How ourfunding
works

Good mahi doesn’t always fit neatly in
a funding box, neither do we. Wayne Francis Foundation backs people, organisations and ideas working towards better possibilities for young people in and around Ōtautahi.

We’re a proactive funder, which means we don’t run open funding rounds or traditional grant applications. Instead, we build relationships, pay attention to what’s happening around us, and look for places where our funding, and sometimes a bit more than funding, could make a meaningful difference.

We’re a proactive funder, which means we don’t run open funding rounds or traditional grant applications.

Instead, we build relationships, pay attention to what’s happening around us, and look for places where our funding, and sometimes a bit more than funding, could make a meaningful difference.

Tell us about your kaupapa

What we’re
looking for...

We start with young people.
Then we look around them.

Young people don’t grow up in isolation.
Their lives are shaped by whānau, whakapapa, identity, housing, education, health, relationships, communities, opportunities and the systems around them. That’s why our funding can look pretty broad.

We support change in, with and around young people, from mahi that makes a difference
today, to work that strengthens the people
and communities around them, to bigger ideas that could change what tomorrow looks like.

In: The places young people live, learn,
connect and belong.

With: Young people and communities, where their knowledge, strengths and experiences genuinely matter.

Around: The people, organisations, evidence
and systems that shape the opportunities
young people have.

Sometimes the best way to change a young person’s future is to change something
around them.

Young people don’t grow up in isolation.

Their lives are shaped by whānau, whakapapa, identity, housing, education, health, relationships, communities, opportunities and the systems around them. That’s why our funding can look pretty broad.

We support change in, with and around young people, from mahi that makes a difference today, to work that strengthens the people and communities around them, to bigger ideas that could change what tomorrow looks like.

In:

The places young people live, learn, connect and belong.

With:

Young people and communities, where their knowledge, strengths and experiences genuinely matter.

Around:

The people, organisations, evidence and systems that shape the opportunities young people have.

Sometimes the best way to change a young person’s future is to change something around them.

What kind of things
do we fund?What kind
of things
do we fund?

We don’t have a magic checklist. But we tend to lean towards:We don’t have a magic checklist.
But we tend to lean towards:

Strong people and trusted relationships
People who know their communities and understand the mahi.

Ideas shaped close to the action
Evidence matters. So do lived experiences and community knowledge.

Strengths, not deficits
We’re interested in what young people, whānau and communities already hold
and what could help it grow.

The possibility of a ripple
Could the learning travel, strengthen
practice, build capability or make things better for the next young person?

A bit of courage
Good ideas aren’t always tidy, proven
or easy to fund.

Places where we can genuinely be useful
We’re interested in the places where
our particular mix of funding, relationships, knowledge and freedom to do things differently can actually be useful.

Strong people and trusted relationships
People who know their communities and understand the mahi.

Ideas shaped close to the action
Evidence matters. So do lived experiences and community knowledge.

Strengths, not deficits
We’re interested in what young people, whānau and communities already hold and what could help it grow.

The possibility of a ripple
Could the learning travel, strengthen practice, build capability or make things better for the next young person?

A bit of courage
Good ideas aren’t always tidy, proven or easy to fund.

Places where we can genuinely be useful
We’re interested in the places where our particular mix of funding, relationships, knowledge and freedom to do things differently can actually be useful.

Systems change...Systems
change...

Looking beyond the
immediate problem.

If lots of young people keep encountering the
same barrier, helping them through it matters.

We’re also interested in why the barrier is there
and what keeps it there. That might mean
changing practice, strengthening a workforce, building better evidence, connecting services, influencing decisions or testing a better way
of doing something.

You don’t have to change an entire system.
Your mahi might be one important part of
a much bigger shift.

If lots of young people keep encountering the same barrier, helping them through it matters.

We’re also interested in why the barrier is there and what keeps it there.

That might mean changing practice, strengthening a workforce, building better evidence, connecting services, influencing decisions or testing a better way of doing something.

You don’t have to change an entire system. Your mahi might be one important part of a much bigger shift.

