Our funding approach
Our approach to grant making is relational and intentional — we build high-trust relationships guided by our values, ensuring our resources are used wisely and reflect the aspirations of the communities we serve.
Our approach to grant making is relational and intentional — we build high-trust relationships guided by our values, ensuring our resources are used wisely and reflect the aspirations of the communities we serve.
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.
Our focus
Te Tikitiki a Taranga – Supporting whānau in the early years
This focus area (for the next 5 years of 2025-2030) was shaped by what we’ve heard from the communities we’ve partnered with over the past 3 years, reflecting their aspirations for whānau health and wellbeing in the earliest stages of life.
We focus our funding on the first 2,000 days of a child’s life – from conception to age 5 – a critical window for shaping lifelong health and wellbeing. This kaupapa supports hapū māmā, pēpi, whānau, and primary caregivers, recognising the deep, intergenerational impact of these early years.
We back whānau-led solutions that uphold cultural safety, autonomy, and draw on the strengths of Māori and Pacific knowledge to create lasting intergenerational impact. We take a systems view, reflecting the complexity of whānau health and wellbeing and the importance of nurturing tamariki in culturally meaningful ways.
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Health and wellbeing
Empowering hapū māmā, pēpi, whānau, and primary caregivers, to flourish.
Supporting initiatives that promote overall health and wellbeing, with a focus on maternal health and early years nutrition.
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Family violence and trauma prevention
Creating safe, supportive environments.
Investing in programmes that reduce trauma, prevent violence, and foster safe spaces for hapū māmā, pēpi, whānau and primary caregivers.
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Early learning, development and whānau empowerment
Laying the foundations for lifelong success.
Supporting culturally relevant early learning, strengthening whānau resilience and building long-term capability to thrive.
What can be funded?
Guided by Te Tikitiki a Taranga, MAS Foundation takes a relationship-based approach to funding, grounded in whakapapa, the interconnectedness of people, place and generations. We partner with communities to support whānau-led solutions that uphold mātauranga Māori, indigenous Pasifika systems of knowledge and wisdom, strengthen identity and foster intergenerational wellbeing.
We fund:
• Innovative approaches or ideas to strengthen whānau ora and support the health and wellbeing of hapū māmā, pēpi, whānau and primary caregivers in Aotearoa New Zealand, grounded in the values of Te Tikitiki a Taranga.
• Pilot projects for service delivery that embrace Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles and uphold Māori self-determination.
• Education, literacy and promotion that enable whānau to increase their tino rangatiratanga over their health and wellbeing by facilitating the exchange of mātauranga Māori, indigenous Pasifika systems of knowledge and wisdom, and health-related information between practitioners and communities.
• Research focused on equity through a Te Tikitiki a Taranga lens. We prioritise funding Kaupapa Māori and Pasifika-led community-governed research and support evaluation of existing whānau-led programmes. In particular, those that lack access to mainstream health research funding sources like the Health Research Council, Marsden Fund or MBIE.
• Projects designed and implemented to improve collaboration across sectors, strengthening the interconnected systems that support whānau health and wellbeing.
Types of grants
Community Koha
The purpose of a Community Koha grant is to refine and support kaupapa, ideas and innovation.
Alignment
Community Koha grants support projects and initiatives that act as catalysts for innovations grounded in Te Tikitiki a Taranga. These projects seed the design and testing of whānau and community-led kaupapa that strengthen the collective health and wellbeing of whānau. 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
Partnership Grants
Partnership Grants support developed kaupapa and innovation that:
• empower and enable collective whānau health and wellbeing with a focus on maternal health and early years nutrition
• prevent family violence, harm and trauma
• strengthen early development and whānau resilience
• build long term capability.
Alignment
These grants are suited to initiatives where funding acts as a catalyst to scale reach, deepen the evidence base and contribute to meaningful impact. They also support systems change by facilitating collaboration with whānau, communities and cross-sector partners to create lasting, interconnected solutions.
Funding Amount
More than $25,000
What we don't fund
- Proposals that are not aligned to Te Tikitiki a Taranga and 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.