The Hopper Fund exists to help under-represented minorities attend technical conferences, training, and other technical industry events.

If you’re working in technology, or want to work in technology, attending conferences, training, and other industry events is vital. It helps to ensure your skills are current and provides invaluable networking opportunities. Many opportunities and jobs in the New Zealand technology industry are accessed through personal relationships formed at these events.

Minority groups are significantly under-represented at these events. We aim to increase the representation and provide opportunities to minority groups by assisting with conference/event tickets, transport, and accommodation and other funding.

For companies, and for our wider industry, it’s important to promote and increase diversity - more diverse companies are provably more successful and build better products to serve the communities they exist in.

Who is this?

The Hopper Fund aims to work with 3 groups:

• Marginalised groups

  These include:
  • Women, who are significantly underrepresented at industry events and often have disincentives from participating fully in the technology industry.
  • Māori and Pasifika people.
  • People who live rurally.
  • Transgender and genderqueer people.
  • People with disabilities.
  • Single parents.
  • People on low incomes.

• Conference/event organisers

  The Hopper fund will negotiate with event or conference organisers to provide a limited number of tickets at cost (or free, if the organisers so wish). The Hopper Fund will only work with events who have a Code of Conduct, in order to help ensure our recipients are in a safe environment. The organisers events’ will be listed as a Fund partner. For organisers, this helps to send a clear signal that their event supports diversity and is a safe event to attend.

  For conferences and events, this introduces a new audience, who potentially have not been able to previously attend.

  In order to help provide value to our company sponsors, we’d like conferences to have a special credit in conference sponsors list for sponsors who fund attendees.

  In order to maximise value, the Hopper fund will focus on conferences and events within New Zealand for the immediate future.

• Companies and individual sponsors

  The Hopper Fund relies on sponsorship from companies and individuals within the tech sector to provide these opportunities. Sponsors sign up for an annual sponsorship amount. This amount is then allocated to funding applicants to assist with paying for travel, accommodation, and event ticket costs. These sponsors would receive regular promotion on our site/twitter account, as well as the benefits of being seen as a diversity-friendly employer.

  Companies or individuals may also choose to sponsor attendance of a particular conference/event.

  We’ll work to get you sponsor credit for events we use your funds to get attendees to. We’ll also help to introduce you to some of the amazing people we meet and help.

How can I help?

We're currently seeking support to set up as a charitable trust. You can contact us at hello@hopper.org.nz.