About
He waka mō te iwi Māori.
Tōku Waka is a Māori-led platform for practical information, thoughtful analysis and kaupapa that strengthen Māori participation, capability and self-determination.
What we do now
We research open funding across Aotearoa, verify each listing against the funder's official source, and make the information simple to act on.
Our standard
Primary sources first. Clear dates. Direct links. No copied directories or stale listings. Applicants should always recheck the official funder page before applying.
Who it serves
Whānau, hapū, iwi, marae, Māori organisations, businesses, creatives and community leaders looking for resources to move their kaupapa forward.
The current kaupapa.
Tōku Waka has been running since 2024. It has made submissions on the Treaty Principles Bill, on treaty settlements and on mana whenua representation in local government. It ran a wānanga for professionals on how law is made in Aotearoa. It spoke at Kura Whakarea in 2025 on manatisation.
It questioned the Government on its cash holdings and received a reply from the Minister of Finance. That work is ongoing, with updates and whakaaro shared with whānau as it develops.
In late 2025 it hosted the Withdraw the Regulatory Standards Bill petition, which gathered more than 5,000 signatories and was presented to Parliament.
The funding directory is what Tōku Waka is doing now. Other work continues alongside it. In time this becomes one page of a wider whare rather than the whole of it.
Kōrero mai: kiaora@tōkuwaka.com
The directory
How listings get here.
Every listing is read from the funder's own page before it goes up. Nothing is taken from another directory. Each record captures who can apply, any whakapapa or residency requirement, the amount available and the closing date. These are recorded as the funder states them, not tidied into something neater than the truth.
Each card shows the date it was last read against the funder's own page. Judge freshness for yourself rather than taking our word for it.
Anything with a closing date comes off automatically once that date passes.
Some funds run the same round every year and are shut for most of it. Iwi education grants in particular tend to open in January and close in April. Those stay listed under Opens annually with the timing shown, because knowing a fund exists and when to watch for it is more use than an empty search. They describe a scheme that runs, not an application you can make today.
What's in it
Funding and scholarships from government agencies, territorial and regional councils, iwi and hapū entities, universities, wānanga, community trusts, philanthropic funders and government procurement channels. Grants, scholarships, tenders, commissioning routes and co-investment partnerships are all listed. A marae committee, a tauira and an iwi organisation are looking for very different things.
What it isn't
- It isn't complete. New funds open constantly. Iwi entities administer hundreds of grants between them. Anything missing is a gap rather than a judgement.
- It doesn't administer, assess or award any funding. Tōku Waka has no relationship with the funders listed and no say in any decision.
- Some funders publish their criteria only to registered members through a portal. Where that happens we record that the grant exists and where to apply, without the detail we can't see.
- It isn't advice. Whether a fund suits your situation is your call. The funder's criteria are the only ones that count.
- This directory is free to use. No paywall, no login, no fee, no subscription. Tōku Waka doesn't sit between you and a funder. You apply to them directly, we take no cut and we have no say in the outcome. Some of the other search tools listed here are paid services run by other organisations, and any cost on their sites is theirs rather than ours.
Why some listings aren't Māori-specific
Not every fund here is only for Māori. That's deliberate.
The test for a listing isn't whether a fund is restricted to Māori. It's whether it could help Māori move something forward. A marae needing a new roof doesn't care whether a fund is Māori-specific. It cares whether a marae can apply.
So general funds are listed where Māori applicants are eligible. Where they are, the listing records the part that usually isn't obvious. Whether marae can apply. Whether there's a whakapapa requirement. Whether there's a kaupapa Māori pathway on the form. Funders rarely spell that out. Working it out is most of the job.
Found something wrong?
Details change. Rounds close early. Funders redesign their sites. If a listing is out of date or a link is broken, please say so. Missing funds are just as welcome. Iwi and hapū grants are the hardest to find and the most useful to add.
About Bevan Matiu Pihema O'Connor
He tangata, he rōia.
Bevan Matiu Pihema O'Connor is an indigenous lawyer with whakapapa to Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahu ki Whangaroa and Ngāti Whātua, and a member of Te Hunga Rōia Māori o Aotearoa.
Why Tōku Waka
Tōku Waka brings together Bevan's commitment to tino rangatiratanga with a practical belief: useful, trustworthy information should be easier for Māori communities to find and act on.
Experience
His work spans legal practice, policy, governance, parliamentary and community support, Māori economic and regional investment analysis, and community engagement.