With more than $250,000 of innovation funding available for the remainder of 2019, the Vodafone New Zealand Foundation is inviting registered charities to apply for grants.

The Vodafone NZ Foundation has a goal to halve the number of excluded and disadvantaged young people in New Zealand, and wants to hear from programmes that empower youth – ranging from systems level change to individual youth development projects and technology projects.

Vodafone NZ Foundation manager Linn Araboglos explains, “According to Treasury New Zealand, there are 210,000 children and young people who don’t have access to the resources and support they need to grow into the great adults they want to be. We want to change that.

“What we want to fund are innovative projects that create better outcomes for our focus groups – young people ages 12-24 who have interacted with the justice system, who have state care experience, who have been long term beneficiaries, excluded from mainstream schooling or who are not engaged in education, employment or training. We also have a desire to fund self-determined projects with outcomes that will benefit Māori rangatahi and whānau.”

Grants will be awarded to innovative projects that are aligned to the Foundation’s strategy, generate outcomes in one or more of the Foundation’s five key areas, and utilise technology.

To apply, registered charities simply need to apply online before 15 November through the following channels:

• Projects seeking under $50,000: http://foundation.vodafone.co.nz/innovation-fund/application-form/
• Projects seeking over $50,000 in funding should contact Grants Advisor, Helen Anderson by emailing helen.anderson@vodafone.com

Since its inception, the Vodafone NZ Foundation has awarded over $27m worth of grants to a range of charities, including Zeal, a West Auckland based non-profit whose Online Crisis Intervention solution reaches out to young people in crisis online and provides meaningful, interpersonal support, helping them get to a better place and in some occasions has even saved lives.
Linn adds: “The Vodafone NZ Foundation has a vision – to see all young people in Aotearoa New Zealand living lives they value. With their energy and creativity, together with the right support, young people can achieve truly amazing things. We are dedicated to creating a thriving and prosperous Aotearoa, where all young people can live lives they value, which is why we’re on a 10 year, $20 million journey to transform the lives of young Kiwis.”

For more information about the Vodafone NZ Foundation, please visit http://foundation.vodafone.co.nz/