
Christine Stride is Executive Assistant to the Baptist National Leader and works at the Baptist National Support Centre in Auckland. She is part of Titirangi Baptist Church.
Local Baptist churches are successfully applying to the Tindall Foundation Fund (TFF) for community-benefiting projects such as parenting and budgeting courses, community gardens, and wrap-around youth support courses for young people.
The next funding application round closes at the end of February.
A maximum of $15,000.00 can be requested.
The Baptist Union is a local donation manager (LDM), which means if you’re associated with a Baptist church, you need to apply for Tindall Foundation funding through us. It’s easy to do.
Click here for more information
The Tindall Foundation gives donations and support to charitable organisations, working in partnership with councils, government departments and iwi to fund projects that will have a positive impact on whānau, communities and the environment.
Connect Blenheim applied for funding to run the after-school Shine Girl personal development programme.
Connect Blenheim’s Sue Avery says the application process was easy to follow, and the application questions and information requested were relevant and thought-provoking.
“They helped us to ensure we were laser focused on our outcomes and had thought through all the potential issues,” she says.
“The questions also helped us to plan for and ensure the sustainability of our project going forward.”
More than 160 girls from primary schools in Blenheim and Picton have graduated from Shine Girl in the last two and a half years, with a further 21 Marlborough Girls College students graduating from Shine Girl 2.0 in the same period.
Parents’ feedback on the programme is positive.
“[My daughter] has loved the programme… at home she has applied sharing emotions, and her confidence within herself is shining though.”
“I have noticed more confidence in her and she has been hanging out with us more in the lounge instead of always being in her room.”
Albany Community Action Trust (linked with Albany Baptist Church) ran two Parenting Toolbox courses for parents of preschoolers in 2024. The second course was also supported by the Upper Harbour Local Council Board.
After completing a Community Needs Assessment, the Trust discovered a significant need for helping families with parenting.
“This provided excellent justification for running parenting courses,” says Albany Baptist pastor and ACA Trustee Odele Habets.
The next step was for several people from Albany Baptist to undergo Parenting Place training to become course facilitators. This preparation – the needs assessment and facilitator training – meant the Trust was in a good position for applying to the Tindall Foundation.
“The courses have been well-received, and the feedback has been excellent. They have brought confidence, new ideas and support to parents in our local area. Our goals as a church community trust fit within the values of Tindall Foundation,” says Odele.
The process of applying to the Tindall Foundation was straightforward, she says. Her advice to would-be applicants is to keep the reporting of all social outcomes and impacts on track, as well as all the financial records.
“Our recommendation [is to] give it a go. Understand why you want to run a particular project, plan for it and then apply for funding. After all, if you don’t try, how will you ever know?”
Other churches to receive funding are Kaiapoi Baptist which has been partnering with the CAP (Christians Against Poverty) Debt Centre since 2021, Kaikohe Baptist which has developed community gardens in partnership with the Kaikohe (Rau Marama) Community Trust, and Putaruru Baptist which supports a 24/7 Youth programme in local high schools via the Putaruru Baptist Trust.
Photos: Left: The Shine Girl programme in action at Picton School. Right: Odele Habets (far right) with graduates of one of the Parenting Toolbox course.