The Rural Travel Fund, set up by Sport New Zealand, encourages participation in sports for children and young people in rural and isolated communities.
This fund provides financial support to schools and sports clubs, who can apply for the cost of travel expenses for sport competitions, events and practises. Examples of travel costs are petrol vouchers (when personal vehicles are used) and bus or van hire.
The Rural Travel Fund's purpose is to provide sport opportunities for tamariki (aged 5-11) and rangatahi (aged 12-18) throughout Aotearoa New Zealand.
For more information on what projects are eligible, read our guidelines for the Rural Travel Fund.
When to apply
The next funding round for the Rural Travel Fund will be open from Wednesday, 9 of April to Wednesday, 30 April 2025.
Funding available
Approximately $15,000 is available for the Rural Travel Fund in 2025. The April/May funding round is the only Rural Travel funding round for 2025.
Eligibility
- Rural Travel funding is expected to be used for travel to local and regular competitions and events. Rural Travel funding cannot be used for one-off events, regional competitions, or national competitions
- Funding cannot be used for activities and events that take place during school hours
- Applications must be from schools or sports clubs. Applications will not be accepted from individual players, coaches or officials.
For a full list of eligibility criteria see, guidelines for the Rural Travel Fund.
Sport NZ has guidelines and FAQ’s available on its website.
Funding Committee panel
Funding decisions are made at our Community Funding Committee meeting, by our Funding Panel. The Funding Panel is made up of three Councillors, who are supported by administrative staff.
Find out more
For more information on the Rural Travel Fund, contact our Community Funding Advisor on 07 306 0500 or email grants@whakatane.govt.nz.