GRANTS

NDN FOUNDATION

2025 Grant Process includes Strengthening Movement and Community Organizing

As we enter into a new year and a new phase of our collective work, the need to more intentionally realign our grantmaking around movement building has become clear. This includes strong coalition-building, connecting our mutual intentions for sovereignty and self-determination, and advancing common interests that center strategies to Defend, Develop and Decolonize. This is critically important, now more than ever.

We have five years of wealth liberation and rematriation to reflect on and to call upon. As a movement organization we are dedicated to continued movement building, fortifying movement infrastructure, and resourcing the grassroots, community-based, Indigenous-led organizations and Tribal Nations that not only tackle the existing challenges that our people face, but organize and fuel the changemaking work for real solution building.

We remain committed to the three key strategies of:

defend

Indigenous Peoples, communities, and Nations are developed in a regenerative and sustainable manner based on our values and connection to land, culture and identity.

Develop

Indigenous Peoples, communities and Nations defend and protect our land, air, water, and natural resources.

DECOLONIZE

Indigenous ceremonies, cultures, languages, and ways of life are revitalized, recognized and celebrated.

In 2025, our approach will shift in two key grantmaking focus areas:

Community Self-determination

We will now focus on the work, progress and momentum of the grantee-partners that we have had the honor of resourcing since 2019. In addition to offering intentional power-building resources among these key partners, the 2025 grant application process will be available to current or previous grantee-partners, rather than open calls for new efforts and new groups.

Collective Abundance Fund

The Collective Abundance Fund will place a deeper focus on Power Building in 2025, with the next launch in the fourth quarter of 2025 and awards in the first quarter of 2026. Since 2023, $15.9M has been awarded to 396 individuals and families. The Collective Abundance Fund is dedicated to continuing to provide resources and power-building to awardees to achieve their dreams and aspirations rooted in the definition of Indigenous wealth.

We are going deeper

As we see a rise in authoritarianism and threats to democracy, it requires us to prioritize efforts that sharpen our spear, invest in and strengthen our movement. We will strengthen our movement and community organizing by honing in on unified efforts among our partners.

Since 2018 NDN Collective has resourced 1,455 Indigenous Changemakers, Artists, Tribal Nations, First Nations, Alaska Native, Pacific Islander and Indigenous-led groups and organizations, working within and beyond the post-colonial borders of the United States, Canada and Mexico, rematriating over $109 million back into Indigenous hands under Indigenous stewardship.

We will continue to focus on resourcing these grassroots efforts and community-based initiatives while fortifying the necessary unity and solidarity necessary for these times. Please refer to our website for upcoming Grant Opportunities in 2025.