The Aunties is a registered charitable trust (CC54387) based in Auckland, walking alongside a whānau of indigenous women healing from intimate partner and sexual violence. Founded and led by Jackie Clark - now in her 12th year of this mahi, full-time since 2016 - the organisation supports a static group of 28 women with a monthly financial koha, intensive and consistent emotional support, and practical resources so they can focus on healing rather than material worries.
Beyond the core whānau, The Aunties also provides material donations - clothing, bedding, towels and everyday essentials - to around 950 families a year, either directly or through partner community organisations. Jackie additionally offers advice and guidance to roughly 950 people a year on domestic violence and complex situations, and represents the women's interests at family group conferences, court dates and appointments with lawyers and agencies.
The Aunties is guided by an 8-person board (Chairperson Moeroa, Secretary Paul, Treasurer Hils, with Jackie, Phil, Jackson, Anna and Emily as board members) and patron Michèle A'Court. Aunty Phil works alongside Jackie on the frontline. Funding comes almost entirely from private donations, with partial salary funding from the Gattung Foundation; operational costs currently sit at around 30% of total income, and 85% of donations go directly to the whānau of women. The Aunties does not work with people still in violent relationships - that's the role of refuge services and police - but does provide emotional support to anyone reaching out about violence in their lives.
The Aunties is an Auckland-based charitable trust with a simple, specific kaupapa: recognise, acknowledge and nurture the power that indigenous women already carry, and give them the practical resources to focus on healing rather than survival logistics.
Unlike organisations built to scale, The Aunties works with a deliberately static whānau of 28 women. Jackie Clark, the trust's Aunty In Charge, provides intensive and consistent emotional support to this group, alongside a monthly financial koha given only to these women. It's a model built on attachment, trauma-informed and power-led practice - sustained, long-term relationships chosen by the women themselves, rather than a revolving caseload. One of the women in the whānau is even the trust's Chairperson.
Alongside that core group, The Aunties facilitates material donations - money, goods and practical items - for a far wider circle: around 950 families a year, sourced through a community of supporters and distributed either directly or via other community organisations. Jackie also offers advice and guidance to a similar number of people annually who are navigating domestic violence and complex situations where personalised advice is hard to find, and provides peripheral support to over 1,000 people a year in total.
Jackie's advocacy work takes her to family group conferences, court dates and appointments with lawyers and agencies - whatever the women in the whānau need. Importantly, The Aunties is clear about the boundary of its work: it does not help people get out of active violent relationships. That job belongs to refuge organisations and the police. Everyone in the Aunties whānau is already out of their historic abusive relationship; The Aunties' job begins after that point.
The trust is guided by an 8-person board - Chairperson Moeroa, Secretary Paul, Treasurer Hils, and board members Jackie, Phil, Jackson, Anna and Emily - all hand-picked by Jackie for their skills and life experience. Michèle A'Court serves as patron. Aunty Phil works alongside Jackie on the frontline, meaning just two people carry the day-to-day relational work.
Funding comes almost entirely from private donors, either one-off gifts or automatic payments, with partial salary funding from the Gattung Foundation and only a small number of grants applied for over the years. Operational costs currently run at about 30% of total income, and 85% of donations go directly to the whānau of women. The trust has flagged that its historical funding model is becoming harder to sustain and is looking for more regular donors.
The book HER SAY, by Jackie Clark and The Aunties, gathers the stories of 13 women from the Aunties whānau in their own words - an effort to let society see the people behind the statistics, and to help the women themselves reclaim their stories.
Jackie Clark's work has been recognised publicly: a Women's Fund award in 2018, a nomination for the NZ Woman of the Year and New Zealander of the Year Awards, category and supreme winner at the Women of Influence Awards 2018, a Local Hero Of The Year medallist in 2017, and a Queen's Service Medal (QSM) in the 2019 New Year Honours List.
Support for The Aunties comes through donations (accepted via Apple Pay, Google Pay, Mastercard, Shop Pay and Visa), material item donations of freshly washed clothing, bedding and towels, and simply sharing the trust's work. Anyone needing emotional support around violence in their life can reach out to Jackie directly.