George Brown 2025 Grant Round

Submissions closed at 5:00PM 28 February 2025 (NZDT).

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.

The George Brown Trust was established in 1934 by the Will of the late George Brown, a retired jeweller of Nelson. Public Trust administers the trust as Trustee. The purpose of the grant you are applying for must be clearly linked to the objective of the Trust including the restriction to Nelson city residents. 

Applications are open until 5pm on 28 February 2025

Who is eligible? Applications are open to organisations (registered with Charities Services or an incorporated society) or a school, based or providing services within the area of the Nelson City.

Organisations must have purposes or projects that are directed towards aiding people who are poor, in need, or suffering genuine hardship and provide relief for those people and their dependents. This includes anyone who does not have access to the normal things in life that most people take for granted.

Individuals, sports organisations and service clubs are not eligible to apply to the Trust and the Trust does not fund overseas projects.

How much funding is available? For the purposes of maintenance, support or benefit of persons of good character and repute resident in the area, who are in indigent circumstances and unable to adequately maintain and support themselves and their dependents. The minimum you can apply for is $3,000 and the maximum you can apply for is $10,000.

How are decisions made? All grant applications are considered by the Trustee. The Trustee’s decision is final. No further communications will be entered into. This includes providing applicants with the reason why they have been unsuccessful, justifying why an application was successful or reconsidering an application.

A grant may be approved subject to certain conditions, in such circumstances the funds will normally be held by the Trustee until the conditions have been met. 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. 

In what circumstances will an application not be considered?

  • Incomplete or late applications
  • Retrospective funding
  • Accountability requirements from 2024 - any applicant who received funding in 2024 that has not uploaded a receipt for the grant to the 'Smarty Grants' database will not be considered in the 2025 grant round. (Or who has not made alternative arrangements with the Trustee in this respect.)
  • Applications from individuals, sports organisations and service clubs
  • Applications requesting funding for overseas projects
  • Applications not based in or supporting people within the Trust funding region

A condition of any grant made is that it be identified as a “Public Trust – George Brown Charitable Trust” in your accounts for the financial year in which the grant is received.  

Important dates

  • Applications are open from 9am on 3 February 2025 to 5pm on 28 February 2025.
  • Applicants will be advised of the outcome by 30 April 2025.

Late applications will not be accepted.

Contact us: Any questions should be directed to Public Trust Charities by email to funding@publictrust.co.nz or by phone on 0800 371 471.

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 (Full Applications only).

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 you time out or lose your connection.

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/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.

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