Applications are now open for the 2025/26 Pacific Languages Community Fund.
The Pacific Languages Community Fund gives Pacific-led communities across Aotearoa New Zealand the chance to keep their languages alive, strong, and spoken in homes, schools, churches, and neighbourhoods.
Language is more than words. Through this fund, communities can lead projects that bring generations together, creating spaces where language and culture are celebrated and passed on.Since 2020, the Pacific Languages Community Fund has supported hundreds of community-driven projects, that foster intergenerational language learning, cultural pride, and wellbeing.
This year, a total of $1.305 million is available, with funding offered at three levels to suit projects of all sizes - from smaller initiatives under $20,000 to larger initiatives up to $100,000.
We are looking for ideas that will make a real difference: projects that help communities learn or strengthen Pacific languages, that engage youth under 30, and that reflect the priorities and traditions of the people they serve.
The impact of the fund is already evident in communities across the country. Pacific Learners, for example, created a free online hub with resources in Vagahau Niue, Te Gagana Tokelau, and Vosa Vakaviti. Every month, over 3,000 young learners visit the site, exploring their language in ways that build confidence, pride, and belonging. In Auckland, Akatokamanava Mauke Enua ran a ten-week Kūki Airani programme that combined weaving and cooking, bringing together 31 participants from children to elders. Families not only learned the language, but carried cultural traditions forward, continuing to weave and share their knowledge long after the programme ended.
Projects need to meet at least one of the following criteria set for this initiative: they should focus on revitalising a Realm language such as Tokelauan, Niuean or Cook Islands Māori, engage young Pacific people under 30, or be based outside Auckland and Wellington to help increase access in other regions.
Applications close at 12pm on Friday 28 November 2025, with successful projects running from January to October 2026.
For more information and to apply, visit the Pacific Languages Community Fund page.