Lion Foundation Grants 2026: Rules, Odds and Real Data

Grantsights builds its grant tools for United States funding only, so nothing on this page is for sale to New Zealand groups. It's a free guide built from The Lion Foundation's own records. If you'd use a New Zealand version of our tools, let us know you're in New Zealand.

The Lion Foundation in 2026: Key Facts at a Glance

The Lion Foundation (its reports use the name The Lion Foundation 2008) has been generating funds for the community since 1985, according to its 2026 Annual Report, and its site says it has returned more than $1.1 billion to communities. Here are the rules that matter most, as published on 29 October 2026.

The money comes from pokie machines in pubs and clubs. According to the Department of Internal Affairs, Class 4 gambling "may only be conducted by a corporate society and only to raise money for an authorised (e.g. community and non-commercial) purpose", and the DIA's Class 4 page (opens in a new tab)?OpenDocument) sets out the licensing rules societies like The Lion Foundation operate under.

Searchers often type "the lions foundation". This page is about The Lion Foundation, the gaming trust. Lions Clubs are a different organisation: Lions Clubs New Zealand (opens in a new tab) describes itself as a volunteer service club network.

What 2,289 Lion Foundation Grants Show

Grantsights analysis of the Foundation's section 110 lists covers 2,791 decided applications from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026: 2,289 approved and 502 declined. Applicants in those decisions asked for $76.9 million between them, and the Foundation granted $33.9 million, or 44% of the money requested.

Data: The Lion Foundation, Gambling Act section 110 approved and declined grant lists for 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026, downloaded 29 October 2026. Approval rate counts approved, including partial, against declined decisions in the same lists.

That 82% figure looks generous until you see how the money was cut. Every approved grant carries a code. Only 365 were coded "Fully approved". The committee trimmed 1,563 grants at its own discretion (code C), 824 because funds in that district were limited (code D), and 316 because some of the costs weren't eligible (code B). Many grants carried more than one code. In plain terms: expect to be funded, but expect less than you asked for.

Grant sizes. Most grants are small. More than half were under $10,000, but the bigger grants took most of the money.

Asking small doesn't make you safer. Grantsights compared each request's size with its outcome. Requests under $2,000 were approved 75% of the time, requests between $2,000 and $50,000 between 81% and 83%, and requests of $100,000 or more 89% of the time (105 approved, 13 declined). Big requests mostly come from established organisations with strong paperwork, so this isn't proof that asking for more helps. It does show that a tiny request isn't a shortcut.

Who got the largest grants. The biggest in the year was $400,000 to Palmerston North Hospital Foundation, against a $500,000 request. National bodies did well too: Young Enterprise Trust received $360,000, Netball New Zealand $315,000, Royal New Zealand Plunket Trust $270,000 and Hockey New Zealand $180,000. Te Mapou Marae in the Whakatāne District received $235,395 for eligible costs on a $270,705 request.

Typical local grants. Case in point: Renwick Bowling Club in Marlborough asked for $15,818 and got all of it, and All Saints Birkenhead Scout Group got the full $4,000 it requested. More common is the Wanaka Search and Rescue Society's result: $15,000 of the $25,118 it requested, cut at committee discretion.

Where the Money Went: Regions and Sectors

The Lion Foundation's money follows its venues, so geography decides more than anything else. Grantsights grouped each grant by the territorial authority code in the Foundation's list (99 grants named several districts or none and are shown separately).

Data: Grantsights analysis of The Lion Foundation section 110 lists, 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026. Regions are Grantsights' grouping of the territorial authority codes the Foundation records, not an official Lion Foundation breakdown.

Three findings stand out:

• Auckland is the hardest place to win. It produced 174 of the 502 declines, and only 68% of decided Auckland applications were approved. Its median grant was $6,000, below Waikato's $9,844 and Bay of Plenty's $11,000.
• Northland, Gisborne and Southland barely feature. Northland groups received 5 grants totalling $19,000 and were declined 7 times. If you're there, The Lion Foundation is probably the wrong trust; check which societies run venues near you first.
• The biggest single districts were Hamilton City (108 grants, $2.37M), Tauranga City (130 grants, $2.05M), Ashburton District (67 grants, $1.96M) and Dunedin City (159 grants, $1.96M). Ninety-three national grants worth $4.16M went to organisations serving the whole country.

Sectors. The 2026 Annual Report sets target shares and reports what happened. Sport took 43% of grants against a 40% target, arts, culture and community 27% against 30%, health 16% against 15%, and education 14% against 15%. Name searches in the approved list back that up: organisations with "school", "college" or "board of trustees" in their name received 205 grants worth $2.83M, and rugby clubs and unions received 86 grants worth $2.02M.

Who Can Apply (and Who Can't)

According to the Foundation's eligibility page, your organisation must pass 3 tests before anything else counts.

