AKO MOANA FOUNDATION
Investing in Pacific futures, generation by generation.
The Ako Moana Foundation is the charitable arm of Moana Impact Studio, established to direct resources back into the Pacific communities at the heart of our work. We exist because aspiration without access is not enough.
Who We Are
About the Foundation
The Ako Moana Foundation is a not-for-profit entity established to advance education, leadership, and opportunity for Pacific communities across Australia. Founded by Tofa Amanda Moors-Mailei and Bronwyn Williams, the Foundation operates with a clear purpose: to ensure that the commercial success of Moana Impact Studio creates direct, accountable benefit for the communities it serves.
As a founding commitment, Moana Impact Studio directs a minimum of 20% of its revenue into the Foundation during its establishment period, scaling to a greater proportion as the studio grows. This is not a corporate social responsibility gesture. It is a structural accountability mechanism built into the way we operate.
The Foundation is currently in the process of registration as a charity with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) and incorporation as a Company Limited by Guarantee.
Application Open: 1st September 2026
Our Purpose
What we exist to do
The Ako Moana Foundation directs its resources toward three interconnected aims.
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We remove financial and systemic barriers that prevent Pacific students from entering, continuing, and completing tertiary education. Our scholarships and microgrants are designed to meet real need, at the point where it matters most.
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We invest in the development of Pacific leaders across sectors, supporting the people who will shape institutions, communities, and systems from within. Leadership is a collective resource, and we treat it as one.
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We support the organisations, networks, and initiatives that sustain Pacific community life in Australia. Strong communities are not a byproduct of good policy. They are built deliberately, by people who know them from the inside.
How We Invest
Scholarships and Microgrants
The Foundation currently offers two forms of direct community investment.
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Ako Moana Scholarships support Pacific students to pursue and complete tertiary education. Scholarships are awarded based on demonstrated financial need, academic commitment, and community connection.
Eligibility:
Identify as from Pacific/Pasifika heritage,
Enrolled or accepted into an Australian tertiary institution (TAFE, undergraduate, or postgraduate)
Demonstrate financial need
Demonstrate connection to and engagement with Pacific communities
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Ako Moana Microgrants provide small, flexible funding to Pacific-led community initiatives, student groups, and emerging leaders who need resources to bring an idea to life. We know that great ideas often stall not because of lack of vision but because of lack of funding at the earliest stage. Microgrants address that gap directly.
Eligibility:
Pacific-led initiative or applicant
Based in Australia
Funding will support a defined activity, project, or educational cost
Preference given to first-time applicants and community-based initiatives with limited access to other funding sources
Application Open: 1st September 2026
Governance, Accountability and Commitment
How we govern ourselves
The Ako Moana Foundation is governed by a Board of Directors drawn from across Pacific communities, professional disciplines, and geographic regions. Our governance model is designed to ensure that the Foundation remains accountable to the communities it serves, not only to its founders or funders.
Our governing principles:
Decisions are made collectively, with community voice at the centre
Financial reporting is transparent and publicly available
All grants are assessed against clear, published criteria
No funds are directed to private benefit
The Foundation operates independently of Moana Impact Studio's commercial operations, with a clear and documented relationship between the two entities
The Foundation is governed by a constitution that enshrines its charitable purpose, its reinvestment obligations, and its accountability to Pacific communities. Directors serve in accordance with ACNC governance standards and the Foundation's own code of conduct.
Make a donation.
When you work with Moana Impact Studio, your investment goes further than the project.
The relationship between Moana Impact Studio and the Ako Moana Foundation is not incidental. It is structural. Every consulting engagement, every program delivered, every partnership formed contributes directly to a pipeline of resources that flows back into Pacific communities.
This is what tautua looks like in practice: expertise placed in service of community, not extracted from it.
We invite individuals, organisations, and philanthropic partners to support the Foundation's work. Whether through direct donation, partnership, or sponsoring a scholarship cohort, there are meaningful ways to contribute.