WHAT IS THE MANAAKI FUND?
The MITO Manaaki Fund is designed to provide temporary financial assistance to learners facing unexpected hardship that is impacting their studies. Successful applicants will receive a one-off payment to help with alleviating financial barriers.
The payment is not intended to cover programme fees, but to help in other areas of day-to-day living such as to cover grocery bills, childcare, travel costs etc.
Applications for 2025 will close on Friday 19 December. 2026 applications will open on Monday 12 January.
FAQs
This fund is available to currently enrolled MITO learners* who are experiencing financial barriers that are impacting their training.
*Excludes learners enrolled in school micro-credentials and learners enrolled in the free Introduction to Automotive Engineering Micro-credential and the free Introduction to Commercial Road Transport Micro-credential.
This is when you have difficulty paying your bills and/or purchasing items for essential day-to-day living. You may be facing difficult/challenging situations that impact your financial situation. For example:
- Necessary medical costs
- Inability to buy day-to-day essentials
- Transport costs
- A disability or temporary illness
- Unforeseen family issues
- Death or illness of an immediate family member
- Natural disasters
- Family violence
- Other financial problems that adversely impact your livelihood.
You may not use the funding for:
- Course/tuition fees or related costs
- Technology hardware or software
- Any other items that do not directly support hardship.
No. You can only apply for this funding once in 2025.
The funding provided will be at MITO’s discretion.
No, but you must explain why you’re applying for the funds and what you intend to use them for in the application form.
Please direct any questions to manaakifund@mito.org.nz.