FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 16, 2024
Rapid City, SD – A new report from NDN Collective, Meeting the Moment: A Call to Radically Transform Philanthropy for Indigenous Communities, reveals critical gaps in U.S. philanthropic funding to Indigenous communities and presents an urgent call to action for systemic change. The report analyzes how philanthropy to Indigenous communities and Indigenous-led organizations has shifted since NDN’s founding in 2018.
While the data highlights a small increase in funding from 2018-2022, the report underscores the need for philanthropy to move beyond symbolic efforts and invest in ecosystem-level changes. To do this, NDN plans to launch an Indigenous Giving Pledge in 2025, which will ask philanthropists to commit 10% of their philanthropic assets to organizations that center Indigenous self-determination and are accountable to Indigenous communities.
Key findings from the report include:
- Ongoing funding inequities for Indigenous communities: Institutional funding to Native communities has slightly increased (0.36% of total funding), though it is still not equitable to the size of the American Indian and Alaska Native population (2.9%). South Dakota is the only state with a higher percentage of grant dollars going to Native communities (15.85%) than people identifying as American Indian or Alaska Native (11.10%).
- Geographic Distribution of Funds: The states receiving the highest amount of grant dollars for Native communities were Colorado, Alaska, California, New Mexico, and South Dakota—where NDN is headquartered.
- Notable Funders: The top three institutional funders to Native communities from 2018-2022 were the Ford Foundation, Bush Foundation, and ICS Support Organization, with a combined $361.7 million in funding. Notably, Mackenzie Scott gave at least $205.2M through Yield Giving to Indigenous- or Native-led or serving organizations.
- Growing Number of Native-led organizations: Forty-three new Native-led organizations were established from 2018-2022.
- Sense of Competition: There remains a sense of competition across Indigenous organizations, rather than a solidarity or sense of collective abundance.
“Since 2018, the effort required from a multitude of leaders and organizations to fight for less than 1% of grant funding for Indigenous Peoples is unacceptable,” said Nick Tilsen, president and CEO of NDN Collective. “There is so much work to be done, and while we are optimistic about the path forward, Indigenous-led organizations must collectively demand what we are owed and recognize that we are all stronger when we work together towards a better future.”
NDN Collective urges philanthropists, policymakers, and allies to explore the full findings and recommendations in the report.
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NDN Collective is an Indigenous-led organization dedicated to building Indigenous power. Through organizing, activism, philanthropy, grantmaking, capacity-building, and narrative change, we are creating sustainable solutions on Indigenous terms.