Native Americans in Philanthropy #GenIndigenous Response Fund to Support Movement Building

Background
We are living in a pivotal moment for youth-led movements fighting state-sanctioned violence and racism. Across the country — from Ferguson, to Standing Rock, to Charlottesville — young people are playing leading roles in social justice movements that advance a vision for a just society. They are working across cultures and across issues to stand in solidarity against our country’s legacy of genocide, slavery and xenophobia that lives on in systems that continue today. Now is a critical moment to support Native young people who are showing a readiness to organize in building lasting movements for social change.

As a connector between grantmakers and Native organizations and communities, Native Americans in Philanthropy (NAP) has engaged and educated philanthropic leaders about the issues facing Native communities for the past 26 years. We have been a consistent advocate for the protection of tribal sovereignty, land and water rights, women rights, and Native youth healing. Standing Rock and their fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) provided NAP an unprecedented opportunity to advocate for immediate support in response to the current situation and to leverage this opportunity to encourage a long-term commitment from philanthropy to Native communities.  The white nationalist violence and hate demonstrated in Charlottesville — the living legacy of the first colonists in Virginia who committed atrocities against our ancestors to claim the land as their own — underline the urgent need to stand with our youth leaders now and as long as these acts and systems of racism persist.

The NAP #GenIndigenous Response Fund provides grants up to $5,000 to youth organizing groups responding to current moments in ways that build long-term power for Native youth. Housed at The Minneapolis Foundation, this fund provides grants to organizations playing leadership roles in their local communities while considering efforts to support the long term engagement of youth leaders in advocacy efforts. We believe that youth engagement, organizing and leadership is central to this movement moment, therefore we will prioritize funding efforts that are Native and youth led. The first grant cycle awarded grants to ten grantees across the country. Read about our previous grantees here.

Purpose of the Grant

To provide responsive funding to support youth organizing and activism that requires immediate action at Standing Rock and beyond. This new Response Fund will bridge funders and organizers to support youth organizing and a collective commitment to systemic change and social justice in Indigenous communities.

Download the #GenIndigeous Response Fund Guidelines below:

Download URL [email-download-link namefield=”YES” id=”3″]

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