Tū Manawa replaces and improves on Sport NZ's Kiwisport Regional Partnership Fund with double the funding available.
The $68m is for over four years, of which half is from the $265m Sport Recovery Package.
Where Kiwisport only focused on organised sport, Tū Manawa will also fund play, and active recreation.
It also has a distinct application and assessment process for Kaupapa Māori organisations.
Sport NZ chief executive Peter Miskimmin says Tū Manawa is about focusing on the least active tamariki and rangatahi by supporting those who are delivering new or existing programmes and projects in local communities based on the needs of those communities.
"In the first year we have placed special emphasis on those tamariki and rangatahi whose physical activity levels have been impacted most by Covid-19, which we know from our research are girls and young women, disabled people, those in higher deprivation communities and a slightly higher age bracket of young women aged 19 to 24."
To ensure it reaches these groups, Sport NZ is partnering with the country's network of 14 regional sports trusts to manage and distribute the fund.
The Tū Manawa fund is allocated to the trusts based on both population and deprivation modelling.
The priority groups and funding modelling will be reviewed before June 30 2021, to help inform the second year of investment.
Applications for Tū Manawa from within the Palmerston North City, Manawatū, Tararua, and Horowhenua, are now open at sportmanawatu.org.nz.
