Youth Reps for our Funding Committees

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Applications have now closed 

Are you a young person keen to help make funding decisions for community and arts projects in your city?

We are looking for two passionate young people* to join the Invercargill City Council's Community Wellbeing Fund and Creative Communities Fund Committees as youth representatives. This is a voluntary role for a 3-year term.

The main role of a fund committee member is to assess community project applications and decide how to allocate funds to viable activities that support wellbeing and the arts across the local community.

Ideal skills that you would bring to the committee would be:

  • Experience in a governance-type role or willingness to learn
  • Involvement in the local community or arts sector
  • Understanding of a formal meeting process including Agendas and Minutes
  • Strong sense of confidentiality - as sensitive information is often shared
  • Confident reading ability - as there are often large agendas requiring a few hours of reading time

This is a great opportunity to learn new skills, take part in decision making and contribute to your community.

Read more about each fund below:


Community Wellbeing Fund

The Community Wellbeing Fund's goal is to support social, cultural, environmental and economic wellbeing as well as Council’s vision to create “Our City with Heart – He Ngākau Aroha”. Find out more here: Invercargill Community Wellbeing Fund Page.

The current Committee members include 5 Councillors: Trish Boyle (Chair), Alex Crackett, Peter Kett, Ria Bond and Steve Broad; and 3 Community Representatives: Meggy Bartlett-McBride, Nathan Burdon and Andrea de Vries. The committee distributes over $500,000 a year and meets once every 2 months, on a Thursday afternoon in March, May, July, September and November.

“I have found it such a privilege to serve on this committee over the past two years and I am grateful to have taken away learnings from each and every one of the members. Their passion, leadership, knowledge, and commitment to the community inside and outside of the council building is inspiring and I look up to them all. Thank you to the committee for the impactful experience and opportunity they have provided.” - Paris Smith - Former Youth Representative on the Community Wellbeing Fund Subcommittee


Creative Communities Fund

The Invercargill Creative Communities Scheme supports projects in Invercargill across a multitude of arts sectors. The fund issues close to $50,000 worth of grants to successful applicants each year, across four funding rounds. See this website for more Invercargill Creative Communities Page.

This is a great opportunity to connect with a range of artists in the areas of Music, Film, Theatre, Dance, Ngā Toi Māori (whakairo/carving, peitatanga/painting and raranga /weaving), Pacific Arts, Photography, Painting, Printmaking, Fibre Arts, Sculpture, Literature, Craft and more! You will learn about exciting upcoming projects and keep your finger on the pulse in the local arts community.

The current committee is made up of members with experience in an artform or an active interest in the arts and includes Councillors Darren Ludlow and Trish Boyle, along with mana whenua representative Evelyn Cook, and community reps David Pottinger, Astrid Lewis and Karl Herman. The committee meet once every 3 months, on a Thursday afternoon in February, May, August, and November.

“I love all seeing these creative ideas come through and how much talent that we have down south. There's nothing better than you opening the paper or looking on social media and you can see an ad for a project that you can attend and say we funded that, we made that happen. The committee are well-placed to teach a young person about various things about local governance as well.” - Liam Calder - Current Chair and Youth Representative on the Invercargill Creative Communities Fund Committee


To apply to be a youth rep on either or both of the fund committees, please fill in the application form via the link below. Applications will be assessed by a recruitment subcommittee, made up of current fund committee members and we will have an outcome for you by the end of the year.

For more information please email Gemma at wellbeing@icc.govt.nz or creative@icc.govt.nz or phone 03 211 1798

Applications for the Youth Representative positions close on Sunday 3 November 2024.

* a young person is someone aged between 12 and 24 years old

Are you a young person keen to help make funding decisions for community and arts projects in your city?

We are looking for two passionate young people* to join the Invercargill City Council's Community Wellbeing Fund and Creative Communities Fund Committees as youth representatives. This is a voluntary role for a 3-year term.

The main role of a fund committee member is to assess community project applications and decide how to allocate funds to viable activities that support wellbeing and the arts across the local community.

Ideal skills that you would bring to the committee would be:

  • Experience in a governance-type role or willingness to learn
  • Involvement in the local community or arts sector
  • Understanding of a formal meeting process including Agendas and Minutes
  • Strong sense of confidentiality - as sensitive information is often shared
  • Confident reading ability - as there are often large agendas requiring a few hours of reading time

This is a great opportunity to learn new skills, take part in decision making and contribute to your community.

Read more about each fund below:


Community Wellbeing Fund

The Community Wellbeing Fund's goal is to support social, cultural, environmental and economic wellbeing as well as Council’s vision to create “Our City with Heart – He Ngākau Aroha”. Find out more here: Invercargill Community Wellbeing Fund Page.

The current Committee members include 5 Councillors: Trish Boyle (Chair), Alex Crackett, Peter Kett, Ria Bond and Steve Broad; and 3 Community Representatives: Meggy Bartlett-McBride, Nathan Burdon and Andrea de Vries. The committee distributes over $500,000 a year and meets once every 2 months, on a Thursday afternoon in March, May, July, September and November.

“I have found it such a privilege to serve on this committee over the past two years and I am grateful to have taken away learnings from each and every one of the members. Their passion, leadership, knowledge, and commitment to the community inside and outside of the council building is inspiring and I look up to them all. Thank you to the committee for the impactful experience and opportunity they have provided.” - Paris Smith - Former Youth Representative on the Community Wellbeing Fund Subcommittee


Creative Communities Fund

The Invercargill Creative Communities Scheme supports projects in Invercargill across a multitude of arts sectors. The fund issues close to $50,000 worth of grants to successful applicants each year, across four funding rounds. See this website for more Invercargill Creative Communities Page.

This is a great opportunity to connect with a range of artists in the areas of Music, Film, Theatre, Dance, Ngā Toi Māori (whakairo/carving, peitatanga/painting and raranga /weaving), Pacific Arts, Photography, Painting, Printmaking, Fibre Arts, Sculpture, Literature, Craft and more! You will learn about exciting upcoming projects and keep your finger on the pulse in the local arts community.

The current committee is made up of members with experience in an artform or an active interest in the arts and includes Councillors Darren Ludlow and Trish Boyle, along with mana whenua representative Evelyn Cook, and community reps David Pottinger, Astrid Lewis and Karl Herman. The committee meet once every 3 months, on a Thursday afternoon in February, May, August, and November.

“I love all seeing these creative ideas come through and how much talent that we have down south. There's nothing better than you opening the paper or looking on social media and you can see an ad for a project that you can attend and say we funded that, we made that happen. The committee are well-placed to teach a young person about various things about local governance as well.” - Liam Calder - Current Chair and Youth Representative on the Invercargill Creative Communities Fund Committee


To apply to be a youth rep on either or both of the fund committees, please fill in the application form via the link below. Applications will be assessed by a recruitment subcommittee, made up of current fund committee members and we will have an outcome for you by the end of the year.

For more information please email Gemma at wellbeing@icc.govt.nz or creative@icc.govt.nz or phone 03 211 1798

Applications for the Youth Representative positions close on Sunday 3 November 2024.

* a young person is someone aged between 12 and 24 years old