read the information below to assist you in completing your application online. Applicants should carefully consider the criteria, which may be varied from time to time.
In the 1970s and 1980s New Zealand hospitals managed funds for the benefit of patients. Various hospitals developed a practice whereby they retained the interest income on the patients’ funds for the general benefit of all patients. This practice was stopped in the late 1980s and the accumulated income was "frozen". A process was implemented to return interest income to patients where they could be identified. Following further Health reforms, the Government determined that the remaining "frozen funds" which could not be attributed to specific patients’ should be held on trust to assist people in New Zealand who use mental health or intellectual disability services (including current and former patients of mental institutions and inpatients). The Trust provides grants to support specific purposes as outlined in the grant round circular. For the circular in Maori please click here.
Applications are open until 5pm on 11 July 2025
Who is eligible? Charitable organisations, or individuals or groups without charitable status. However individuals or groups without charitable status must apply through a charitable organisation that has agreed to run and administer the funds on their behalf.
Applications must;
The Trust will accept more than one application per organisation, individual or group, however only one will be funded if successful.
How much funding is available? Grants will be for a maximum of $10,000.
New annual grant - Sir Robert Martin leadership grant
This grant honours the contribution of Sir Robert Martin, a disability rights activist who promoted the self-advocacy movement internationally and was a member of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities from 2017 until his death in 2024.
Sir Robert Martin was also a member of the Frozen Funds board from 2007 until 2021.
This grant is to be awarded to a charitable organisation to support an individual or individuals with learning disability in self-advocacy work. Charitable organisations are encouraged to apply on behalf of the person/persons with learning disability they wish to support. The grant purpose could include (but is not limited to):
One grant in the amount of $10,000 will be awarded to the successful organisation.
As this is a new annual grant offering, we welcome any applications/ideas that would advance the rights of people with learning disability, in the spirit of the work that Sir Robert Martin was known for.
Read more about Sir Robert Martin's life and work here.
How are decisions made? All grant applications are considered by the Frozen Funds board members. It is important that all details on the application form are concise and easy to read. Decisions relating to grant applications are made on the information provided in the application and other general enquiries. Application forms that are not completed in full will not be accepted. The board members may approve a grant subject to certain conditions. In such circumstances, the funds will normally be held by the Trustee until the conditions have been met. The decision is final and no further discussion will be entertained.
In what circumstances will an application not be considered?
Important dates:
Late applications will not be accepted.
Contact us: Any questions should be addressed to Public Trust Charities Team by email to funding@publictrust.co.nz
How to apply
Step 1: Determine eligibility
Step 2: Register or login to apply online
First time users will need to register.
Hint: you will need an email address to register. If your organisation has a ‘generic’ email (e.g. info@organisation.org) using this may allow other staff members to use the same login in future (as long as they know the password).
Your login can be used for any trust managed by Public Trust granting via SmartyGrants and can be used in future grant rounds.
Note: Please store your login details in a safe place for future reference.
Once registered, you can login to the system and start your application.
Step 3: Complete your application
The application is best viewed/completed on a non-mobile device.
Complete all of the required questions – mandatory questions are marked with an*.
Attach all required supporting documents.
Note: Our preferred format for attachments is PDF, Excel, Word or JPG. Supporting materials cannot exceed 25MB in size, as files exceeding this will not upload.
Hint: Save your work regularly so it is not lost if time-out or loss of internet connection occurs.
You can save your application at any stage and return to it later.
Make sure the spell checker is switched on in your browser to prevent spelling errors.
Step 4: Review and submit your application
When you are satisfied with your application press the review button to ensure that all required sections of the application have been completed (you must do this before the submit button is enabled).
Submit your application.
Note: Once you have submitted your application no further editing or uploading of supporting documents is possible.
Step 5: What happens next?
You will receive an automated email confirming your submission with a copy of your application attached and information about how and when your application will be assessed. This will be sent to the email you used to register.
If you do not receive a confirmation email then your application has not been successfully submitted (don’t forget to check your spam email folder when looking for the email).
We will contact you if we require any further information to consider your application.
We will contact you after the board meeting to advise if your application was either successful or unsuccessful.
If you need more help using this form, download the help guide for applicants or check out applicant frequently asked questions (FAQ's)
If you have any technical difficulties using the online SmartyGrants portal email service@smartygrants.com.au
