Image: Tui De Roy | ©
Two Salvin's albatrosses nested upon rocks as the sun sets in the Bounty Islands.
DOC Community Fund – Pūtea Tautiaki Hapori
The DOC Community Fund supports community-led conservation projects on public and private land.

The DOC Community Fund will open soon for applications

The Fund will be open for applications from Tuesday 31 March 2026 until 5 pm Thursday 30 April 2026.

For information on the eligibility criteria and assessment for the 2025/2026 round, see How to apply.

DOC Community Fund 2024/2025

$9.2 million from DOC’s Community Fund was awarded to 20 groups protecting threatened species and ecosystems across Aotearoa New Zealand.

Projects were funded for up to three years and covered a range of threatened ecosystems and species across Aotearoa New Zealand, including plants, invertebrates, and birds like tara iti/fairy tern, New Zealand’s rarest bird.

The fund received 291 applications, totalling requests for more than $141 million. This was the largest amount of funding ever sought through this fund, compared to $77 million in 2023. With an average grant of $450,000, the funding targeted investment into high-value conservation outcomes, and supported collaboration and engagement with local communities and iwi.

View successful 2025 recipients and their related projects

Contact

For funding queries email doccf@doc.govt.nz or phone 0800 86 20 20.

Email doccf@doc.govt.nz with the subject 'subscribe' to subscribe to updates.