Foundation North

Awesome to see collaboration on this scale around predator free initiatives. Foundation North has been co-investing alongside Auckland Council and the Department of Conservation (DOC) (formerly Predator Free 2050 Ltd) since the inception of the Predator Free 2050 programme: supporting island-based kaupapa like Te Korowai o Waiheke and Tū Mai Taonga to strengthen their efforts to protect taonga species on their motu and achieve predator free urban islands.

The Centre for Social Impact has recently updated their Funding Guide – offering three new sections designed to support community groups and not-for-profit organisations build confidence and grow capability on their funding journey.

The new sections: applying for funding – what’s needed, ethics and accountability, and helpful tips include practical insights and resources to support your organisation, regardless of where you are in your funding journey.

Explore the updated guide today by clicking the link below

Funding guide Interested in building your leadership skills? Finding new ways to work, relate, and learn together? Our new Leadership through Restoration and Healing programme is for you.

To celebrate United Nations World Oceans Day today we are throwing it back four years!

In June 2022 we launched an emerging impact report on our G.I.F.T initiative: G.I.F.T - drawing together the impact of a five-year initiative. https://www.foundationnorth.org.nz/report/gulf-innovation-fund-together-gift

GIFT, or the Gift Innovation Fund Together, was an innovation fund initiated by Foundation North from 2016 to 2022. The focus of GIFT was to improve the mauri | life force of Tīkapa Moana Te Moananui-ā-Toi | the Hauraki Gulf by supporting innovative, holistic projects focused on environmental change.

We are proud and excited that the ripples of impact from the GIFT initiative endure today through the mahi of Iwi, community restoration organisations, other funders and partners.

The GIFT website also lives on! Dive into it here for case studies, stories and further reading www.giftofthegulf.org.nz

Photo credit: Peter Rees

Book your slot at our AWHI Funding Session today!

Coming up on Thursday 25 June from 10am – 2pm at our Ponsonby Office, AWHI sessions are a space for you to meet with a member of our Funding Support Team to discuss Foundation North funding, have your questions answered, or simply receive feedback on the mahi you’re doing or aspire to do.

Wherever you are in your funding or grant application journey, the team are keen to connect with you – book your 40-minute cuppa-and-kōrero session today by clicking the link below!

https://events.humanitix.com/awhi-funding-info-sessions-june-2026

Tālofa lava! It’s Vaiaso o le Gagana Samoa – Samoan Language Week

This year, the theme for Vaiaso o le Gagana Samoa is ‘E afua mai i mauga tetele manuia o le 'nu'u - From the high mountains are the blessings of the village.

You can learn more about the 2026 theme and celebrate the Samoan language and culture this week with free digital posters, language resources and audio clips over on the Ministry for Pacific Peoples website, or by clicking the link below.

Manuia le vaiaso – have a good week!

https://www.mpp.govt.nz/programmes-and-funding/pacific-languages/pacific-language-weeks/samoa-language-week/

For over 25 years, Kaipātiki Project has been growing a sustainable future for te taiao and tangata through its community-led environmental mahi grounded in care, connection and collective action.

Based in north Tāmaki Makaurau, the EcoHub maintains a thriving native plant nursery, delivers a wide range of environmental programmes and initiatives designed to conserve, restore and renew the environment, and uses practical education to strengthen the community’s knowledge and sustainable living practices.

At the heart of the organisation’s mahi is a commitment to nurturing relationships, developing shared responsibility for local environments, and driving systemic change towards sustainability. Their approach embraces Te Ao Māori and mātauranga iwi and hapū, supporting communities facing the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation so te Taiao and te tangata can thrive together.

In 2024, Foundation North approved a grant in support of Kaipātiki Project’s regenerative environment mahi across Tāmaki Makaurau.

Recent highlights from the organisation include the delivery of 355 eco-events through EcoFest, hosting 23 food and soil resilience workshops with around 199 participants, contributing to the Ministry for the Environment’s Investigation into Citizen Science document, and featuring in episode one, Whenua, of the Heal the Hauraki docuseries.

Through their mahi, Kaipātiki Project continues to demonstrate how collective action drives change, interconnectedness is foundational, youth engagement is vital, adaptability builds strength, and inclusive behaviours are inherently mana-enhancing.

Ngā mihi to all the organisations who have submitted an Expression of Interest (EOI) in our Community Building Projects fund. Our team looks forward to going through them!

A heads up!!! if you have drafted an EOI for this fund in our Funding Hub but not submitted it yet, you have until Friday 5 June 2026 to do so.
https://www.foundationnorth.org.nz/funding/fund/community-building-projects

“It’s definitely given myself a new sense of identity. I’ve come into my own skin and I’ve come with a new voice.” – Taimahi Trust Trainee

Taimahi Trust walks alongside young adults with intellectual and learning disabilities, growing life skills, agency and self-determination through free vocational training and development while creating positive change in the wider community.

In our recent story, we explore Taimahi Trust’s mahi, how their micro enterprise model is enabling greater self-determination for their trainees, and the unique way they give back to the community and taiao.

Images: Taimahi Trust

Click the link below to read the full story
https://www.foundationnorth.org.nz/stories/article/taimahi-trust-systems-change-through-micro-enterprises

It’s Global Accessibility Awareness Day – a time to think deeply about and have important conversations around digital access and inclusion for all people.

This year’s theme ‘Design, Develop, Deliver’ reminds us that accessibility needs to be built into everything we create, rather than added on as an afterthought.

Learn more about how we can all support greater digital accessibility by clicking the link below

GAAD Thursday, May 15, 2025, help us celebrate the 14th Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD)! The purpose of GAAD is to get everyone talking, thinking and learning about digital access and inclusion, and the more than One Billion people with disabilities/impairments.