Grassroots organisations across the Western Bay are being backed to deliver projects that bring people together and build stronger communities.

Vital Signs research has revealed that more than one in three Western Bay residents experience loneliness, highlighting a growing but often unseen issue across the region.

In response, the Acorn Foundation has supported community-driven solutions through its Local Impact Funds programme.

After one year, the initiative has distributed $28,929 to 23 projects across Katikati, Kaituna (Maketū to Pukehina), Tauranga Moana, Waihī Beach and Te Puke.

Acorn Foundation corporate and community giving specialist Matty Nicholson said in a media release that social isolation did not always look the way people expected.

“It’s the man who hasn’t had a real conversation in weeks. The elderly person with no reason to leave the house. The young person who doesn’t feel like they belong.”

There were benefits for everyone when the foundation could help bring people back into their communities.

“[To] get them more connected with the area and the people around them.”

Projects supported this year included walking groups, exercise programmes, community gardens, cultural events and social clubs.

Funding reached a range of groups, including men experiencing depression, kaumātua, rangatahi, LGBTQIA+ youth, Pasifika communities, people living with cancer and people with disabilities.

Some of the initiatives were newly established, while others had spent years searching for the support needed to get started.

Funding decisions were guided by local knowledge, with each Local Impact Fund overseen by a volunteer committee.

In the past year, 12 new volunteers joined the Acorn Foundation to help assess about 30 applications from across the region.

Nicholson said grassroots groups were doing “incredible work” to bring people together.

“They just don’t always have the resources to match their ambition.”

He said the Local Impact Funds were helping to bridge that gap, thanks to support from Acorn donors.

“We’re able to get funding into corners of our communities that have struggled to access the funds necessary for them to get their positive community ideas off the ground.”

The Local Impact Funds were designed to create ongoing community benefit.

Donations made to the funds are invested, with annual returns distributed to local initiatives each year.