Waikato Intercultural Fund

Bring people together by helping to grow funding for activities and groups working to build social cohesion across the Waikato’s diverse communities.

"Open Heart, an Open Mind and an Open Door."

The Waikato Intercultural Fund was established by Momentum Waikato to address issues of ‘Community Connectedness’, which had been cited as a leading issue by respondents to it’s Vital Signs research in 2016 and then came to the fore after the Christchurch terrorist attack in March 2019.

Driven by a team of volunteers, the WIF is pursuing the vision of a flourishing intercultural society in Aotearoa New Zealand, where everyone recognises and celebrates the diversity of humanity and the humanity of diversity.

The purpose of WIF is to encourage and empower the peoples and communities of the Waikato to embrace and enact an intercultural worldview and the day-to-day practice of open-minded inclusion.

This includes connecting people of every culture, tradition and background in ways that create genuine, fruitful and lasting human relationships, that in turn catalyse a wider and more diverse sense of human community for everyone.

Waikato Intercultural Fund – Mission and Strategy Statement

We recognise Te Tiriti O Waitangi as the founding document of Aotearoa New Zealand, the role of mana whenua as kaitiakitanga, and the respective historical and cultural experiences of Tangata Whenua, and Tangata Tiriti from both the global North and South.

Our vision is a flourishing intercultural society in Aotearoa New Zealand, where everyone recognises and celebrates the diversity of humanity and the humanity of diversity.

Our purpose is to encourage and empower the peoples and communities of the Waikato to embrace and enact an intercultural worldview.

By definition, this includes connecting people of every culture, tradition and background in ways that create genuine, fruitful and lasting human relationships that in turn catalyse a wider and more diverse sense of human community for everyone.

Our mission is to provide leadership, strategic direction and resources towards an intercultural Waikato.

We engender generosity and seek philanthropic donations from anyone who supports our vision of an intercultural Waikato and Aotearoa New Zealand, invest the gathered funds with Momentum Waikato Community Foundation, and then use the resulting income to drive activity in pursuit of our vision.

Our strategy to realise our mission consists of the following objectives.

The Waikato Intercultural Fund will work to change the attitudes, values and actions of all sectors of our society, so inclusivity and diversity become the universally practised values of the region’s and the nation’s mainstream culture.
The Fund will finance both its own initiatives and those of other like-minded organisations.
The Fund will prioritise investment in projects and programmes that will shift broad cultural and social attitudes and practices towards interculturalism, including funding activities where appropriate aimed at individuals or small groups that will realise this vision.
The Waikato Intercultural Fund will actively seek to foster meaningful relationships with and involvement by Tangata Whenua.