Tips on how to apply

Are you ready to patua te whakamā/lift the shame around mental distress for the one in five New Zealanders who will experience it this year?

To help you apply for a Pūtea Pāpāho/Media Grant, we’ve put together a few tips on what our independent judges are looking for in a successful application.

We’re looking for applications that:

1. Use this year’s themes. This year, our slogan is 'Patua te whakamā/Lift the shame', and we have two sets of themes you can choose from to guide your project. The themes will differ depending on whether you are applying for a Creative or Journalism grant, and you will have to tick your chosen theme on your application form. Choose the theme for your project on our Creative or Journalism pages.

2. Clearly describe how your project will reduce stigma, discrimination and social exclusion, specifically against people living with mental distress/illness. What sorts of discriminatory behaviour or negative stereotypes around mental distress exist in your community? How could your project challenge these ideas and behaviours to better include people with lived experience in your whānau, community, workplace or iwi?

3. Reach people that don’t have experience of mental distress. Our Media Grants projects aim to change people’s hearts and minds. How will your project reach people who haven’t experienced mental distress, and encourage them to lift the shame that can burden people with lived experience? Tell us how in your video or written project proposal.

4. Have clear goals and objectives, and a realistic and detailed budget. What outcomes do you want your project to achieve, and why? Is this possible within your budget, and if not, how have you saved on costs? Attach quotes if possible.

5. Are new and innovative. Have you noticed anyone doing a similar thing? If so, what could you do better? What does your project offer that others don’t?

6. Can reach and impact our priority audiences. Some people are disproportionately affected by mental distress or discriminated against at multiple levels during or after their mental distress experiences. For this reason, we prioritise applications from, or that directly help, Māori, Pasifika, rainbow communities and people with a background as migrants or refugees, as well as people who have experienced severe mental distress or are aged under 25.

7. Use positive, hopeful and safe language around mental distress. See our media guidelines for tips on using language that is mana-enhancing or respectful, and puts the person first.

Video applications

For the first time in the Media Grants’ history, you can now describe your project via video!

You’ll still have to complete and submit a full written application form, but instead of also writing a 1,500-word proposal you can now use video to visually and verbally describe what your project is, how it will be carried out and how it will make a real difference for people with mental distress!

Submitted videos must:

- answer all the questions on our Creative or Journalism application checklists
- be accessible via a URL and hosted on an external platform (such as YouTube or Vimeo)
- span no more than 10 minutes in length.

Need some help? Email info@mediagrants.org.nz for further details.