Current Funding
The Ministry of Youth Development (MYD) – Te Manatū Whakahiato Taiohi – spends around $12.062 million (excluding the Ākonga Youth Development Community Fund) per year on a wide range of youth development and youth enterprise initiatives. We fund organisations that employ a youth development approach which supports the wellbeing of young people (aged 12 to 24 years) in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Current MYD Funding Opportunities
Youth Development Partnership and Innovation Fund (YDPIF)
The Ministry of Youth Development (MYD) is seeking expressions of interest (EOI) from potential funding partners. An EOI and associated Frequently Asked Questions regarding the YDPIF will be available on the Government Electronic Tenders Service website from Tuesday 12 August 2025, and will remain active throughout the 2025/2026 Financial Year.
The YDPIF will co-fund early intervention and prevention youth development programmes and services in partnership with businesses, Iwi, trusts, charities, or other philanthropic organisations to increase investment in the youth sector and the number of young people that can be supported.
Funded programmes will be required to have strong alignment with and contribute to supporting the Government’s priorities:
- Target 5: Fewer people on the Jobseeker Support Benefit
- Target 6: Increased student attendance
- supporting young parents, aged 12-24 years, with children in their first 2,000 days (aligned with the Child and Youth Strategy).
The YDPIF will use an ongoing ‘two-step’ process to identify funding partners. Potential funding partners will first be engaged via an EOI process. The intent of the EOI is to understand the market and identify potential funders. Respondents to the EOI will not receive a contract or funding directly through the EOI. The second step in the process will involve MYD engaging with each funding partner to identify a suitable provider.
Ākonga Youth Development Community Fund
Funding decisions regarding the Ākonga Fund for the 2024 and 2025 calendar years have been made. Information on funded programmes can be found here – this information has also been published on the Government Electronic Tenders website. Queries can be directed to socialprocurement@msd.govt.nz.
Expanding Youth Enterprise and Education Funding (2025-2027)
Decisions have been made regarding recipients of funding through the three funds within MYD’s Expanding Youth Enterprise and Education funding stream. For the Introduction to Enterprise Fund and the Building Entrepreneurial Capital Fund, the initial term of this funding is for the period Tuesday 01 July 2025 to Wednesday 30 June 2027. For the Developing Youth-Led Businesses Fund, the initial term of this funding is for the period Tuesday 01 July 2025 to Tuesday 30 June 2026. Information on funded organisations can be found here.
MYD Funding (2023-25)
In 2022 and 2023, MYD undertook significant competitive open tender procurement processes which allocated available funding to support a wide range of youth development and youth enterprise programmes, services, and initiatives.
Information on organisations funded by MYD (2023-2025) can be found here. Queries can be directed to MYDfunding@msd.govt.nz. Please click here to learn more about programmes funded through the Ākonga Youth Development Community Fund.
Future funding opportunities will be published on this webpage, and MYD's Facebook, and Instagram, as well as the Government Electronic Tenders Service. We encourage you to follow us on Instagram and Facebook, and continue to check back on this webpage, for information on any upcoming funding rounds.