The Adastra Foundation has been providing scholarships to extraordinary young New Zealanders since 2007. In that time, the Foundation has supported hundreds of athletes and performing artists with more than $1.8m and dozens of customised mentoring programmes.

In mid-2022, the Board completed a strategic review of its vision and purpose and agreed to refine its priorities. It wanted to ensure that it provided support where it was most needed and to those exceptional young people who might otherwise struggle to achieve their dreams. As such, priority will now be given to exceptional young people who face financial or personal hardship.

Adastra will offer scholarships to extraordinary young athletes and performing artists (dancers and musicians), from Waikato and Bay of Plenty, who are facing hardship in their pursuit of excellence. Our programme includes a cash scholarship and personal development workshops, specifically designed for young adults aiming to be the best they can be – on and off their stage.

A key part of the Adastra ethos is a mentoring programme that includes personal development workshops with leading professionals in their field.

Adastra is grateful to be supported by Grassroots Trust, The Lion Foundation, TECT, The Brian Perry Charitable Trust, WEL Energy Trust, the Tanner family and Craigs Investment Partners.

Supplementary Scholarships

  For 2023, Adastra is delighted to have 2 supplementary Scholarship funds available.

• The Tanner Adastra Scholarships are gratefully supported by Jon and Sue Tanner, outstanding patrons of Waikato and Bay of Plenty sport and performing arts, and champions of young adults’ opportunity. Hailing from Waikato, they are generous with their time, money and energy to help others develop their skills, and reach the highest level, without leaving home. 
• We are also excited to offer Craigs Investment Partners scholarships. Craigs is one of New Zealand’s leading investment advisory firms. Their network of investment advisers are supported by an award winning research team to help clients achieve their investment goals. Achieving goals is important to the team at Craigs Investment Partners and they share that same passion for achieving investment goals with seeing young adults in the WAIBOP community achieve their life goals by pushing boundaries on the national and international stage.

Supplementary Scholarships will be available in 2023 and awarded by the Adastra Trustees after the standard application process (i.e. no further specific application required).

The Supplementary Scholarships come with standard Adastra reporting requirements, plus further responsibilities to the patrons, such as reasonable personal appearances and performance updates.