The Kate Sheppard Women’s Fund and awards were established on September 19, 2018, to celebrate our region’s proud tradition of female leadership, to acknowledge and support our current leaders working at the grassroots within our communities, and to inspire future female leaders.
The event was held at the Kate Sheppard House and coincided with the 125th anniversary of women receiving the right to vote in New Zealand - a world first. Funds raised at this event formed the beginnings of an endowment fund from which small grants will be issued annually.

Now, a year later, The Christchurch Foundation is pleased to announce the three winners of the Kate Sheppard Women’s Fund: Azaria Howell, Cate Grace, and Lynette Diaz.
Each recipient received a $2,000 grant and was presented their award by Christchurch Mayor, and Fund Patron the Hon. Lianne Dalziel. Over 50 guests attended an afternoon tea to celebrate the award winners.
“All three of these inspirational women are actively leading change in our community through storytelling. They are working in distinctly different mediums, but all are champions for our communities,” said Amy Carter, Chief Executive of The Christchurch Foundation.
Azariah Howell
Azaria is a Year 13 student at Cashmere High School. She is the hapori/community editor for Tearaway Magazine. Her voluntary work at the magazine focuses on enhancing the voices of New Zealand youth. Azaria is particularly passionate about addressing issues that can be hard for youth to openly discuss. Recent stories include 'My Journey with Endometriosis,' an article that focused on her personal experience with the condition which impacts 1 in 10 women. She also writes a monthly series called 'Out and Proud' series focusing on empowering women and LGBTQ+ people to stay positive. With the grant, she will be able to further her writing and passion for journalism.
Cate Grace
Cate gathers and shares stories that encourage more accessibility and participation for others to fully participate in their world. She has been a volunteer storyteller and team coordinator of Humans of Christchurch for two years. Humans of Christchurch is a collaborative initiative that shares the stories of our people. This grant will help with an upcoming exhibition in Tūranga and will mean that Cate can interview more wāhine toa in Christchurch.
Cate says, “In a world of fake news, photoshopped portraits and glamourised Instagram accounts, these honest stories and images can be heart-warming, humorous or confronting. Many of the stories are relatable in one way or another, and all of them are an integral part of retaining a piece of Ōtautahi’s heritage."
Lynette Diaz
Lynette is a singer/songwriter who founded the New Zealand Women’s Acoustic Collective and is the creator of the Femacoustica Radio Show. Both initiatives were formed to connect, support and foster a community of women empowerment through music. These funds will support her to develop her legacy podcast series which focuses on five older women musicians who’ve spent their formative years creating music in Christchurch. The podcast series aims to record the stories of these women before they’re lost.