Nikau Foundation

25/05/2026

We're delighted to invite you to our next webinar - Nīkau Foundation Funding 101.

As a community foundation, we know that Nīkau’s funding model is a little bit different from other funders. We also know that funding often comes with many questions, and lots of ‘what?’, ‘when?’ and ‘how?’s’.

At Nīkau, it is our aim to deliver the most clear, accessible and easy-to-navigate funding experiences possible. This webinar will take you through our model, how we work, our approach to funding, key dates and opportunities to secure support for your for-purpose organisation.

This is also a great opportunity to run through any questions you may have (we will have 10-minutes of question time at the end!), e-meet some of our Nīkau crew and hear more about how we make funding decisions.

📅 Tuesday 9th of June
⌚1pm - 2pm

To register for our Funding 101 Webinar, please click below:

2bd200c3-d9bf-4a88-b496-d66127bf1514@96f96daa-b3db-4169-ac87-bba8114e8a92" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/2bd200c3-d9bf-4a88-b496-d66127bf1514@96f96daa-b3db-4169-ac87-bba8114e8a92

We look forward to seeing you there!

(P.S. if you can't make it, register and we will be sure to add you to the list to receive the recording afterwards).

29/04/2026

Earlier this week, Nīkau Chief Executive Officer, Em Lewis and Community Foundations of Aotearoa NZ Chief Executive Officer, Eleanor Cater were delighted to visit the Beehive to meet with caucus.

On the agenda?

● The complex challenges facing our communities and Aotearoa New Zealand's for-purpose sector.

● The immense opportunity that the intergenerational wealth transfer offers to bolster our for-purpose sector.

● How we can grow generosity to actively build the funding base, deliver better support to our communities and create better outcomes for Aotearoa New Zealand's people and places.

● The incredible mahi that community foundations across Aotearoa New Zealand are already doing to grow local generosity, support community resilience and enable kiwis to build powerful charitable legacies for the causes they love.

● What the future could look like and how we can supercharge generosity across the motu.

Thank you all for welcoming us!

A big thank you to MP's, Maureen Pugh and Chelsea Routhan for supporting and enabling this highly valuable kōrero.

28/04/2026

We will be at the Wairarapa Funders Forum next week!

This forum, which takes place across three days in Featherston, Carterton and Masterton from 3pm - 6pm, is a brilliant opportunity to chat about your organisation's mahi, connect with a range of funders, and find out more about funding opportunities.

● Monday 4th of May - Featherston, ANZAC Hall.
● Tuesday 5th of May - Carterton, Wairarapa Events Centre.
● Wednesday 6th of May - Masterton, Masterton Trust Lands Trust Building.

To register, please click below:

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=Bfd43AgTOE6_goyjsUghn7WpU9f6RnRBrAcCZPs40IJURVZKUDVJTjBGSFdMR1pJSTlWNkdJNEtWRy4u

We look forward to connecting with you then!

22/04/2026

Looking for an opportunity to make a powerful, meaningful and long-lasting contribution to our communities?

Nīkau is looking for a skilled, strategic and human-centered Engagement and Development Specialist to join our passionate and ambitious team.

Working across the areas of fundraising and donor stewardship, and professional advisor, community, and local ambassador engagement, the Engagement and Development Specialist will play crucial role in building key relationships, creating scalable systems and programmes to nurture audiences, and identifying opportunities to speak to and engage new audiences.

The nuts and bolts:

🟢 20-hours a week
🟢 $80,000 p.a. pro-rated ($40,000)
🟢 Applications close at 4pm on Friday 24th of April 2026.

To see the full job description, find out more about Nīkau Foundation and what we are looking for or to apply, please click below:

https://nz.seek.com/job/91363491?ref=cm-ui

We're looking forward to hearing from you.

Ngā manaakitanga,

The Nīkau Foundation team

This role will help to build relationships, create scalable programmes to nurture audiences, and identify opportunities to engage new audiences.

07/04/2026

Our Nīkau Foundation team is growing!

We are looking for a skilled, people-centered and strategic Engagement and Development Specialist to help us to grow local generosity, connect communities and design and deliver tailored, high-quality experiences to a range of audiences.

