Otago Community Trust granted $813,940 to 35 organisations in its March 2026 round, covering initiatives from dark sky conservation to youth sport, community food networks to choral festivals.
In Dunedin, Orange Sky New Zealand will launch a free laundry and shower service in partnership with The Salvation Army, located at their Crawford St site.
The service uses a purpose-built mobile pod with commercial washing machines and dryers, and will run two shifts per week from the outset, with a third planned within six months.
Volunteers will be on hand not just to operate the equipment but to spend time with the people who use it.
In a statement Orange Sky co-founder and chief executive Lucas Patchett said the organisation was "looking forward to launching our essential services of clean laundry, safe showers and genuine conversation for people experiencing homelessness or hardship in Ōtepoti Dunedin".
A $10,000 grant from the Otago Community Trust will contribute to the cost of establishing the Dunedin operation — Orange Sky’s first presence in the city.
The Friends of Burns Reserve Trust, which received a grant of $1300, will continue removing invasive exotic species — primarily Darwin’s barberry and sycamore — from 87ha of regenerating native bush.
The Burns Park Scenic Reserve sits across Signal Hill above the West Harbour suburbs and volunteers from the trust will carry out the work, starting at Gerry’s Rock.
Our Food Network Dunedin, which received a grant of $4500, runs networking events connecting food growers, organisations and community members, and also coordinates volunteer fruit harvests to redirect surplus produce to food banks and community pantries.
It will also launch a Local Food Challenge during
Matariki to increase awareness of local food sources.
Brighton residents have been working to bring a community pump track to the Brighton Domain — a safe, all-ages space for bikes, scooters and skateboards.
The Greater Green Island Community Network has received $35,000 to help make it a reality.
On the Otago Peninsula, the Portobello Volunteer Fire Brigade will put its $30,000 grant towards buying a first-response four-wheel-drive vehicle to improve its ability to attend the growing number of medical callouts in its area.
Stitch Kitchen, run by the Just Atelier Trust received $15,000 towards its continued efforts to offer classes and workshops in textile skills and upcycling.
Events
The Wild Dunedin NZ Festival of Nature received $20,000 towards this year’s festival, which has offered 250 events to the community during these school holidays.
The NZ International Science Festival received a two-year grant of $110,000 towards running NanoFest 2026 — a five-day school holiday event in July — and the full festival in 2027, which will also begin building towards the 2028 total solar eclipse visible from Otago.
The Big Sing Regional Festival was granted $4,000 towards bringing about 17 secondary school choirs and 450 students to the Dunedin Town Hall in June for Otago’s regional heat of New Zealand’s largest choral competition, culminating in a public gala concert.
Sport
Southern Football was granted $25,000 towards implementing the national changes to its junior football framework — smaller team sizes, resized fields, and new goals — to give young players more involvement and better experiences. — Allied Media
