You’re warmly invited to join us at the Ōtāhuhu Funding Expo — a valuable opportunity to connect directly with funders, build relationships, and strengthen your chances of securing support for the great work you do in our communities.
Event Details
Date: Wednesday, 20 May
Time: 6:30pm – 8:30pm
Location: Ōtāhuhu Town Hall, 10 High Street, Ōtāhuhu
This event is open to anyone seeking funding for community initiatives, projects, events, or local ideas that create positive impact.
On the night, you’ll have the chance to meet one-on-one with funders to ask questions, receive guidance on applications, explore funding opportunities, and gain practical advice to help bring your vision to life.
RSVP
Please register using the link below:
/261232521019041
This event is proudly brought to you by Haddon House Community in partnership with the Māngere-Ōtāhuhu .
We would love to welcome you there and see our community thrive together.
It’s New Zealand Sign Language week (NZSLW)!
This week also marks 20 years since New Zealand Sign Language became an official language of Aotearoa – a significant milestone celebrating greater visibility and inclusion of NZSL and the ongoing advocacy of Aotearoa’s Deaf community.
Find out more about NZ Sign Language and get involved this week by visiting @deafaotearoa
“Empowering disabled and neurodiverse tamariki and rangatahi through rugby” – @senserugbynz Trust
At the heart of Sense Rugby’s occupational therapy-led rugby programme is a clear vision: for all tamariki and rangatahi to experience the joy of participating in active recreation and sport, regardless of their differences.
Young people living with disabilities or neurodivergence often have limited access to meaningful, informed and consistent active recreation opportunities – recognising the need for programmes that support and include young people with diverse needs, Sense Rugby was established to provide a free specialised rugby programme that aims to grow the skills and confidence of young people and help them achieve success.
In 2025, Foundation North approved a grant under its Social Inclusion focus area in support of the Trust’s Tāmaki Makaurau rugby programmes, which create opportunities for inclusion, success, and belonging in the NZ rugby community.
Last year, the Trust’s weekly South Auckland and Onehunga programmes successfully reached around 25 – 30 rangatahi and tamariki, highlighting the value and desire for sport and recreation opportunities that understand and support the diverse needs of our young people.
A major highlight for the organisation was receiving an invitation to attend the Black Ferns’ Rugby World Cup departure event at Manukau school, with the Sense team sharing that –
“The visibility and inclusion of our disabled and neurodiverse participants in such a historic event was an exceptional achievement.”
To learn more about Sense Rugby’s mahi and impact in Auckland and across the motu visit their website by clicking the link in their bio.
Our South Auckland Engagement Advisor Albert Scott had a great time at 274 Ōtara Day on Monday at Otara Town Centre!
Ngā mihi nui to the event organisers and community for showing up and making the day an epic celebration of 274 – it was a privilege to attend and soak up all the good vibes & community pride🔥
✨ What an incredible afternoon of connection, learning, and action!
Our in-person Proposal Development Workshop, held on April 15, brought together amazing community groups, all working to strengthen their climate adaptation ideas.
With facilitation by Cissy Rock from @communitythink , and support from Auckland Council staff, and members of the Grant Advisory Panel, participants had the opportunity to refine their proposals to align with the funding criteria: 🌱 Impact ⚖️ Equity 🤝 Capacity & collaboration
Over 4 hours, the room was full of deep conversations, shared experiences, and collective problem-solving.
🎥 About the video: This reel captures moments from the workshop — group discussions, collaboration in action, and the energy in the room as ideas took shape and grew stronger together.
We are super excited for what’s next… Pitch Day on 6 May!
The Disability-Led Climate Adaptation Pilot is a partnership between @aklcouncil , @foundationnorth , a Grant Advisory Panel and implementation partners @communitythink and Juliana Carvalho.
