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Te Whakaruruhau
Community-rooted, Māori-led Climate Action
Reimagining Conservation
Unapologetically Māori. Real-world results.
From ngahere to moana, support projects that heal ecosystems and strengthen communities.
The future of Aotearoa New Zealand’s environment depends on Māori leadership and Indigenous knowledge. Whakaruruhau funds it.
We’re a transformative platform connecting philanthropists and impact investors with Māori-led environmental initiatives across Aotearoa—blending the reach of crowdfunding with the rigour of values-based investment, entirely on Māori terms.
Rooted in tikanga Māori, Whakaruruhau is more than a funding tool: it’s a living expression of manaakitanga, kaitiakitanga, and rangatiratanga—a digital whare that shelters our stories, our sovereignty, and our solutions.
How Whakaruruhau Works
Whakaruruhau is more than a funding platform—it's a collective impact engine.
We profile Māori-led initiatives, connect aligned funders, and report transparent impact on Māori terms.
Whakaruruhau connects Māori-led initiatives with aligned funders—and proves the results.
The path is simple: join, invest, mahi, report.
Join — Māori-led initiatives are verified and onboarded, so funders back trusted kaupapa with community mandate and real outcomes.
Invest — You back a project or contribute to the General Fund, so pūtea is stewarded where it’s needed most.
Mahi — Funding enables on-the-ground restoration and protection, so kaitiaki are paid, habitats are healed, and local skills grow.
Report — We publish collective impact data and stories, so you see what changed for people and place—hectares restored, kaitiaki roles, taonga species returning.
Reimagining Conservation in Four Steps
1
Join a movement of verified Māori-led initiatives 🤝
Māori-led projects apply and agree to uphold kaitiakitanga, manaakitanga, rangatiratanga, and intergenerational wellbeing. We verify mandate (iwi/hapū/landowners), readiness, tikanga-aligned governance, health & safety, and data-sharing under Māori governance and data sovereignty.
What this delivers: trusted kaupapa with community mandate, safer delivery, and a clear monitoring plan that protects people and place.
2
Invest & choose how to back 💚
Investors and philanthropists can:
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Back a specific initiative (see needs, milestones, and recent impact), or
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Contribute to the General Fund, strategically stewarded by Whakaruruhau to meet the greatest need.
What this delivers: flexible giving that becomes paid kaitiaki roles, habitat restoration, pest control, plantings, and local capability—with transparent allocation and reporting.
3
Mahi — delivery on the ground 🌱
Funding enables kaitiaki to restore and protect ecosystems and lead community action—from ngahere to moana—guided by tikanga, maramataka, and safeguards that ensure ethical, accountable use of pūtea.
What this delivers: projects, not products — locally led, culturally grounded work that heals habitats, builds skills, and strengthens whānau.
4
Report — impact measured and shared 📊
Each initiative shares key outcomes and evidence. We aggregate and visualise results in a public dashboard and publish stories that show change over time—mātauranga Māori alongside Western science—with clear methods, caveats, and update timelines.
What this delivers: visible change for people and place — hectares restored, kaitiaki roles, taonga species returning, predators removed, carbon sequestered — so supporters can see exactly what their pūtea achieved.
Featured Initiatives
Hand-picked, verified projects across Aotearoa with urgent needs. View their story, review impacts, and fund directly or via the General Fund.
View the full roster of initiatives on the map below. Scroll, click, and explore each one in detail or visit their profiles.
Initiative Profiles
Raukūmara Pae Maunga Restoration Project
Raukūmara Mountain Range
High above the eastern coastline of Aotearoa (New Zealand) and cloaked in the korowai of our taiao, lies the largest native forest from mountain to sea in the North Island, that’s Raukūmara Pae Maunga. Join our mission as we breathe life back into our ngahere, empower our people and carry the legacy of Raukūmara Pae Maunga into the future.
