Women's Fund Grants
The Women's Fund seeks to create positive change in the lives of Tāmaki Makaurau women by providing financial support to charitable organisations and programmes that align with our three pou (pillars):
- We amplify the voices of women.
By encouraging gender equality and promoting female leadership, we can help women feel safe, be confident to have a voice and be heard. - We invest in the potential of women.
By enabling participation and helping to create education and training opportunities, we can help build independence and resilience to ensure health and wellbeing. - We accelerate women’s growth and development.
By facilitating networking and mentoring opportunities, helping to remove barriers to participation and teaching new skills, we can help alleviate poverty and reduce social isolation.
2020 Recipients
Auckland Health Foundation
This grant will go towards a new Workforce Development Programme launched by Auckland DHB, in partnership with Auckland Health Foundation. The programme focuses on supporting more Pacific and Maori women into healthcare roles.
Dayspring Trust
Primarily West Auckland-based, Dayspring provides a wraparound support service, including parenting support, counselling and life skills programmes, to vulnerable and at-risk women. This grant will go towards supporting women in need by providing the necessary counselling support, advocacy and case management to restore safety, financial security, independence, self-confidence and wellbeing for future fulfilment and growth in their lives.
Shiloh Creative Life Centre
Shiloh is a collective community of professional practitioners, providers and carers from a range of holistic wellness backgrounds, including therapy, counselling and education, working primarily in South Auckland. This grant will enable two facilitators to deliver a 12 week Women's Support Circle for 10 women from domestic violence backgrounds, via both online and face-to-face support.
Who Did You Help Today - Mothers Project
This grant will go towards delivering the Mothers Project, which connects volunteer lawyers with imprisoned mothers in Auckland Regional Women's Correctional Facility (Wiri). Each month these volunteer lawyers visit the facility, providing pro bono support to help the mothers understand their responsibilities and rights regarding their children. A new storybook extension to the project involves book reading with the mothers, with a copy of the recording on CD and the book then posted to the child.
Women's Centre Waitakere
The Women's Centre Waitakere's long-term "Change, Growth and Transformation" programme supports women to identify issues and break the cycle of unhealthy relationships. Currently the programme is run once a term, but has seen an increase in demand. Thanks to this grant, the programme will be able to be run twice a term and support more women in the community.
In the 2020 funding round, the Women's Fund also made additional grants to organisations and initiatives focusing on girls and young women.
Girls Rock! Camp Aotearoa
Girls Rock! is a week-long camp for young women, transgender and non-binary aged 12-17 that builds confidence, resilience and self-esteem through music. The campers are mentored in a safe and inclusive environment, learning skills for an industry still dominated by males. This grant will go towards overall costs of the 2021 Auckland Girls Rock camp.
Graeme Dingle Foundation - Auckland
This grant will deliver a Career Navigator Programme for a cohort of 26 senior students in Kelston Girls' College. The programme combines industry mentoring, work ready experiential workshops and career pathway events.
HELP Auckland - Dear Em
Originally launched as a website in 2016 after a 2013 survey found that there was a lack of awareness and mistrust of existing services amongst teenage girls, Dear Em is an onnline platform that now includes Facebook and Instagram. This grant will enable teen girls who are experiencing sexual harm and violence to connect and empathise, empower and support each other.
Turn Your Life Around (TYLA) Trust
TYLA delivers intervention programmes for at-risk rangatahi, working primarily in South Auckland. This grant will go towards the delivery of its Nga Mana Wahine programme, supporting young wahine to work through issues including self-esteem, cultural identity, self-confidence, women's health, relationships, boundaries, leadership, educational and life aspirations - empowering them to become more resilient.
2018 Recipients
Celebrating Champions. Campaigners. Change-makers.
Jackie Clark
Jackie’s grant was used to provide food and manaakitanga to a group of 30 women who The Aunties walk along side. By bringing these women together, they were able to make social connections as well as offer emotion and practical support to each other.
Kristina Cavit
Kristina’s grant was used to support The Kindness Institute’s ATAWHAI youth wellbeing project. Through the ATAWHAI programme’s social and emotional education, 150 marginalised rangatahi aged 14-18 were supported to develop the tools they need in order to transform their mental wellbeing.
Mengzhu Fu
Mengzhu’s award was used towards training for migrant youth to equip them with the skills and tools to become leaders and advocates for other young migrants, and to create social change to prevent family violence. All of the training attendees were young migrant women who had first-hand knowledge of the issues affecting migrant and refugee youth – and some were survivors of the Christchurch terrorist attack.
Liz Ferris
Preschool teacher Liz’s award was used to support two local women to grow through further education. Two teachers employed at Te Papapa Preschool were supported to pursue their Bachelor of Teaching in ECE.
Soala Wilson
Soala’s grant was used to support the work of Sanitary Products in New Zealand Schools (SPINZS). 51,360 sanitary products were purchased and distributed to 14 schools, reaching 16,235 students – enabling young girls to continue with their education during their period.
Gabriella Brayne
Auckland Young Feminists / Auckland Women's Centre
Gabriella’s grant was divided between two projects: a Rangatahi/Youth Engagement Project for the Auckland Women’s Centre, and a media and communications plan for the Auckland Young Feminists.
Renu Sikka
Renu’s grant was used to support the work she does through her “Our Stories On Plate” project. A total of 97 women took part in various events organised by Our Stories On Plate, including a story café for migrant and refugee women to make meaningful connections while discussing food, migration and belonging in Aotearoa.
Lily Henry
Lily’s grant was used for two purposes: to help subsidise the fees and accommodation cost for five volunteers to attend a two-day conference, and to assist with costs of delivering nutritional community cooking classes.
Amie Maga
Puketapapapa Community Driving School
Amie’s grant was used to support the cost of a female driving instructor/mentor to deliver culturally appropriate driving lessons for migrant and refugee women. More than 80% of learner drivers on the Puketapapa Community Driving School (PCDS)’s waiting list are women from resettled communities, who prefer to have a female instructor.
Arna Metcalfe
Auckland Young Feminists steering group / National Council of Women
