After reporting a large loss this year, Auckland Pride Festival Inc has received grants totaling $150,000. The total is made up of two amounts: $65,600 from Creative New Zealand, and $85,000 from Foundation North.
According to a press release from Auckland Pride Executive Director Max Tweedie, the funding will be used to recruit a creative director and enable some new initiatives and greater accessibility for the festival.
The funding is welcome news for Auckland Pride after the organisation announced a $79,000 deficit just two months ago. The main reason for the loss was an increase in expenses of $110,627, and an expected grant of $85,000 from Foundation North not coming through in the 2021 financial year.
Explanations given for that grant issue were confused. Initially, Auckland Pride claimed the funding organisation moved the dates of its funding rounds because of covid. This however was not the case, and in an interview with Andrew Whiteside in August 2021, Auckland Pride co-chair Kaan Hiini stated that the society originally applied for funding with Foundation North in May 2021, but a ‘miscommunication’ meant the application had to be resubmitted later in the year.
That funding has now been received. In terms of the deficit, Hiini explained in the same interview that it had been cleared by extra sponsorship from existing partners.
The next Auckland Pride Festival is due to take place from the 1st February 2022.