🌿Māori owned and led
📍Regional
🎯Project-based funding
✅ Verified
⏳Need now: $8,500 for pest control — 63% funded
Papawhakaritorito Trust
Auckland
The purpose of Papawhakaritorito Charitable Trust is to elevate Indigenous seed, soil and food sovereignty through education, research, and practices that decolonise our current food system
🌿 Māori owned and led
🗺️ National
🛠️ Operational funding
✅ Verified
⏳Need Now: $150,000 for new seed storage infrastructure
Te Puna Taonga Ora
Rangiora
Te Puna Taonga Ora is a bold, Māori-led initiative to establish Aoteaora New Zealand's first integrated bio bank and seed bank for native plants, animals, fungi, and kai species. Combining cutting-edge science with mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge), it will preserve reproductive material and cultural knowledge to enable restoration, climate adaptation, and species recovery.
🌿 Māori owned and led
🗺️ National
🛠️ Operational funding
✅ Verified
⏳Need Now: $200,000 for Operational Funds (staff wages)
Impact Snapshot
How pūtea becomes outcomes — in real time.
Whakaruruhau enables real-time data and insights while protecting Indigenous sovereignty over data and storytelling. Unlike other platforms that channel money into projects using standard metrics, whakaruruhau is outcome-based, reflects Māori values, honours community-defined indicators of success, and centres collective, narrative-based impact.
760
Tonnes of Carbon Sequestered
124
Jobs Created
9874
Native Species Planted
4300
Hectares of Land Reforested to Native Ecosystems
2200
Deer, Goats, Pigs, and Geese Hunted
658
Possum, Stoat, and Rat Traps Laid
350
Kilograms of Food Produced for Communities
11
Species Returning to Restored Lands
17
Communities in the Kaitiaki Collective
$1.5m
Invested in Māori-led Biodiversity Initiatives
90
Kilograms of Clothing Materials Produced (from Hunting and Trapping)
13
UNSDGs Implemented at Place
Latest Wins from Initiatives
Invest in Your Future
Invest with confidence. Report with evidence.
Whakaruruhau makes it easy for investors to give with purpose and certainty, offering a transparent, culturally aligned way to support Māori-led environmental initiatives with measurable impact.
Use verified data, visuals, and stories to show progress on your own climate and nature commitments.
How it works for you
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Choose — fund a specific initiative or the General Fund.
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Track — see milestones, metrics, maps, and media in real time.
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Report — download investor-ready packs (PDF + CSV/JSON) for your ESG/climate reporting.
What you’ll receive
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Verified project brief (mandate, governance, H&S, tikanga, data governance).
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Impact log with timestamps: hectares restored, taonga species sightings, rākau planted, waterways protected, kaitiaki roles, etc.
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Quarterly investor pack: one-pager + charts, a short story, photo permissions, and your contribution’s share of outcomes.
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Roll-ups & comparables: initiative-level and aggregated results you can map to SDGs (13/14/15) and nature/climate disclosures (e.g., biodiversity & community indicators).
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Engaged giving: options for hui, wānanga, or site visits.
Data use & safeguards
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Māori governance + data sovereignty apply to all indicators and stories.
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Clear permissions (TK/BC Labels) for how images and narratives can be reused in your reports.
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Transparency: allocation notes for General Fund grants; methodology and caveats published.
Te Whakaruruhau Partners and Investors
The biodiversity created from Whakaruruhau projects is due to our generous investors. If you are interested in becoming one, please contact our team.
How Whakaruruhau Compares
Not another marketplace — Whakaruruhau turns pūtea into auditable impact. Mandate verification, tikanga-aligned governance, live dashboards, and PDF/CSV packs for ESG and nature reporting. Compare features below.
Feature
✅ Māori-led and grounded in kaupapa Māori
🌏 Supports Māori environmental sovereignty
📊 Collective Impact Dashboard
🔐 Data sovereignty & tikanga-based governance
📖 Indigenous storytelling & case studies
🌱 Cultural integrity embedded in funding process
🤝 Capacity-building and project support
💸 General fund for strategic distribution
Whakaruruhau
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