Regional Culture and Heritage Fund

September 2023 update

Round 8 of the Regional Culture and Heritage Fund (RCHF) closed on 30 June 2023.

Subject to the calibre of applications, up to $13 million was available to support construction projects at public performing arts venues, galleries, museums, whare taonga, and heritage properties housing important collections.

The successful Round 8 recipients were announced in a 15 September 2023 Regional culture and heritage fund provides $16.5m for South Island cultural institutions media release.

Keeping up to date

Interested parties can ask to be registered on the RCHF alerts database by emailing us at [email protected]. Please include a phone number and a brief description of your project.

Overview of the RCHF

RCHF is a contestable fund of last resort. Its purpose is to assist communities to meet genuine fundraising shortfalls for a range of capital construction projects at public: performing arts venues; museums; galleries; iwi museums/whare taonga; and/or heritage buildings housing significant collections.

Timing

RCHF grant rounds are usually held once per year but the timing and frequency of rounds can vary.

Level of funding available

The RCHF has limited resources which vary annually so it is always focussed towards genuine shortfalls that are typically no more than the last third of a qualifying project’s cost. Strong applications demonstrate the efforts already made to fund a Project in its entirety from within communities and sources like Lotteries and philanthropy before applying to the RCHF. Most rounds are oversubscribed so projects should not be developed on the assumption that RCHF funding can and will be made available.

Examples of projects that may be considered

Projects might be for new buildings or extensions for growing entities; involve seismic strengthening or modernisation of existing buildings and their plant; involve energy and resource efficiency projects as part of a sustainability upgrade; to improve health, safety, and security while also improving accessibility. Strong applications will be for well-documented construction-ready projects which best meet the fund’s purpose and criteria.

See a full list of all the previous RCHF recipients since 2016

Who can apply?

While open to applicants from throughout Aotearoa New Zealand, the RCHF’s primary focus is to support capital projects outside the main centres of Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland. Projects in those major centres will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Some entities and activities are excluded under this Fund’s criteria. We recommend all intending applicants discuss their eligibility first before committing to the expense of preparing an application.

How to apply

Before submitting an application, all potential applicants should read the RCHF Policy Criteria and Checklist then contact the RCHF officials by phone: (04) 496 6175 or email [email protected] and discuss their project.

Key documents:

RCHF Policy, Criteria, and Checklist (PDF, 201 KB)

Applicant agreement and coversheet form (PDF, 134 KB)

FAQs

The RCHF requires applicants to provide independently authored Feasibility Studies for any capital projects with a total project cost of $0.250 million or more.

Can I apply outside of a grant round?

No. Grant rounds enable government to compare and contrast the range of project(s) which have reached their critical mass within their communities but still have genuine fundraising shortfall(s).

Do you have an application form?

The RCHF uses an Application Agreement and Coversheet instead of a funding application form.  This approach provides applicants greater flexibility to promote their projects in their best way. Refer to the checklist for the types of project documentation to provide.

You can find more FAQs here: RCHF Frequently Asked Questions FAQ

Help for projects outside the scope of the RCHF

Sources for Feasibility Study funding

Most capital funding sources will require applicants to provide a robust independently authored Feasibility Study with their application. Your Council, Regional Tourism entity, and/ or Business Round Table may be able to assist with funding and/or expertise. Lottery Environment and Heritage may consider applications seeking a contribution towards costs to develop feasibility studies for community projects.

Te Papa’s outreach service team, National Services Te Paerangi (NSTP), has free 'how-to guides' designed with museums, galleries and iwi groups in mind including a fundraising guide. National Services Te Paerangi guides.