Winners Announced: Burners of New Zealand & Australia (BoNZA) Civic Ignition Grant
April 23, 2025
Congratulations to our 2025 Burners of New Zealand and Australia (BoNZA) Civic Ignition Grantee! We received 2 submissions with a total financial ask of $32,149. These grants were discussed in a consensus-based workshop with approximately 50+ community leaders.
The winner is:
Pilot of Burner Regional Library of Things (BurnerRLoT)
Paradise, Victoria- Australia
The BurnerRLoT pilot places a solar-powered generator into a shared-use “Library of Things” model in regional Victoria, offering year-round access to vital resources for local emergency services, community groups, and Burners. This project hopes to strengthen regional ties and empower participation by making burner-useful equipment available to the broader community.
The hope is that this project will be duplicable anywhere in the world where burns are held through resources such as the LoT software called Myturn https://myturn.com and the Australian Library of Things network https://www.alotnetwork.org
The learnings from this project will be documented and made available via the BWB network, If you are interested in learning more about this project, be sure to subscribe to the BWB quarterly newsletter
What is the Burners of New Zealand & Australia (BoNZA) Civic Ignition Grant?
A program aimed at funding innovative community & civic projects within the greater Australia, and New Zealand regions. We are interested in programs that create collaborations, produce direct actions, utilize several of the 10 Burning Man Principles, are reproducible, and creatively tackle local social problems. This grant gives anyone the opportunity to submit a collaborative, creative, and principle-focused project with a chance to win up to a $1,500 USD grant.
Timeline:
– Grant Application opens on April 29, 2025
– Deadline for grant submissions is May 27, 2025 (AUS)
– Workshop Participants will review the grant proposals at the 2025 BoNZA Summit May 31, – June 1.
– Winner(s) will be announced June 2, 2025 at the BONZA Summit
Apply here: https://forms.gle/Mew8TAqscv1zSM6i6
What’s special about this Civic Ignition Grant?
Submissions to the 2025 Civic Ignition grant cycle will be workshopped and judged by a group of participants and community leaders that attend this year’s BoNZA Civic Ignition Grant Workshop. This group will be using the submissions as material to review and workshop while learning how to administer their own civic grant programs.
Who is eligible to apply?
Individuals, Groups, and Not-for-Profits are all eligible to apply. We encourage projects to be endorsed by a local Burning Man Regional Contact. The RC does not need to be a project lead, or heavily involved with the process, rather they are simply endorsing the project and the leaders who are submitting it. We recognize not all regions have local RC’s and we encourage you to apply even if no RC is able to endorse you.
How much can you ask for?
The maximum grant that may be awarded is $1,500 USD. We encourage your project’s viability to not be solely dependent on this grant. Think about other sources of funding that might be available. Grants awarded could be less than the full amount.
What types of proposals will likely not get funded by this program?
Programs that are solely based on artistic endeavors and do not have a community or civic aspect will most likely not be considered for funding. Funds should not be used for direct fundraising, chapter promotion efforts, or for paying people for their work.
What follow-up will be expected by grant recipients?
All recipients will be expected to submit written reports on what they have accomplished and learned in the course of their projects, along with accompanying visual media. This media will be hosted on the Burners Without Borders website.
Suggestions for a quality grant proposal:
– Look at the BWB Grant Impact & Criteria Document to see how we think about grants.
– Reach out to your local Burning Man Regional Contact and ask if they might be an advisor.
– Watch our video “How to write Quality Grants: Burning Man 101”(Starts rough but gets going at (9:00 in)
– Listen to our podcast “Targeted Grant Writing: with Meta-Regional Jacqui Latendresse”
Who won the Civic Ignition Grant in the past?
2024 BoNZA Civic Ignition Grant winners
2022 BoNZA Civic Ignition Grant winners
How long will it take to receive the funds if selected?
In order to process your grant funds, we’ll require contracting and payment information about the Grantee, including tax information as applicable. Once all grantee information has been collected, it may take an additional 2-8 weeks to process your payment. We strive to complete all grant payments as quickly as possible.
Are the funds taxable?
Yes, grants are considered income and are taxable for organizations and individuals.
International Wires for Grantees: International payees are responsible for any foreign exchange or bank fees associated with funds being sent as USD to local currency. Please speak with your bank about receiving funds from the United States of America to be aware of any fees that might be incurred.
Burning Man Project is not responsible for researching foreign transaction fees or related bank charges. Please ensure that your wiring information is accurate, otherwise potential additional fees may be incurred against your grant. If you are unclear about receiving an international wire, please contact your bank for further information.