Grants

InternetNZ | Ipurangi Aotearoa provides contestable funding to support community-led initiatives that work towards digital equity and a safer, more positive Internet.

You can sign up to receive notifications of when our grant funding applications are open.  

Applications open:

You can apply for up to $10,000 per initiative.

Purpose of this fund:

To contribute towards the accessibility of websites. This grant will help charities and Māori organisations to make their websites more accessible.

What can this funding be used for?

Applications that seek to ensure a new or existing website is accessible in line with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1. That means aligning with the principles of being perceivable, operable, understandable and robust.

This could include:

• • making sure colour contrast between text and the background meets minimum requirements
  • ensuring that hyperlink names are meaningful
  • including appropriate alternative text for all non-text content
  • ensuring there is a language element on each page
  • including captioning and transcripts for multimedia
  • making accessible forms and organisational documentation such as annual reports
  • training the team to make these changes or paying someone external to do them.

Applications that seek to translate content to better serve the intended community, for example:

• • • where there is a need for your content to be accessible in different languages or Easy Read format.

Priority will be given to applications by:

• charitable organisations that are disability-led and serve disabled people | tangata whaikaha
• whakapapa Māori organisations.

You won’t be eligible for funding if you are:

• a for profit organisation or business
• an individual
• a government entity
• working on social media content
• working on an app.

Application process:

Simply apply online via this application form

Applications open: 14 November 2023

Applications close: 15 December 2023. 

You will need to provide the following information:

• background about your organisation and its purpose
• identify what you will do to ensure web accessibility, what elements of your website need to be upgraded or how accessibility will be built into your new website
• identify who will do this work and what qualifies them to do it
• how you will prove the website is fully accessible upon completion
• timeframes and a budget, including quotes for anything over $2,000.

We understand that $10,000 may only be a contribution, and may not go all the way towards making your website accessible. This funding can be used alongside other funding sources. When you start drafting your application, consider what accessibility measures will make the most difference to your community or audience and the content you provide.

If you have any questions or need help, get in touch with our team by emailing funding@internetnz.net.nz. 

Here at InternetNZ, we are committed to ensuring we meet accessibility standards, and we know we have mahi to do. We will be commissioning experts to do an accessibility audit of our online channels. This will give us a good indication of what we are doing right and where and how we can improve.  

Assessment criteria 

This is a contestable grant fund. Applications are internally assessed with approval by the Kaiwhakahaere ā Hāpori / Community Engagement Manager. All decisions are final.

Assessment is based on:

Alignment with purpose

• Applicant has outlined an initiative that will increase the accessibility of their website or ensure accessibility of a new website.

Potential benefit

• Applicant has indicated that the work will be done with, by, and for the community it will benefit
• Web accessibility will mean the applicant’s organisation can better serve the community and create public impact.

Likelihood of success

• Applicant has provided a clear plan, including what accessibility measures are required, costs and timeframes
• Applicant has identified a disability-led provider to carry out the work and what credentials they have to ensure the final product is fully accessible.

Purpose of this fund:

The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet | Te Tari o te Pirimia me te Komiti Matua has partnered with InternetNZ | Ipurangi Aotearoa to establish a one-off fund. The purpose of this fund is to support efforts by the community to build resilience against the harms of disinformation in Aotearoa. The fund will support initiatives to develop domestic expertise and capability and initiatives for education and community outreach.

Along with administrative support and collaboration sessions, we have $750,000 available to give out in grants towards initiatives, outreach activities and educational resources. The grants will go to initiatives that ensure public trust and confidence and demonstrate principles of transparency and a commitment to human rights, including protecting freedom of expression. 

The fund will have two aims:

• Developing domestic expertise and capability: This is for existing and new initiatives to build capability and capacity, and strengthen collaboration for counter-disinformation efforts in Aotearoa, drawing on international best practice where appropriate to our context.
• Supporting education and community outreach: This is for existing and new community-based initiatives to support the development of accurate, audience-appropriate, engaging resource material. This material should help to build critical thinking skills, and digital and media literacy among a broad range of affected New Zealand communities.

Priority

Priority will be given to applications from communities in Aotearoa who are particularly impacted by disinformation narratives, or groups working to support these communities, including:

• Tangata whēnua and kaupapa Māori groups
• Members of Pasifika communities
• The rainbow community and gender minorities
• Recent migrants and former refugees
• Disabled people | Tangata Whaikaha 
• Faith-based communities
• Older people (65+)

Applications

Due to an overwhelming number of interest so far, we are no longer receiving applications for this fund. We want to ensure that everyone who has shown interest has the time and support to work through their application with us. If you have any questions about this, you can email us at funding@internetnz.net.nz

We had planned to run a webinar early in October to talk more about this funding, and answer any questions about how to apply and what information you need to provide. Due to low interest in the group webinar, it was cancelled, and instead, we spoke directly with each of our applicants.

Eligibility criteria  – what can the funding be used for?

• development of resource materials
• delivery of educational programmes including venue hire, koha and kai 
• operational costs, within delivery of initiatives, for organisation whose kaupapa aligns.

Who and what is excluded?

• website or app development not related to the development of resource material for the initiative or tech systems upgrades
• research, monitoring or analysis of the online information ecosystem in Aotearoa, and the impacts of disinformation 
• initiatives that counter and build resilience to violent extremism and radicalisation (there is another fund available for this purpose, find out more here)
• proposals that require multi-year, long term, recurring funding  —  initiatives should be delivered in the specified time period (from 12 September 2023 to 31 August 2024).

Assessment criteria

Alignment with purpose

• applicant has explained how the initiative aligns with the funding purpose of building resilience to the harms of disinformation in Aotearoa
• applicant has identified relevant community engagement and how this will be tailored to effectively engage and benefit the intended group. 

Potential benefit of the initiative

• applicant has given an indication of the expected outcomes and the impact of those outcomes
• applicant has identified the benefits to the intended communities
• applicant has given an indication of who and how many people would benefit from this initiative
• applicant has identified any opportunities for sustainability, ongoing commitments and viability if any.

Likelihood of success of the initiative

• applicant has shown a clear plan for how this initiative will unfold, grounded in international best practice, a theoretical framework or its relationship to existing mahi
• applicant has outlined their approach and management of any ethical considerations or risk factors
• applicant has provided evidence of the commitment of others, ie. existing relationship and buy-in from involved/affected communities
• applicant has provided evidence of relevant experience or expertise of those involved in implementing the initiative.

Successful initiatives of the one-off fund to build resilience to disinformation (phase 1)

We’re delighted to share the initiatives that have been awarded funding for Phase 1