South Wairarapa Rotary
grants, bursaries & awards
The profits from the Rotary Martinborough Fair are currently between $70,000 and $90,000 annually. We distribute all of that back into our community in the form of grants, bursaries and awards.
Ruth, CLUB President
Grants: Applications for funding
from the martinborough fair charitable TRUST fund
Is your community project in need of funds? Our Martinborough Fair Charitable Trust Fund grants support initiatives that care for the environment, improve the lives of our local tamariki, rangatahi and kaumātua (children, youth and seniors), or give back to the community in a significant way. We also provide limited funding for disaster relief efforts and urgent medical needs throughout the South Pacific.
Ideally your application will be for the purchase of capital items or to maintain a capital item. With the exception of applications for international relief funds, the beneficiaries of your project must be from the South Wairarapa region. We prefer to fund charitable organisations or clubs, but will consider applications from individuals.
Typically we consider grant requests for sums under $2000, but will occasionally go higher for large projects. All South Wairarapa Rotary grants are paid from the profits of the Martinborough Fair.
BURSARIES & AWARDS
Bill Fetch tertiary bursaries
Bill Fetch was one of the original instigators of the Martinborough Fair. One of the outcomes Bill wanted to achieve with profits from the fair was a bursary for South Wairarapa students who would otherwise not be able to afford tertiary education.
South Wairarapa Rotary recently increased both the number and the value of the bursaries on offer, to three bursaries of $6000 each. South Wairarapa students from Kuranui College and Te Kura are invited to apply for these from July in the year prior to your first year of tertiary study. Applications must be lodged through your school by the end of September.
Interviews take place in October 2026.
Community service awards
Run biennially, the South Wairarapa Rotary Community Service Awards recognise and celebrate individuals making significant contributions to the local community, by going above and beyond in either a paid or volunteer role.
The awards identify local “unsung heroes”, highlighting their efforts in areas like environmental conservation, heritage preservation, contributions to community initiatives or exceptional service to vulnerable communities.
Nominations for the next South Wairarapa Rotary Community Service Awards will open in July 2026, with the ceremony taking place in October.
South Wairarapa rotary Youth Awards
Once every two years, we ask the community to nominate young people for the biennial South Wairarapa Rotary Youth Awards.
Recipients of these awards must be between 14 and 24 years of age, and will be doing extraordinary things within their communities or showing outstanding personal courage in the face of adversity. There are eight categories of award: Community Service, Leadership, Technology & Innovation, Personal Courage, Entrepreneurship, Learning, Sports, and Arts & Culture.
The next South Wairarapa Rotary Youth Awards will take place in 2027, with nominations open from July 2027.