The Incubator, Tauranga's creative and arts hub, is among the three winners of the nationwide ‘Freezell 4 Your Community' initiative.

The charitable trust, based in the Historic Village, was voted one of the top three most deserving charity groups by the New Zealand public.

Their prize is a unique Dick Frizzell-artworked Haier fridge, one of only 10 in the country.

The Incubator administrator Tanya Trass says they were ‘really amazed' to get into the final five, out of 250 entries. After that, it was up to the public to vote.

'The people in charge of the competition phoned around Tauranga to find out about us, and because they got such a great response they decided to put us in the running,” says Tanya.

'They thought The Incubator was well-suited for the prize because it was an art space.”

However, although they're thrilled to have won, Tanya says they may have other plans for the fridge beyond keeping their lunches in it.

'We thought it would be a waste for the fridge to sit in our backroom with some old milk in it. So we're hoping to have a fundraiser and auction it off – although we do plan to keep it for a while.

'We're a charitable trust, so we don't really need a $10,000 fridge. As nice as it would be to keep, we need to $10,000 more, to keep doing what we're doing.”

The Incubator has been around since 2013, and is run entirely by volunteers.

'We do exhibitions for emerging artists, who aren't quite ready for an art gallery. It's a stepping stone. We have a lot of music events as well.”

The other two winners of the unique fridges were Ruakaka Dog Rescue, who focus on responsible dog ownership, and Bellyful Christchurch, who deliver meals to families with young children struggling with illness.