Our Te Tiriti Journey
We strive to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi as the founding document of Aotearoa. We’re committed to growing our understanding of te ao Māori and being able to contribute real value to the partnership.
He Waka Hourua
A Shared Journey Grounded in Te Tiriti
While te ao Māori has featured in aspects of our history, it has not always been deeply woven into how we operate or make decisions. We acknowledge that we have missed some opportunities and made some missteps along the way. This plan, and open publishing of the plan, marks an opportunity to move towards a more meaningful way to honour Te Tiriti.
Our Values
Volunteer Wellington is guided by values of:
He Waka Hourua
Growing our understanding of te ao Māori and contributing meaningfully to the Te Tiriti partnership.
Manaakitanga
Creating a welcoming space where everyone feels respected and supported.
Tautoko
Working together to build trust, empower people, and support wellbeing.
Whakawhanake
Seeking new ideas, encouraging creativity, and always striving to improve.
Our Name
In 2011, a te reo Māori translation of Volunteer Wellington’s mission statement was sought. Christian Pene, a fluent te reo Māori speaker, and friend of a then board member, was invited to a discussion with board and staff who talked about the organisation’s work and impacts. He suggested Te Puna Tautoko, and this narrative was shared in our annual report (2010-11): “the base and strong support for new happenings; literally, [Christian] explained, the continuous spring of water (te puna) agreed upon, turned into action (tautoko)”. Over time, Te Puna Tautoko and its translation came to be used as an alternative name for our organisation.
Earlier, when Volunteer Porirua opened in August 2001, the centre was launched as Porirua Tautokotia, with a blessing from Dr. Taku Parai of Ngāti Toa.
As part of our commitment to He Waka Hourua – a shared journey grounded in Te Tiriti, we are taking a closer look at how our name reflects who we are today, who we are in relationship with, and how we want to show up as we build future relationships.
Our history includes moments of connection with te ao Māori, alongside gaps and missed opportunities. We acknowledge that te ao Māori has not always been deeply woven into how we operate or make decisions.
In 2026 we chose to pause, listen, and act with greater care when it came to our name. We reached out to the Whakapapa Committee for guidance and to extend a request to build a more authentic relationship. Our name 'Te Puna Tautoko' was reaffirmed through this process.
Tūao Tier
In 2025 Volunteer Wellington introduced a ‘tūao’ membership tier. This membership tier serves as an invitation for Kaupapa Māori and Mana Whenua organisations to be ‘members’ and access Volunteer Wellington membership offerings without a fee. Our Hutt team, and staff who whakapapa Māori, lead this membership tier as it is developed and slowly grown.
Volunteer Hutt as a Kaupapa Māori Organisation
Volunteer Hutt is run, under the leadership of Marcia Skinnon, as a Kaupapa Māori organisation.
It is hoped that the learnings from how Volunteer Hutt is run can flow across all of the centres we serve and make Volunteer Wellington a stronger Te Tiriti honouring organisation.
We hope this can also improve our guidance to other not-for-profit organisations across the region on how to create culturally safe organisations that welcome, invite, and celebrate tangata whenua contributions.
Te Aka Tūao
Te Aka Tūao is a regular gathering for people working and volunteering in nonprofit organisations across Te Awa Kairangi. It’s a space to connect, share stories, learn together, and build real relationships across the community sector.
While Te Aka Tūao could be described as a networking event, that doesn’t fully capture what it is. These hui are about community weaving. They are grounded in kaupapa Māori values of manaakitanga and whanaungatanga, creating a space where people feel welcomed, respected, and supported to show up as their whole selves.
Ko te pae tawhiti, whāia kia tata; ko te pae tata, whakamaua kia tīna.
"Seek to bring distant horizons closer, and sustain and maintain those that have been arrived at."
Pae Tata | Near Horizon
We will initially focus on actions that build capability and understanding.
We’ll continue to understand the history of our own organisation, mana whenua history, and the history of the whenua where our offices are located.
We will continue to shape our organisation to better reflect te ao Māori.
We will continue research to ensure our name and branding is appropriate.
We will continue to strengthen and back Kaupapa Māori within our organisation that align with our commitment to He Waka Hourua. Such as Te Aka Tūao, and the use of whakatau and other tikanga informed practices.
We will work to make our Tūao membership offer clear and meaningful. We will make sure our offers as an organisation work for this tier, or develop new offerings that do.
We are looking to build meaningful relationships with mana whenua. We will reach out and connect with mana whenua in ways that invites their guidance rather than pre-determining the relations. We will ensure both board and staff are involved in relationship building.
Pae Tawhiti | Distant Horizon
The distant horizon acknowledges 2040 as significant marker, 200 years since the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. This milestone invites us to think beyond the short-term actions and consider a longer-term legacy, without pre-empting what that might look like. Te pae tāwhiti will likely change to better reflect the time, therefore these are seen as statements of direction and aspirations.
In 2040 we will be able to share the story of how we have supported and enabled local volunteers and local community organisations to contribute to building a Te Tiriti Honouring Future.
We play a significant role in helping rally volunteers to support the 200 year celebrations of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in 2040.
We will have strong relationships (of reciprocity, of accountability, of impact, of tautoko and manaakitanga) with Mana Whenua – Taranaki Whanui and Ngāti Toa.
Our governance structures may evolve, and our strategy might change to better reflect a growing commitment to honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