Working across the areas of fundraising and donor stewardship, and professional advisor, community, and local ambassador engagement, the Engagement and Development Specialist will play crucial role in building key relationships, creating scalable systems and programmes to nurture audiences, and identifying opportunities to speak to and engage new audiences.

The nuts and bolts:

🟢 20-hours a week
🟢 $80,000 p.a. pro-rated ($40,000)
🟢 Applications close at 4pm on Friday 24th of April 2026.

To see the full job description, find out more about Nīkau Foundation and what we are looking for, please click below:

https://nz.seek.com/job/91363491?ref=cm-ui

To apply, please submit your CV and Cover Letter via the Seek Portal below:

https://nz.seek.com/job/91363491?ref=cm-ui

This role is a brilliant opportunity to make a powerful, meaningful and long-lasting contribution to our communities and Aotearoa New Zealand’s for-purpose sector.

We look forward to hearing from you. For more information or if you have any questions, please contact Nīkau Foundation’s Communications and Engagement Manager, Maddie McLeod via [email protected].

Ngā manaakitanga,

The Nīkau Foundation team

This role will help to build relationships, create scalable programmes to nurture audiences, and identify opportunities to engage new audiences.

31/03/2026

Last week, we were so proud to launch the Dementia Wellington Fund in collaboration with Dementia Wellington.

For over 40 years, Dementia Wellington has been working with people with dementia and their whānau to support them through their journeys and help them to get the most out of their lives.

Their services, which include one-on-one advice, peer support, keeping active programmes, cognitive stimulation groups, and support groups for carers and whānau, provide key education, learning and social connection opportunities.

“For people affected by or caring for people with dementia, it can be really lonely,” says Clinical Lead/Educator, Sheena Farquhar. “We provide opportunities where they can connect with others, be real and spend time in spaces where they can just be.”

With our populations ageing, people diagnosed with dementia in Aotearoa New Zealand are set to significantly increase.

To ensure they can keep up with demand for support services, Dementia Wellington started to think about how they could prepare for the future. “We know that as the number of people with dementia grows so will the need for our services," says Dementia Wellington Chair, Anna Shires.

The trustees decided to establish the Dementia Wellington Fund with Nikau Foundation to diversify their fundraising and build an enduring, future-focused funding stream.

"Our vision is that everybody who has or is impacted by dementia lives well with it," says Anna. "One of our responsibilities is that we are maintaining an enduring organisation - that's one of the reasons we're so excited about being able to work together with Nikau, so we can be here for the next 5, 10, 40 years."

Contributing to the fund provides an opportunity for individual generosity to go further, for donors to play powerful part in Dementia Wellington's future chapters and to pass on support to others impacted by dementia.

Ka rawe, Dementia Wellington! We are so honoured to be working with you and to be supporting this important kaupapa.

A big thank you to BDO Wellington for hosting us for what was such an inspirational event.

To find out more about the Dementia Wellington Fund or to find out how you can contribute, please click below.

https://www.nikaufoundation.nz/stories-giving-library/passing-on-hope-to-people-living-with-dementia

23/03/2026

Wellington, let's make sure our voices are heard!

Community Foundations across our Aotearoa New Zealand have a collective mission - to grow generosity to support the people and places on our doorsteps, long-term.

But in order to grow generosity, we need to understand it better.

Community Foundations of Aotearoa NZ in Aotearoa New Zealand Survey aims understand how generosity is showing up across our motu, how people across our country give and what makes giving easier - or more difficult.

No matter how you give - whether you donate, volunteer, give koha, support whānau, or don’t currently give at all, your experience matter and we want to hear your voice.

All survey responses are anonymous and the best part is that every response goes into the draw to win $1,000 to give to your favourite charity.

To take the survey, please click below:

Take this survey powered by surveymonkey.com. Create your own surveys for free.

19/03/2026

A few weeks ago, we were delighted to attend the opening of L'Arche Kapiti's Raranga House.

A beautiful example of the power of community and generosity, the opening was full of joy, song, powerful kōrero and kai.