Where we
put our pūtea

Different mahi. Young people at the centre.

Our funding stretches across a pretty broad landscape,
but ultimately we’re interested in what helps young
people thrive, belong, have choices and see possibility
in their futures.

  • Focus Area 1

    Mental Wellbeing

    Supporting the people, relationships, identity, belonging, environments and access to support that help young people experience good mental wellbeing.

    Explore Wellbeing

  • Focus Area 2

    Education

    Creating better possibilities for
    young people to learn and thrive
    in environments that work for them
    – and learning more about what good learning can look like.

    Explore Education

  • Focus Area 3

    Housing

    Supporting greater housing security, affordable pathways and the conditions young people need to move towards stability and independence.

    Explore Housing

  • Focus Area 4

    Developing the
    Youth Sector

    Investing in the people, practice, leadership and connections that
    make the youth sector stronger.

    Explore the Youth Sector

  • Focus Area 5

    Kaupapa Māori
    Youth Development

    Building relationships with and
    directing pūtea towards kaupapa Māori youth development organisations.

    Explore Our Mahi

  • Focus Area 6

    Capital Works

    Supporting selected places and infrastructure that can create lasting possibilities for young people and communities.

    Explore Capital Works

  • Focus Area 7

    Cancer Research

    A longstanding commitment that goes right back to Wayne and remains part
    of the Foundation’s kaupapa.

    Explore Cancer Research

How we fund

We might fund:

  • A particular project, opportunity,
    event or piece of work.

  • Because meaningful change takes time and annual funding
    uncertainty is exhausting.

  • Sometimes the first useful thing we can do is understand
    the issue properly.

  • People, systems, professional development and the behind
    -the-scenes stuff that makes the visible mahi possible.

  • Opportunities for young people and the people around them
    to grow, contribute, influence and lead.

  • Where investment in a place or physical resource could unlock
    something important for young people and communities.

More funding FAQ’s

There’s no
standard grant

Some relationships last for years. Others
exist around one very particular opportunity.
We take accountability seriously. We’re also
clear that accountability doesn’t always look
like
a list of milestones and KPIs – it can be meeting up for a kawhe and kōrero, or talking things through over the phone.

And sometimes we contribute in other
ways – connecting people, sharing learning, convening a conversation, making a submission
or helping an idea find its next home.

View our mahi

How it
starts

Most of our funding starts with kōrero.
We don’t run funding rounds.

How it starts

Opportunities emerge through relationships, what we’re learning from communities and the sector, research we’ve commissioned, kōrero with other funders, and gaps or possibilities we’re noticing.

Sometimes we approach an organisation. Sometimes someone introduces us. And sometimes someone tells us about mahi we simply didn’t know existed. That’s why we’ve created a way to introduce yourself.

It isn’t an application. Just tell us who you are, what you’re working towards and why you think there might be a connection.

Tell us about your kaupapa

There’s no
standard grant

Some relationships last for years. Others exist around one very particular opportunity. We take accountability seriously. We’re also clear that accountability doesn’t always look like a list of milestones and KPIs – it can be meeting up for a kawhe and kōrero, or talking things through over the phone.

And sometimes we contribute in other ways – connecting people, sharing learning, convening a conversation, making a submission or helping an idea find its next home.

View our mahi

Opportunities emerge through relationships, what we’re learning from communities and the sector, research we’ve commissioned, kōrero with other funders, and gaps or possibilities we’re noticing.

Sometimes we approach an organisation. Sometimes someone introduces us. And sometimes someone tells us about mahi we simply didn’t know existed.

That’s why we’ve created a way to introduce yourself.
It isn’t an application. Just tell us who you are, what you’re working towards and why you think there might be a connection.

Tell us about your kaupapa

FAQ’s

Not quite us?

That’s okay!

Sometimes great mahi simply isn’t a fit for WFF.
That doesn’t make it less great.

We’d still like you to leave with something useful – research, resources, organisations to explore or another direction to try. And if we know someone you should talk to, we’ll point you their way.

Get in touchResources