In 2004, Te Pūtea Whakatupu Trust was established through the Māori Fisheries Act to promote Māori education, training, and research through a managed fund of $20 million. Each year, the trust provides an annual philanthropic funding round for initiatives that support Māori to pursue excellence within the fields of education, science, leadership and innovation.

Two grants make up the annual funding. The first is the Tonganui Scholarship, which offers three $10,000 scholarships to Māori advancing tikanga Māori, mātauranga Māori and Te Ao Māori within the oceans sector. The second is the Pou Herenga Tangata Award, consisting of five $5,000 awards that either support rangatahi Māori who aspire to community leadership, or organisations supporting rangatahi to become leaders in their community.

Watch the full story at The Spinoff.