What we fund

MAS Foundation has a mission of improving health and wellbeing equity and honouring the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. We prioritise these important areas through our mahi with a focus on sustainable long-term systems change.

Three boys in Wairoa marae

Our funding approach

Our approach to grant making is relational – we aspire to engage in high-trust relationships grounded and led by our values, which shape our actions.

Kia kaha, kia māia, kia manawanui.
Be bold, be brave, be steadfast.

Tika, pono me te aroha.
Doing what is right with integrity and fairness, love and compassion.
“E fofō e le alamea le alamea” (Let the issues within the communities be resolved by those in the communities) recognising solutions are within communities).

Whiria te tangata.
Weaving people together.
“Nāku te rourou, nāu te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi” – with your food basket (contribution) and my food basket, the people will all prosper.


Learn more about our values.

Our focus area

We review proposals for funding that align with theses principles

  • Pro-Te Tiriti: MAS Foundation has a genuine interest to implement our Te Tiriti o Waitangi position. We support tangata whenua mana motuhake and tino rangatiratanga and genuine partnership approaches with tangata whenua. We privilege Te Ao Māori and mātauranga Māori, and support the premise Māori are co-designers of the systems that impact on Māori wellbeing.

  • Pro-Equity: MAS Foundation supports initiatives aiming to tackle significant health and wellbeing inequity issues. We have an intentional focus on funding initiatives supporting those most impacted, specifically Māori and Pasifika. This focus means we are choosing to start grant-making with these communities to improve equity for all. Intersectionality for Māori and Pasifika means we are also supporting communities impacted disproportionately by inequities.

  • Pro-Equity System: MAS Foundation prioritises support for community-led initiatives, especially Māori and Pasifika. We look for partnership approaches to tackling inequities. We look to fund programmes with potential systems change impact. We support initiatives with the potential to be self-sustaining within communities and challenge established ways of doing things.

Father and his newborn baby
Woman wearing PPE putting glove on right hand Portrait of Joanne Teina

What can be funded?

MAS Foundation takes a partnership-based approach to funding projects that support health and wellbeing equity in Aotearoa New Zealand, working alongside communities to help them find their own solutions.

  • Innovative approaches or ideas to improve health and wellbeing equity in Aotearoa New Zealand.
  • Pilot projects for service delivery that embrace Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles.
  • Health education, literacy and promotion enabling people to increase control over, and to improve, their health and wellbeing. This is done by facilitating the exchange of health-related information between health professionals and communities.
  • Health and wellbeing equity research. Generally, we fund community-governed and community-led research that doesn't have easy access to other health research funding sources like the Health Research Council, the Marsden Fund or MBIE. We prioritise funding Kaupapa Māori and Pasifika-led research and support for evaluation of existing community-led programmes.
  • Projects designed to improve collaboration across sectors.

Types of grants

2Face Drama

Community Koha

The purpose of a Community Koha grant is to refine and support kaupapa, ideas and innovation.

Alignment

Community Koha grants are suited to projects and initiatives that are a catalyst for innovation. These projects seed the design and testing of community-led solutions and ways of working. For example, kaupapa Māori and Pasifika responses that improve inequities in service delivery, create impact, build evidence base and early impact evaluation.

Funding Amount

Up to $25,000

Two people press their noses together in a traditional Maori hongi greeting

Partnership Grants

Partnership Grants support developed kaupapa and innovation that create impact, have potential for transformation and can be supported over multiple years.

Alignment

Partnership Grants are suited to projects and initiatives where funding can be a catalyst to scale the initiative's reach, help enrich evidence base and ultimately contribute to impact. These grants also fund systems change as a facilitator, which supports collaboration with communities and cross-sector partnerships.

Funding Amount

More than $25,000

What we don't fund

  • Proposals that are outside of our Pro-Te Tiriti, Pro-Equity and Pro-Equity System focus areas.
  • Individual study or training.
  • Projects based outside Aotearoa New Zealand.
  • Retrospective project costs (those that have already been completed).
  • Hospitals or Hospital Foundations.
  • Health research projects that are not community-governed and community-led research, that can access other health research funding sources like the Health Research Council, the Marsden Fund, or MBIE etc.

Enquire for funding

Get in touch with us to see if your mahi is a good fit with MAS Foundation.

Enquire