Moana Safe City and Tauranga City Council have received funding for a project aimed at reducing youth offending.
The money was from a fund that supported the Government's Youth Action Crime Plan, Tauranga MP Simon Bridges said.
The funding would be used by the two groups for help with running a collaborative pilot aimed at female Maori violent offenders aged 14-17, using a peer intervention programme including whanau mentoring.
"This will be great for Tauranga region," Mr Bridges said.
"The funding recognises the huge gains that can be made from local projects driven by the public, iwi, and community sectors."
The YCAP Innovation Fund asked communities to get creative and take the lead on tackling youth crime in their local area. The $400,000 fund would be shared among six successful community groups.
"By focusing on skill sharing and the exchange of knowledge in the local community, the YCAP Innovation Fund grant winners will help reduce youth crime through a variety of ways, including relationship building, mentoring, and education programmes."
All initiatives would begin in June this year and be completed by June 30, 2015.