Social Investment Fund

Pathway One now open

The Social Investment Fund opened on 25 August 2025 with the first pathway new investment (round one). This round will focus on the priority outcomes and cohorts as decided by Fund Ministers in June 2025.

Visit the Pathway One: New Investment (Round One) page to apply.

On that page you will find information and resources to help you with your application, including:

Application Guide
Assessment Framework and selection criteria for applications
Video overview of the assessment framework
Quick Guides to help you understand aspects of the selection criteria
Self-selection exercise so you can assess your eligibility for this round of funding before applying

Webinars

Webinar: Wednesday 27 August, 10am

Join Joe Fowler and Kylie Reiri of SIA in this online session about the Social Investment Fund Round One. There will be an opportunity for you to ask questions.

Register for the webinar here(external link)

Find more information on our webinars, including recordings of previous sessions, on the Webinars page.

Pathways to funding

There are four pathways available to the sector:

· New Investment (Round One) – opened 25 August, closes 23 September 2025

· Contract Consolidation – Expressions of Interest open 1 September 2025

· Community Commissioning – in development

· Co-investment – in development

Social Investment Fund information

Demonstration initiatives
Webinars
Social Investment Fund FAQs
Register your interest for Fund updates

About the Social Investment Fund

The Social Investment Fund will:

focus on priority outcomes and cohorts agreed by Fund Ministers
invest early to help New Zealanders overcome a range of challenges to achieve their goals
enable us to test and scale the social investment approach
work in partnership with social sector organisations, iwi and other agencies.

In 2025 and early-2026, the Social Investment Fund will primarily make new investments in organisations that have the infrastructure and capacity to help us test and scale the social investment approach at pace. This work will pave the way for changes that will benefit the wider social sector.

Who can apply to the Social Investment Fund?

We partner with organisations delivering health and social services across New Zealand. This includes:

Registered charities and not-for-profit organisations
Iwi and Māori organisations
Whānau Ora providers
Pacific organisations
Community groups and trusts
Social enterprises focused on health and social outcomes
Other organisations with a primary purpose of delivering health and social services

To be eligible, organisations must be legally registered entities in New Zealand that can enter into contracts and have systems to safely collect and share participant information. We're committed to working with organisations at different stages of capability and we will support successful applicants to meet our data and evaluation requirements.