Pilai Long Stap Wantaim (Play For Unity) Fund

Frequently Asked Questions:

What is the Pilai Long Stap Wantaim (Play For Unity) Fund?

The Pilai Long Stap Wantaim (Play for Unity) Fund is designed to harness the power of sport as a catalyst for social cohesion and community development in Papua New Guinea. The main mission is to empower young people, strengthen grassroots sports networks, and create inclusive spaces where diverse communities can co-exist. This is made practical by supporting local initiatives, emerging athletes, and innovative community-driven solutions. The fund offers small, flexible grants to groups and individuals championing transformative ideas rooted in community activism. Applications will be assessed by an Advisory Committee.

Pilai Long Stap Wantaim Fund builds on the success and principles of the Play for Equity Fund, sharing the same commitment to using sport as a driver for inclusion, equality, and community transformation. This is the first round of Pilai Long Stap Wantaim Fund.

Team Up and Women Win are the administrators of the Pilai Long Stap Wantaim Fund and will be responsible for the fiscal management and general operations of the Fund. 

Who is eligible to apply?

The Pilai Long Stap Wantaim Fund is targeting groups and individuals based in Papua New Guinea only. Apart from urban communities, groups, individuals and organizations in rural Papua New Guinea are encouraged to actively, as this tranche of funding is dedicated to fostering unity and ensuring that rural communities are fully included.

The Pilai Long Stap Wantaim Fund will support both registered or unregistered sports organisations and clubs (non-profit organizations) in PNG. 

Eligibility to be considered for the Pilai Long Stap Wantaim includes: 

• community groups with a focus on sports for development; individual athletes, coaches, or volunteers with proven track records
• school or educational institutions with sports programs; non-government organizations (NGOs) or civil society organizations (CSOs) working in sport for development. Special consideration will be given to initiatives in rural or remote areas
• projects promoting gender equality and inclusion
• projects promoting sports for peacebuilding and community unity,
• projects promoting youth engagement and fostering local leadership
• projects promoting engagement with marginalised groups.  

Applicants must demonstrate one or more of the following conditions: 

• Registration with PNG relevant sports bodies (e.g., PNG Sports Foundation, National Federations)
• Endorsement or affiliation with sporting bodies (e.g., federations, associations and clubs)
• Endorsement or affiliation with local government or community leaders
• Commitment to child protection and safeguarding
• Commitment to anti-violence
• Commitment to anti-discrimination and fair play principles
• Commitment to anti-fraud and anti-corruption practices

For individual applicants, people must be above the age of 18 that self-identify as women, men, nonbinary, transgender or identify as belonging to under-resourced or vulnerable populations such as people with disabilities, can apply. 

Notable exclusion for Pilai Long Stap Wantaim Fund 

The following groups, organizations or activities will not be considered for funding under the Pilai Long Stap Wantaim Fund. 

• Sport facility or infrastructure projects
• Cash grants or micro-credit schemes or projects that involve the return of money
• Fulltime permanent staff salaries
• Commercial ventures
• Purchase of major assets, e.g. vehicles, boats
• Australian or overseas study tours
• International or Domestic Travel

How do I apply?

Applicants are asked to produce a 3–5-minute video pitch which will be submitted via an application form on Google Form. The Google Form application will also require applicants to provide contact information and brief written responses on the work your organization, or you do, and the communities you work with.

As a general guideline, your 3–5-minute video application should include:

• 30-60 seconds explanation of the barrier/issue you are trying to address
• 90-120 seconds explanation of how you would plan to use the funding
• 60-120 seconds explanation of how this work would advance gender and/or disability justice in and through sport or the change/impact you expect to see

As you prepare your video application, please adhere to the following guidelines:

• Keep videos under 5 minutes in length
• Ensure that you have the informed consent of all people visible and present in the video
• Please review your video to ensure that the audio is clear and comprehensible
• For organisations: Have multiple (at least 2) people from your organisation speak in the video

The video is intended to provide you with a creative and simple way to apply for funding, and no video editing is expected (it can be filmed in one take). The applications may be recorded in any language, including sign language. You may submit an audio-only application if you prefer.