1. Incorporated and not-for-profit. You must be incorporated, for example under the Incorporated Societies Act, the Charitable Trusts Act or an Act of Parliament, and your rules must stop money or property going to members. You should have been incorporated for at least one complete financial year. A marae can use its Gazette notice or vesting order instead, but also needs Charities Services registration. You can check your status on the Incorporated Societies register (opens in a new tab).
2. Wholly income tax exempt. Registered charities qualify automatically; you'll give your number from the Charities Register (opens in a new tab). Other not-for-profits need proof of an IRD income tax exemption. The Foundation no longer accepts certificates of exemption for other tax types, DV8 certificates, tax deduction certificates or resident withholding tax certificates. Inland Revenue's not-for-profit guidance (opens in a new tab) explains the exemption. Schools and councils don't need this evidence.
3. Close to a venue. The general principle is that you're within 5 km of a Lion Foundation venue, though the committee uses discretion, for example for rural groups with no other gaming trust in the district.

Branches of national bodies (local Plunket branches and Special Olympics clubs are the Foundation's own examples) can apply through their parent organisation with a governance letter.

Who can't apply or won't be funded: individuals (including for scholarships), organisations with their own gaming machines on site, third-party donor organisations, groups with an unfinished audit from a previous Lion Foundation grant, and anyone whose purpose isn't an authorised purpose. Section 4 of the Gambling Act 2003 defines authorised purpose as a charitable purpose, a non-commercial purpose that benefits the whole or a section of the community, or racing purposes. According to the DIA, a group doesn't have to be a registered charity to receive gaming funding for charitable purposes, but the trust still has to check the specific purpose. The DIA's guidance on charitable purposes (opens in a new tab) explains why amateur sport on its own isn't a charitable purpose, which is why sports grants are made as community-benefit grants.

What The Lion Foundation Won't Fund

The Foundation's "will not fund" list runs to 32 items and is published as an image on its ready-to-apply page. The ones that catch community groups most often are:

• anything already paid for, including deposits (retrospective costs)
• overseas travel, including departure tax and travel insurance
• uniforms, training gear and personal items such as socks, mouthguards, hoodies and water bottles
• food, alcohol, catering and bar or clubroom costs
• social events, prizegivings, reunions and centenary celebrations
• cash prizes and large non-cash prizes
• marketing, promotion and social media costs, and event photography
• medical costs such as first aid kits, physio and strapping tape
• core school curriculum costs, teacher salaries and school operating costs
• resource and building consents, architects and feasibility studies
• salaries the Foundation hasn't funded before
• mileage, fuel and road user charges, and stationery and courier fees
• elite or professional sport, academies for it, non-affiliated social clubs and supporters' trips
• koha, donations, vouchers and gift cards

Salaries are possible but a low priority. You need a signed employment agreement and job description, the job must already be filled, and a main or secondary contact on the application can't apply for their own pay.

How to Apply, Step by Step

There are 6 steps, and the paperwork is where most of the time goes.

1. Check your 12-month date. If you were funded in the last 12 months, find your last confirmation date; the clock runs from that date, and the Foundation says applying early is a reason to be declined (code K). Clear any outstanding audit first.
2. Confirm there's a venue near you. Use the Foundation's venue finder, or the DIA's list of gaming society websites (opens in a new tab) to see who else runs machines in your area. According to the Department of Internal Affairs, you must apply directly to the society, never through a pub or club venue.
3. Register in the COMS portal. Each contact needs their own profile. The Foundation says it'll ask you to withdraw and start again if you use a generic organisation email.
4. Gather the 10 standard documents. A cover letter; a signed declaration on letterhead; bank-generated proof of your account (first-time applicants must courier an original stamped verification or pre-printed deposit slip to the Auckland office); a signed resolution or full minutes no older than 6 months; your certificate of incorporation; charity or tax-exempt evidence; financial accounts under 18 months old with a profit and loss statement and balance sheet; sports affiliation proof if you're a club; any governance letter; and cost evidence.
5. Get two quotes for everything you'll buy. Quotes must be addressed to your organisation, dated within 6 months, show GST and come from an identifiable supplier. Internal budgets and estimates aren't accepted. Running costs need three consecutive recent invoices or an annual invoice.
6. Submit, then wait for the meeting. Grants advisers check the application and ask for anything missing. Once it's complete, it's allocated to a committee meeting. You'll hear within 48 hours of that meeting, and the email states the amount, the approved items and the dates you can spend it.

Timing. Count back at least 10 weeks from when you'll spend the money. For a February or March 2027 purchase, aim to submit a complete application by mid-November 2026, since there's no January meeting. An event in early 2027 is the classic trap: if the committee approves after you've paid a deposit, that cost can't be funded.

Professional fundraisers. The Foundation says it prefers to work directly with the groups it funds and that using a professional fundraiser "may influence the Board's decision". Write the application yourselves if you can.

Why Lion Foundation Applications Get Declined

Every decline in the section 110 list carries one or more reason codes, and the pattern is clear. Grantsights counted them across all 502 declines in 2025-26.

Shares add to more than 100% because some declines cite two codes.

