Fundseekers

• Who is a ‘fundseeker’?

  Within the context of Match | Te Puna Taurite, fundseekers are organisations who are registered charities, fundholder accredited, an Ākina impact supplier or a non-registered charity recommended by an existing funder on the service. See more information here.

• I am not a registered charity/incorporated society, can I still sign up to Match | Te Puna Taurite?

  To be accepted as a fundseeker on Match | Te Puna Taurite (MTPT), your organisation must be a registered charity, fundholder accredited, an Ākina impact supplier or a non-registered charity recommended by an existing funder on the service. We will be opening up to more non-registered groups over time. This is the first step in our plan to bring non-registered groups onto Match | Te Puna Taurite. We have provided an acceptance criteria which you can check out here and will be developing this feature in response to any feedback we receive over the coming months. 

• What is a ‘funding request’?

  Once a fundseeker has created a Match | Te Puna Taurite profile, they can make specific requests for funding on their profile, which funders can see. A funding request should outline what the funding is for, the communities it will serve, what region the funding will benefit, and the impact they hope it will have. You can apply for funding for any type of cost; and you can communicate your funding needs in a variety of ways. For example, you can apply for funding for projects, or for the general running costs of your organisation. You can choose to ask for funding via writing, or in a video. You can link to other information, or re-use a funding application you submitted somewhere else (which wasn’t successful). Just always keep in mind what funders might find most relevant to help them understand your needs, what your organisation does, and how they might help you do what you do.

• How many funding requests can I make?

  As long as the requests are for different things, there is no limit to how many funding requests you can make. Therefore, you could upload one request for on-going organisational costs and others for specific projects.

• Who can view my profile and requests?

  Fundseeker profiles can be viewed by funders and fundseekers who are part of Match | Te Puna Taurite. Fundseekers can choose if they want to make their funding request visible to other fundseekers (the default is no) – funders will always be able to see funding requests.

• How does Match | Te Puna Taurite work with existing grant application rounds and processes?

  There are a wide range of funders out there and each have their own ways of seeking or granting funds. We expect funders that use Match | Te Puna Taurite and already run grant application rounds will continue to do so. Some funders don’t run grant application rounds, but rather proactively find the fundseekers they wish to fund. They might use Match | Te Puna Taurite for that purpose. Even funders who run application rounds may also use Match | Te Puna Taurite to find groups that are under-represented in their applications. Funders may also use Match | Te Puna Taurite to support fundseekers they fund to find other funding sources. Match | Te Puna Taurite allows them to connect with other funders, perhaps to cooperate and collaborate to fund large projects. Once a funder has connected with a fundseeker on Match | Te Puna Taurite, they engage offline to progress the funding agreement. They use their existing processes (such as grantmaking management software) to do this.

• Can we signal that we are responding to an emergency event?

  Charities and community groups must move fast when an emergency or disaster happens. Match | Te Puna Taurite allows fundseekers to flag their profile if they are involved in first response. Funders are able to search on the specific emergency to find fundseekers seeking more funding to meet increased community need.

• Can I contact funders through Match | Te Puna Taurite?

  Fundseekers cannot contact funders via Match | Te Puna Taurite, as funders have other channels through which they receive communication from fundseekers. Match | Te Puna Taurite will, however, post links to the funders’ websites where you can find how to contact them. There may be some funders using the service who remain anonymous – perhaps they are a private giver. Fundseekers may receive questions and requests to connect from funders. It is completely up to the fundseeker whether they respond to the funder’s questions or accept their requests to connect.

• What information do I need to sign up to Match | Te Puna Taurite?

  See here for information on signing up to Match | Te Puna Taurite.

• How long will it take me to sign up and create a profile on Match | Te Puna Taurite?

  The sign up and profile creation process has been made as simple as possible. How long it takes will depend on how much information you want to provide, and whether you are creating new information, or reusing (copying and pasting) information from elsewhere. There are also opportunities for you to upload photos – but you can also use images provided on the site. When we go live, we’ll have more guidance here to help you join and get started.

• What do we do if our funding request is funded or it becomes outdated?

  If your funding request has been fulfilled, or the time you needed the funding by has passed, you can update and archive your request.