Raranga House (which means 'to weave' in te Reo Māori) is a place that embodies L'Arche's kaupapa of building inclusive communities that foster a sense of belonging for all, and providing opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities to make meaningful connections and contributions to their surrounding communities.

Nīkau is so proud to have supported L'Arche Kāpiti's mahi for a number a years through our Kāpiti Disability Support Fund. A big shout out to everyone who has supported this important project, including Dame Dorothy Spotswood, who contributed significantly to make sure Raranga House could open its doors.

A big congratulations to the team at L'Arche on such a successful opening! What a precious taonga you have built for our community.

Image credit: Stewart Jang
Video credit: Soulhaven Productions

17/03/2026

Late last year, we were delighted to launch the Paekākāriki Housing Fund in collaboration with the wonderful folks at the Paekākāriki Housing Trust ❤️

Located 40km north of Wellington at the end of a snaking, coast-hugging section of State Highway 59, Paekākāriki is a small town with a big heart.

The Trust’s story started as many things in Paekākāriki do – with a passionate drive to look after neighbours. As local concern for the growing housing crisis simmered, a local family faced the prospect of having to leave their rental home after 16 years of living locally.

As the community rallied, launching an impressive community campaign to purchase the home and enable the family to buy it back over a 5-year period, it also opened up a broader conversation on housing, the factors at play and possible local solutions.

Since 2016, the Trust has played an important role in facilitating a range of key outcomes and projects.

These include providing emergency housing during the COVID-19 lockdowns, partnering with Victoria University Te Herenga Waka and local experts to research sustainable local land use, conducting housing needs assessments, facilitating healthy homes outcomes for older houses, creating a local property management service and developing an innovative model for property purchase without capital.

Acknowledging the nature and scale of the housing crisis, the Paekākāriki Housing Trust knew that a significant amount of funding would be required to deliver impactful local solutions long-term. Because of this, the Trust started to think about how they could build a diverse, strategic funding infrastructure to remain responsive to local needs of today while ensuring long-term financial resilience.

The Trust established the Paekākāriki Housing Fund with Nīkau Foundation to grow local generosity and build a reliable, long-term funding stream to support their mahi and vision for the local community.

Donations given to the Paekākāriki Housing Fund will be responsibly invested, grown and protected to support all aspects of Paekākāriki Housing Trust’s work, forever.

“Our mahi has always been defined by the unique community that surrounds us – we are about local ideas and local solutions,” says Trustee, Sarah Te One. “By building the fund, we are providing a way for local generosity to support community-led solutions, forever.”

We are so delighted to be working alongside the Trust to build this precious taonga for the future of Paekākāriki.

To find out more about the Paekākāriki Housing Fund or to donate, please click below.

The Paekākāriki Housing Trust’s story started as many things there do - with a drive to look after locals. The Trust’s kaupapa is to ensure a strong, diverse and connected community by assisting those people in need of affordable and appropriate housing in Paekākāriki. Acknowledging the natu...

12/03/2026

Today, we are celebrating Judith Clark; a much-loved music teacher who left an indelible mark on the lives of her students throughout her remarkable life.

Born in Wellington in 1931 to a musical family, Judith Clark started learning piano from the nuns at Mount Victoria’s Brougham Street convent at a young age before attending Mrs. Gertrude Johnson’s piano studio.

Halfway through her Bachelor of Arts study at Victoria University, Judith was awarded a New Zealand Government Scholarship to travel and study at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

Judith returned to New Zealand in 1963, following stints in Rome, Paris, Salzburg and Geneva. She brought with her a host of stylistic inspiration, technical magnificence, and remarkable sensitivity to sound.

She took up a teaching position at Victoria University’s School of Music where she stayed for over 30 years, finishing her tenure as a senior lecturer and Head of Piano Studies.

As she had in life, Judith wanted to make sure that young musicians continued to gain valuable opportunities to develop musically.

Following her death in 2014, the Judith Clark Endowment Fund was established with Nikau Foundation.

Since its establishment, the fund has supported many young people to access the transformative opportunities, education and training to unlock their musical potential, like so many did with Judith’s guidance.

Today, we want to acknowledge Judith, who will continue to inspire for generations to come.