Youth mentoring — connecting young people with caring adult mentors — is one of the most effective youth development interventions. Mentoring supports educational achievement, employment readiness, and resilience for young people facing adversity. This guide covers the key funding sources for youth mentoring in New Zealand.
MSD funds youth mentoring through:
- Youth Development Fund: Mentoring programmes for at-risk youth
- Youth Connections: Linking young people to support including mentoring
- Community Development Scheme: Mentoring as community development
Mentoring Aotearoa supports the mentoring sector:
- Quality standards for mentoring programmes
- Training for mentors and programme managers
- Research on mentoring effectiveness
Gaming trusts fund youth mentoring:
- Four Winds Foundation: Youth community development including mentoring
- Grassroots Trust: Youth development programmes
- Pub Charity: Community youth programmes
- Lion Foundation: Youth community development
Gaming trust mentoring applications:
- Programme coordinator salaries
- Mentor recruitment and training
- Youth activity costs (outings, events)
- Online mentoring technology
- Programme evaluation
Private funders supporting youth mentoring:
- Todd Foundation: Youth development
- J.R. McKenzie Trust: Child and youth wellbeing
- Tindall Foundation: Youth and social development
- Community foundations: Regional youth mentoring investment
Culturally grounded mentoring:
- Te Puni Kōkiri: Māori rangatahi mentoring
- Ministry for Pacific Peoples: Pacific youth mentoring
- Tuakana-tēina: Māori peer mentoring concept
- Pacific leadership mentoring: Pacific youth into leadership
Mentoring in schools:
- School mentoring: Mentors within schools for at-risk students
- Literacy mentoring: Reading mentors for primary students
- Tertiary transition: Mentoring for secondary to tertiary transition
Mentoring models:
- One-to-one mentoring: Paired adult-youth relationship
- Group mentoring: One mentor to multiple youth
- E-mentoring: Online mentoring for rural youth
- Peer mentoring: Near-peer mentoring in schools
- Speed mentoring: Short-term intensive mentoring
BBBS NZ:
- One-to-one community mentoring programme
- Volunteer mentors paired with young people
- Evidence-based matching process
Sport as mentoring vehicle:
- Sport NZ: Sport as positive youth development
- Sport mentors: Coaches as mentors for youth
- Gaming trusts: Sport mentoring programme costs
Strong applications demonstrate:
- Young people reached: Number in mentoring relationship, demographics
- Match quality: Duration of matches, mentor-mentee relationship
- Evidence: Research evidence for the mentoring model
- Equity: Māori, Pacific, and disadvantaged youth prioritised
- Training: Mentor recruitment, screening, and training quality
- Retention: Length of mentoring relationships (longer = better outcomes)
- Outcomes: Academic achievement, employment, wellbeing
- Volunteer mentors: Community volunteers as resource
Tahua's grants management platform helps youth mentoring organisations manage grant applications across MSD, gaming trusts, philanthropy, and community funders, tracking mentor-mentee relationships, youth outcomes, and programme quality.