The Campaign for Action on Family Violence works with communities and individuals to create social conditions that support men to be safe in their relationships, well in themselves and live violence free. We have created a Changemaker fund to support community Changemakers to take a lead in supporting men’s change.  

We want a safer Aotearoa.

A key focus of our second funding round is to have more changemakers who can use what they have learned through their own life experience of violence or trauma, and change, to help other men.

Who is a Changemaker?

A Changemaker is someone who promotes, encourages and shows the way for other men so they can heal, grow and change. Meet some Changemakers below…

Wiremu made the change in his life through engaging with a group of men in his local area. He chose to lean on these other men, learning about himself and learning new ways of coping with life. As a result, he now shares his story with other men to grow the reach of the group that helped him.

Matt recognised the hurt he experienced growing up was impacting the way he saw himself and the world. He made some brave choices to understand his inner boy and not transmit the trauma he experienced into the next generation. He started using his barber chair to connect with men about things that are usually taboo – men responded and stepped into the safe space. He then began a movement which brought other Barbers together empower them to do the same and is now using his influence to drive a cultural shift.

Luke was a new dad who found himself struggling and trapped in the man box, he knew it was impacting him and his kids. He made the brave decision to reach out and, in his words, this “saved…my life and my relationship”. The group he attended has made a mission of encouraging more local men to step into self-awareness, good emotional regulation and support for each other, through local campaigns and telling their stories openly and honestly. Luke now supports other men in his community who might be struggling - or just need a hand or ideas for activities when it’s their weekend with the kids.

Corban made the change. He listened to his family, he let go of the anger, he stepped into new skills and new ways of fulfilling himself. He accepts his emotions and shares these with others – he chose change and loves it. Corban has shared his story with his friends and family, his mixed martial arts networks and his community - normalising change, help seeking and self-awareness.

We want Changemakers to:

• build local networks of men who provide support for each other,
• encourage more men to get the help they need,
• build the capability of men to support change in other men,
• foster communities of men which support safe relationships, help seeking and behaviour change,
• challenge attitudes and beliefs which stop men from seeking help, making changes and being the kinds of partners, dads and mates they want to be.

What will we fund?

• Projects that can explain how they will deliver on the changes described above.
• Projects that build on previous initiatives.
• Projects that can demonstrate impact.
• Projects that increase the capability and capacity of changemakers.

What won’t we fund?

• Initiatives delivering services to the community e.g. stopping violence services, groups delivering mental health services and parenting programmes.     
• Operational costs other than reasonable project overheads.
• Capital items such as computers, vehicles and equipment.
• Political advocacy (for example, lobbying the government).
• Activities or programmes that take place outside of New Zealand.
• Activities that have already taken place by the application closing date.

Working in Partnership

We’re looking for more than funding opportunities, we want to build partnerships with changemakers across the motu.

Here are some of the ways we’d like to support changemakers:

• We’d like to connect you with other like-minded groups and projects for collaborative opportunities that further support the Change is Possible movement.
• We’ll lean on the skillsets of our team and some of our national partners to support you in achieving the changes you seek. In the past, that’s looked like connecting with mentors and each other, tools and resources, or skills and insights sharing so we all learn and grow.
• We understand that being a changemaker comes with great responsibility and, sometimes, pressure. We want to make sure there are healthy support measures in place to keep you and your team safe while you carry out your mahi.
• We recognise that this a new way to support men’s change, so we want to learn about what works, including supporting you to evaluate your work in a meaningful way. Don’t worry, we’re not referring to check boxes and forms. We want to unpack the stories and learnings with community changemakers so that we can be innovative and keep building on ideas that work.

We’ve built an online forum to help changemakers to connect with each other, access tools and resources, and share ideas. It’s also a chance to learn from people who have becomes leader of their own movements, and who are invited to speak around the world.

Applications for the Changemaker Fund closed on Wednesday, 1 May 2024. To be first to know when the next round of funding becomes available, sign up to receive our newsletter below.