Community Foundations and the NZ funding landscape

By Eleanor Cater
CEO
Updated: March 2026

We often get asked how community funding in Aotearoa New Zealand works, and it’s easy to see why. It’s complex.

Much of our funding is regionally based, with a funding landscape comprised of:

• 18 local Community Foundations, growing from local generosity (see who they are here)
• 12 local Community Trusts (such as Foundation North, Wellington Community Fund and Rata Foundation) - legislative trusts, which are unique to NZ
• local Energy Trusts (such as Counties Energy Trust and WEL Energy Trust)
• private family foundations (such as The Tindall Foundation, Todd Foundation, J R Mckenzie Trust and Clare Foundation)
• corporate foundations (such as Te Rourou One Aotearoa Foundation, BNZ Foundation and The Spark Foundation)
• commercial trust companies (such as Perpetual Guardian and Public Trust)
• gaming trusts (such as The Lion Foundation, Pub Charity and NZCT, distributing proceeds from gaming machines)
• local and central Government funders (including the Lotteries Grants Board and Community Organisation Grants Scheme).

Each of these funders have a different focus, many are regionally focused, and most have specific visions or strategies to achieve change across Aotearoa New Zealand. They each occupy a specific regional or strategic niche and, on occasions, they collaborate with one another regionally or nationally to achieve common aims.

New Zealand's growing network of 18 local Community Foundations are young and based on a successful model of place-based giving. They are different from other funders, as they provide the infrastructure for individuals, organisations and businesses to give in a structured way into communities. Geographically focused, they provide the scaffolding for everyone to be an intentional giver, and to hone their giving so that it can be effective and long lasting, relevant to local needs and aspirations.

Community Foundations connect local philanthropy with local needs, using a model that is long-term and sustainable

Community Foundations pool community funds, invest them and distribute the income into communities, working in partnership with generous locals and steering funding to where it is needed most (using local insight, data and research to inform that process). They act as connectors on the ground, connecting generous Kiwis with opportunities to do something transformative for their communities - whether it be building long term funding streams for local charities, transformative projects or providing emergency funding. As Community Foundations grow, they can become vehicles for impact investing into communities and convenors of local partnerships for growth.

Based on a successful model which originated in North America, Community Foundations help Kiwis to do something more strategic beyond traditional charity giving. They are uniquely placed to bring private and public resources, community leaders and activators, and innovative ideas, together to tackle the challenges of our age. And they often don’t have the same constraints as other funders, since their structure enables them to be nimble, working in partnership with local people and supporting community aspirations to thrive.

Our communities need all kinds of givers, including those who generously give their time and donations to meet immediate needs and those who are thinking more strategically about shifting the dial, thinking long term and being creative with their giving. For givers of all kinds, the local Community Foundation may well be a place that they discover the means for giving in a fulfilling way, giving long term, and giving well.

Find your local Community Foundation>>

This article does not contain a definitive list of funders, and it does not include iwi-led organisations or those with a specific focus on Te Ao Māori.