👉 Learn more about the pilot: https://akhaveyoursay.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/DLCAP
#DisabilityLeadership #ClimateAdaptation #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs #ResilientCommunities #TāmakiMakaurau
Calling all community groups, grassroots organisers, and purpose led locals…
Have you ever wondered how to access funding without charitable status, or what a fundholder or umbrella organisation actually does? This session is for you!
Mama J (Annie Johnson) and Sharon Cartwright from Foundation North's Funding Support Team will share practical insights into how fundholding or umbrella organisations can support community led projects to thrive, and why a group might need one.
Hear from @gift.collectivenz and @roskilltogether this Wednesday 22 April from 9.30am – 11.30am with support from Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Local Board
Check out the attached flyer for details on how to reserve your spot. We look forward to seeing you there!
Final day of Polyfest! 🌺🌴
Wishing all the incredible performers the very best as they take the stage today at Manukau Sports Bowl – what an epic celebration of the richness, talent, and vibrancy of our Pacific cultures.
A huge thank you to Polyfest and all the sponsors who make this unforgettable annual event possible.
Our South Auckland Engagement Advisor Albert Scott had a blast catching up with some new and familiar faces, taking in epic performances, and soaking up the good vibes yesterday at Polyfest! 🌺
Foundation North is proud to support the Polyfest Trust in the delivery of their annual Polyfest.
Kia ora and warm Pacific greetings. We are proud to have supported @asbpolyfest_ since 2010, and excited to contribute with other sponsors and funders towards Polyfest 2026!
We share the vision for thriving tamariki, rangatahi and whānau, improved equity and wellbeing as Māori and Pacific people, and the strengthening of connections to both language and culture through movement, music and song, the spoken word and leadership.
We mihi to all of the students, their families and wider communities for making Polyfest what it is - a colourful, inclusive, exciting and thrilling festival taking our Pacific and Māori cultures to the world through the Pasifika and Diversity Stages and Te Paparewa Māori - ka mau te wehi!
Enjoy this video rewind to the Polyfest of 2018.
Taimahi Trust is the Whāngarei-based organisation walking alongside young adults with intellectual and learning disabilities to grow life skills for a fulfilling future.
“I love coming here because I’m treated like an adult.”- Taimahi Trust Trainee
Building self-determination through strengths-based training and opportunities, the organisation’s programmes draw on their knowledge of how brains learn and adapt.
By supporting young people’s practical training with an applied learning and development programme, participants develop practical, soft, and social skills across retail, commercial kitchens and cleaning, horticulture, and food production.
Image: Taimahi Trust
Read the full story now on our website or by clicking the link in bio!
Last week, PKL delivered Round 2 of our Culture in Motion activation in Henderson.
We want to acknowledge the incredible schools who joined us and showed such enthusiasm for exploring how Pacific digital storytelling through animation can inspire young learners to dive deeper into our Pacific Indigenous stories, cultures, values, and languages.
Through innovative tools like Pasifika VR and Pacific digital drawing, we demonstrated how the creative technology space can help safeguard our histories and stories - when Pacific communities are the dreamers, creators, builders, and designers, no longer just the consumers!
Fa’afetai tele lava to the schools who shared this experience with us:
• Finlayson Park School
• Rowandale School
• Henderson North School
• Point England School
• St Pauls Primary, Massey
• Swanson Primary School
• Ōtāhuhu Primary School
The future of Pacific digital storytelling is in brave hands 🌺
Round 3 is coming soon so stay tuned to find out how you can sign your class up for FREE, thanks to the generous support of our friends at @foundationnorth 🙌🏽
Te Hōnonga a Iwi leader Cindy with a great team doing the hard yards constructing paths, planting vegetables and pruning the syntropic garden so the sunshine can work its magic!
Massive high five and huge thanks for your hard work @rangitoto_college team.
@upperwaitemataecologynetwork@businessnorthharbour@nzlandcaretrust@foundationnorth
#syntropicfarming #regenerativefarming #bioorganic #climateaction #albany