The second row is the one to act on. More than a third of declines happened because the applicant wasn't near enough to a Lion Foundation venue, or another trust's venue was closer. That's a red flag you can check before applying, with the venue finder and the DIA society list. A further 22% were turned down because money in that district had run out, and 62 of those 109 were in Auckland or Wellington City.

The low counts for incomplete applications (9) and retrospective costs (6) don't mean those mistakes are rare. The grants team checks paperwork before an application reaches the committee and asks for what's missing, so most incomplete applications are fixed or withdrawn rather than declined.

What The Lion Foundation Doesn't Tell You

The Foundation's pages are clear on documents. Its own published lists say more about your odds.

You'll probably get less than you ask for. The typical approved applicant received 60% of its request, and 84% of grants were trimmed. Before you submit, decide which items matter most and say so in your cover letter, because the committee will choose for you otherwise. A budget built so that half the money still delivers something useful is a better application than an all-or-nothing one.

Location beats quality. Code A declines (179) outnumber every reason except committee discretion. A strong application from the wrong suburb fails. If another society runs the pokies at your local, apply to that society first; our guides to NZCT grants, Pub Charity grants and Four Winds Foundation grants cover three of the other big trusts.

Its website total is a year old. The "Who we are" page says the Foundation returned over $35 million to over 2,500 organisations "last year". That matches 2024-25, when it distributed $35,068,568. The 2026 Annual Report shows $33,864,711 for 2025-26, a drop of about $1.2 million. Gaming revenue fell from $84.9M to $83.2M over the same year, so there's slightly less money to share.

The 40% figure is a legal floor, not generosity. The annual report says 40.23% of revenue went back to the community. According to the Department of Internal Affairs, societies that mainly distribute their proceeds must return at least 40% of GST-exclusive gross proceeds each year, and "the 40% amount is not a guideline or target, it is minimum legal requirement" (DIA, Understanding and accounting for gross and net proceeds, July 2026 (opens in a new tab)). The report shows $19.1M went in gaming machine duty and $13.3M to venues.

Double-dipping triggers a refund. The audit page says the Foundation will ask for money back if you apply to more than one trust for the same purpose and get funded twice. If you split a project between trusts, give each trust different items and say so.

Every grant is audited, however small. You'll have 3, 6 or 12 months to spend it, must pay suppliers by direct credit or card rather than cash, must use the supplier you quoted unless you get written permission, and must return any underspend.

Is The Lion Foundation Right for Your Group?

Apply if you're an incorporated, tax-exempt group within reach of a Lion Foundation venue, you need equipment, facilities, running costs or a specific project funded in the next 3 to 6 months, and you can produce two quotes for each item. Sports clubs, schools, surf and search-and-rescue groups, hospices and community health trusts all appear often in the approved list.

Your best bet is a modest, well-quoted request for a clear piece of kit or a specific cost. Skip it, or apply elsewhere first, if:

• you're in Northland, Gisborne or Southland. The Foundation made 18 grants across those three regions in a year.
• you need money for uniforms, food, social events, marketing or travel overseas. These are on the excluded list.
• you're an individual or sole trader. Gaming trusts don't fund people.
• you're an arts group or artist. Creative New Zealand is the main arts funder; see our Creative NZ funding guide.
• you need a large capital grant. For buildings and multi-year projects, community trusts such as Foundation North and Rātā Foundation, and the Lottery Grants Board through Community Matters, are often a better fit.

For a comparison with gaming-funded grants overseas, Australia's ClubGRANTS NSW and Victoria's Gambling Community Benefit Fund work on a similar idea with different rules.

Sources Checked

All sources were read or downloaded on 29 October 2026:

• The Lion Foundation, Eligibility Criteria (opens in a new tab), Step 1: Before You Apply (opens in a new tab) (including the 2026 committee meeting dates image), Step 2: Ready To Apply (opens in a new tab) (including the "will not fund" image), Step 3: What Happens Next (opens in a new tab) (approval and decline code tables), Step 4: Finalising Grant Process (opens in a new tab), Audit Q&A (opens in a new tab) and Who We Are (opens in a new tab)
• The Lion Foundation, Lion Foundation Reports (opens in a new tab): "S.110 2025-26" (approved and declined grant lists, 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026) and the 2026 Annual Report
• Department of Internal Affairs, Gambling in Pubs and Clubs (Class 4) (opens in a new tab)?OpenDocument), Funding for Community Groups (opens in a new tab), Information on Charitable Purposes for Operators and Grant Applicants (opens in a new tab) and Class 4 Grants Data (opens in a new tab), which points to the DIA's Granted.govt.nz grants dataset
• Department of Internal Affairs, Understanding and accounting for gross and net proceeds (Class 4 gambling financial compliance library, published July 2026)
• Charities Services, Charities Register (opens in a new tab); Companies Office, Incorporated Societies register (opens in a new tab); Inland Revenue, not-for-profits and charities (opens in a new tab)