OUR STORY
Our story begins here
Manawa, a name gifted by Ngāti Hangarau, means heart.
It reflects the life force that connects people, place and future, while honouring the enduring relationship between this organisation and the Ōmanawa River and Falls, where the region's first electricity generation began.
Just as the heart sustains the body, Manawa reflects the life force connecting people, place and future. We protect and grow the community investment fund while enabling ideas, supporting communities and investing in a stronger future.
Where our story begins
From the sky, across the land, through the water, into our communities.
From the sky
Protecting what sustains us
Across the land
Connecting people and place
Through the water
Honouring our natural and cultural heritage
Into our communites
Enabling ideas and opportunity
WHERE OUR NAME COMES FROM
The story of Manawa Trust begins long before the Trust itself.
Ngāti Hangarau are mana whenua of Ōmanawa, with an enduring relationship to its whenua, river and falls. Ōmanawa is a place of deep cultural significance, part of a connected system of waterways through the Kaimais that has sustained people and place for generations.
The name Manawa, meaning heart, reflects this connection. It speaks to the life force flowing through the whenua, the water and the communities of the Western Bay of Plenty.
Ōmanawa also holds an important place in our region's modern history. In 1915, the Ōmanawa Falls Power Station began generating electricity for Tauranga. Built into the rock beside the falls, it was New Zealand's first underground hydro-generating station and helped power the region's growth.
More than a century later, the connection between Ōmanawa, energy and community continues in a different form.
Gifted by Ngāti Hangarau, the name Manawa carries where our story began into what we exist to do today: help sustain the life, possibility and future of the Western Bay of Plenty.
Our name carries our whakapapa forward.
How we create impact
Our role goes beyond funding. Five principles guide how we work alongside communities to create lasting impact across the Western Bay of Plenty.
01
We Enable
We help communities turn ideas into action, removing barriers and unlocking potential.
02
We Connect
We bring people, organisations and opportunities together to strengthen the region.
03
We Champion
We stand behind the people, projects and initiatives shaping the Western Bay.
04
We Grow
We invest with tomorrow in mind, supporting grassroots and transformational change alike.
05
We Sustain
As kaitiaki, we protect and grow the community investment fund so it can continue creating opportunity for generations.
WHAT WE BELIEVE
Healthy communities create a healthy future.
Communities already hold many of the answers. Our role is to help unlock them.
Lasting change happens through partnership.
Investing in people creates stronger places.
Nature and community are inseparable.
Every generation has a responsibility to leave something better than they found.
Every decision should have a clear purpose.
Impact is measured over decades, not funding rounds.
Meet the people behind Manawa Trust
Meet our Trustees and the team working alongside communities across the Western Bay of Plenty.
Explore our strategy
See how our purpose, priorities and values guide the future we're helping create.
The heartbeat behind a thriving Western Bay of Plenty.
NAVIGATION
WRITE TO US
The Kollective
DX Box HP40007
Tauranga 3112
VISIT US
The Kollective
145, 17th Avenue,
Tauranga
CONTACT
Phone us
07 578 5094
Email us
info@manawatrust.nz