05 Sep 2025
Creative New Zealand’s Arts Organisations and Groups (AOG) Fund 2025 is being offered to applicants from Kaipara in the north to Murihiku Southland, as well as international organisations whose work benefits New Zealand artists.
The AOG Fund got 336 applications this year, of which 81 have been offered funding totalling $6,174,074 over one or two years.
Claire Murdoch, Senior Manager Arts Development, says the offers mean 125 arts organisations and groups will have financial support from the AOG Fund for at least a year as 2026 starts. This includes 44 organisations which received two-year funding in the 2024 round.
“We know that longer-term funding is crucial for groups and organisations; it gives certainty that supports better outcomes. It’s exciting to be offering longer-term financial support to so many,” Claire says.
The AOG Fund was launched in 2024, as part of Creative New Zealand’s first step towards being more responsive to the sector’s needs. The Fund has two tiers, up to $50,000 and from $50,000 to $125,000 for one or two years.
Eligible applications came from all over New Zealand and included online and international groups and organisations. Of these, thirty percent were first time applicants.
“ Funded applications were able to describe how they are delivering to their communities. The applications showed we’ve got more to do to help applicants address how their work has an impact in artistic, cultural, or geographic communities,” Claire says.
“We saw fewer applications overall to the 2025 Fund, plus a drop in requests for two-year funding and a decrease in the total amount requested. We’re putting that down to the sector’s awareness that we have been working on the second step of our change, which is focused on simplifying support for arts organisations and groups .”
“Our extended model will be announced later this month. The model allows for all arts organisations and groups to apply for multi-year funding support for programmes through a single flexible Fund. The extended programme will be open for applications from early 2026.”
The names of organisations and groups who will receive funding though the 2025 AOG Fund are on our website, along with statistics on the applications. They include:
- Huia (NZ) Limited, taking Māori stories to the world
- Prima Volta Charitable Trust, making opera available to the next generation of singers
- Driving Creek Railway, sustaining a pottery destination
- Taro Patch Creative, enlivening Pacific heritage arts
- Ōtautahi Creative Spaces, bringing visual art into the city
- Showquest, delivering a leading performing arts programme for creative rangatahi.
For more information contact:
Dinah Vincent, Communications Manager on 027 463 5835
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