CLICK HERE TO APPLY ON GOOGLE FORMS

If you anticipate challenges with data, technology, or internet connectivity to upload your video, please get in touch with teamup@ghd.com and we will do our best to support you in your application process.

The Pilai Long Stap Wantaim Fund is accepting applications until midnight (PNG Time) on 11 January 2026.

How can we use the funding from the Pilai Long Stap Wantaim (P4U) Fund?

The Pilai Long Stap Wantaim Fund will provide unrestricted/core funding to organisations, groups, and individuals working to support advancing social cohesion, community development and youth empowerment through sports, whilst promoting inclusive participation across divers communities. Grantees are free to decide how to best use the funds, in line with the mission for Pilai Long Stap Wantaim Fund. Grantees are also encouraged to be creative, authentic and results driven in the initiatives for funding. 

We are an emerging group and do not have an annual income – can we still apply?

Yes, you can still apply. In the application form, you will be asked to provide the name and contact details of two organisations or groups that you have previously worked with, whether formally or informally, which will allow us to confirm and verify your group.

I am an individual – can I still apply?

Yes, if you are above the age of 18 and self-identify as a woman, man, non-binary, transwoman, transmen, or identify as belonging to a marginalized or vulnerable population such as people with disabilities, you can apply.

Our organisation/group is NOT legally registered - can we still apply?

Yes, you can still apply. Your organisation/group does not need to be legally registered to apply for the Pilai Long Stap Wantaim Fund. We are accepting applications from both registered and unregistered organisations, sporting bodies, collectives and groups.

We use yoga, dancing and other forms of physical movement within our work - can we still apply?

Yes, you can still apply. The Pilai Long Stap Wantaim Fund will support applications using all forms of physical and play-based activity aimed at promoting well-being, including traditional games.

What is the maximum amount of funding we can request?

Individuals may apply for K3,000 to K10,000 PGK from the Play for Equity Fund.

Whilst community, groups and organizations can apply for K10,000 to K30,000 PGK grant from the Pilai Long Stap Wantaim Fund. 

We advise all applicants to be intentional about their funding request. It is highly recommended to apply for no more than 50 per cent of your annual organisational income. For example, if you have K10,000 PGK in organisational income, to apply for no more than K5,000 PGK.

Do we need to have a bank account to be able to receive funds?

Yes, it is preferable that you have access to a bank account, either an organisational account or the personal account of one of the leaders of your organisation/group, to receive international transfers. If this is not possible, we can discuss this with you and explore alternative options.

What is the Pilai Long Stap Wantaim Fund selection process?

Once the applications are received, they will be screened thoroughly and only those applications that satisfy the criteria will proceed to the Advisory Committee for processing and selection. 

What information will be collected from applicants, and who has access to this information?

Within the application form, we ask for the contact details (name, email address and telephone number) of someone from your organisation or group, as well as those of two referees*. Only the Pilai Long Stap Wantaim Fund Advisory Committee, Team Up and Women Win will have access to this information. 

*Please note that if your organisation is shortlisted, we will require a reference from your referees. We advise you please let them know and confirm whether they will be able to provide this upon request before you add their names to the application form.

If we are successful, when will we hear, and when can we expect to receive funding?

Selected grantees will be notified by the end of January 2026. Funding will be distributed by end of February 2026 with the expectation that the funding will be spent and reporting completed before June 2026.

What are the reporting requirements?

Funds will be acquitted within 30 days of project completion by sending a completed acquittal report.  A reporting template encompassing financial and work activities will be shared with the grantees to populate, this will be sent out to all grantees. Photo evidence of activities carried will also be included in the work activity report. In addition to this, some impact stories on the grant activity will be collected. This information will be collected at the end of the funding term, or in between.

Successful grantees will be requested to inform the Pilai Long Stap Wantaim grant team of when and where they will be delivering their funded activities as there may be the opportunity for member of Play for Equity or the Australian High Commission to attend.