The Community Education Fund provides small grants to local organisations so they can encourage their communities to enrol to vote.
This will include providing education opportunities and supporting electoral preparedness in communities that have lower rates of enrolment and participation.
The fund is split into two parts: Māori Electoral Option and General Election.
Applications for the Māori Electoral Option part of the fund open on 7 April 2026 and close on 11 May 2026. Application documents will be available here soon.
Applications for the General Election part of the fund open on 25 May 2026 and further details will be published closer to that date.
Māori Electoral Option
The Māori Electoral Option part of the fund is open to all community organisations across Aotearoa to provide education about the Māori Electoral Option and the choice this offers to all eligible Māori voters.
Projects must be delivered between 18 June 2026 and 6 August 2026.
The Community Education Fund
- Will accept applications for up to $25,000
- Will only fund community education that uses the Electoral Commission’s messages about the Māori Electoral Option
- Will only fund politically neutral community education projects
- Will only fund projects that can safely collect, store, and transfer sensitive personal information
- Will only fund organisations that can successfully manage any potential, actual, or perceived conflicts of interest
Who can apply for funding?
Your organisation must be a legal entity to apply to the Community Education Fund. It must have a governance structure, financial information, and an organisation bank account.
The fund will accept applications from iwi, hapū, marae, registered charities, incorporated societies, or churches. The fund cannot accept applications from schools, libraries, for-profit businesses, or local or regional councils.
If your organisation is not a legal entity, please get in touch to discuss further at cef@elections.govt.nz