Maca Ferguson’s Post

Happy Indigenous Peoples' Day! 🎉 Today, as we celebrate Native Peoples and honor our histories, cultures, and identities, we want to take a moment to spotlight our “Language and Learning Resource for Non-Indigenous People”. This resource is an initial reference for funders and other philanthropy professionals exploring the intersection of Indigenous Peoples and philanthropy. At Native Americans in Philanthropy, we are actively working to Indigenize the philanthropic process; developing shared understandings through education and communication is part of that effort. We created this resource for those who wish to begin or expand their understanding of Indigenous communities and how they intersect with the philanthropy sector. This resource is not a one-size-fits-all guide to working with Indigenous Peoples, Tribal Nations, or Indigenous-led organizations. Please treat it as an entry point, not a checkbox. Enjoy and share our new resource guide ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eG2SPSqs #IndigenousPeoplesDay #IndigenousPeople #WeAreIndigenous #Native #NativeAmerican #Indigenous #Philanthropy #NativePhilanthropy #Nonprofit #NativeNonprofit #IndianCountry #TribalNations

"Happy Indigenous Peoples' Day! 🎉 As we celebrate Native Peoples and honor the histories, cultures, and identities, I'm excited to share the 'Language and Learning Resource for Non-Indigenous People' by Native Americans In Philanthropy. This guide serves as a starting point for funders and philanthropy professionals who want to better understand the connection between Indigenous communities and philanthropy. Native Americans in Philanthropy is committed to Indigenizing the philanthropic process by fostering shared knowledge through education and dialogue. Explore and share the new resource guide ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eG2SPSqs"

Happy Indigenous Peoples' Day! 🎉 Today, as we celebrate Native Peoples and honor their histories, cultures, and identities, we want to take a moment to spotlight our partner Native Americans in Philanthropy's latest resource, “Language and Learning Resource for Non-Indigenous People”. This resource is an initial reference for funders and other philanthropy professionals exploring the intersection of Indigenous Peoples and philanthropy. At Native Americans in Philanthropy, they are actively working to Indigenize the philanthropic process; developing shared understandings through education and communication is part of that effort. This resource was created for those who wish to begin or expand their understanding of Indigenous communities and how they intersect with the philanthropy sector. This resource is not a one-size-fits-all guide to working with Indigenous Peoples, Tribal Nations, or Indigenous-led organizations. Please treat it as an entry point, not a checkbox. Enjoy and share this essential new resource guide ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eG2SPSqs #IndigenousPeoplesDay #IndigenousPeople #WeAreIndigenous #Native #NativeAmerican #Indigenous #Philanthropy #NativePhilanthropy #Nonprofit #NativeNonprofit #IndianCountry #TribalNations

What does “Indigenizing philanthropy” mean? Modern philanthropy operates with a settler lens, meaning that support is only granted if there’s enough “need.” What counts as a “need” and how that need is met fall into strict, hierarchical criteria, which results in marginalized people—particularly Indigenous Peoples—being ignored and/or poorly supported. Indigenous Peoples are active philanthropists. To Indigenize philanthropy is to incorporate and practice our Native values by treating acts of giving as relational, reciprocal, intergenerational, generous, and respectful. It is paramount that we Indigenize the philanthropic sector, but we cannot do it alone. By building solidarity beyond our Native circles, we are able to enact effective and equitable philanthropy for ALL. Support our mission to Indigenize philanthropy ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eh-FmVe9 #NativePhilanthropy #IndigenizingPhilanthropy #Philanthropy #NativeLed #Nonprofit #NativeNonprofit #NativeAmerican #Indigenous #WeAreIndigenous

Because only 0.4% of philanthropic dollars go toward Native Americans, Indigenous grantees face an enormous amount of pressure to have their project be a runaway success. Any misstep or unachieved goal becomes proof that Native Americans are not worth investing in, perpetuating the cycle of severely limited and restricted funding for all Indigenous people. The constant threat of having funding pulled prevents our people from having the vision, creativity, and ingenuity necessary to lead a thriving community. At the opening plenary of our 2024 Annual Conference, Kitcki Carroll (Cheyenne and Arapaho) of the United South and Eastern Tribes (USET) explains how eliminating these artificial barriers is key to achieving total Tribal sovereignty. A repost from Native Americans in Philanthropy Note: Although this statement addresses total tribal sovereignty, it also applies to the funding challenges faced by Native-led nonprofits; since we share the same statistics for philanthropic funding. We are limited in all aspects because we compete for grant dollars that fund non-Native organizations while also being underserved and subjected to greater scrutiny due to being Indigenous-led and Indigenous-serving. - NOND https://lnkd.in/gVYdEM32 #TribalSovereignty #IndigenousSovereignty #Philanthropy #TribalNations #NAPCON #NAPCON2024 #NativePhilanthropy #Nonprofit #NativeNonprofit #NativeLed #WeAreIndigenous #Native #NativeAmerican #Indigenous

We’re so excited to be kicking off our 2024 Annual Conference! Today’s plenary opens the conversation on the future of Tribal self-determination: “We think it’s time for our Tribes to, our Native-led nonprofits, and activists to have a new conversation about what we think the future of Native self-determination looks like for Tribes, for individual Indigenous people, for urban Indian orgs and others–including determining what role philanthropy should play… Although Native Peoples will never achieve full self-determination through the U.S. government’s systems and courts, what matters and gives us power is our culture, the way we educate our children and our relatives, and our ability to envision Indigenous futures.” –Erik R. Stegman (Carry the Kettle First Nation - Nakoda), CEO of NAP #NAPCON #NAPCON2024 #Philanthropy #NativePhilanthropy #Nonprofit #NativeNonprofit #NativeLed #WeAreIndigenous #Native #NativeAmerican #Indigenous

At the second plenary of our 2024 Annual Conference, two of our Native Youth Grantmakers joined philanthropic leaders for a collaborative dialogue that explored the benefits, challenges, and insights critical to creating intergenerational approaches in philanthropy. As McKaylin Peters (Menominee Nation) astutely shares, bringing Native youth into the sector not only encourages future philanthropic leaders, but also allows Native youth to bring their culture and identity to the table: “Once we have culture, we have our identity. And when we have our identity, we’re able to be creative, we’re able to learn better, we’re able to foster these ideas and connections not only in Indian Country, but all over U.S. philanthropy and government.” —McKaylin Peters (Menominee Nation), Native Youth Grantmakers, Native Americans in Philanthropy #SeventhGeneration #NativeYouth #Philanthropy #TribalNations #NAPCON #NAPCON2024 #NativePhilanthropy #Nonprofit #NativeNonprofit #NativeLed #WeAreIndigenous #Native #NativeAmerican #Indigenous

“Equity is about who is making the decisions and who has access to the resources.” —Eleanor Savage, President and CEO, Jerome Foundation At the moment, philanthropy is nowhere near equitable—despite making up 2.9% of the U.S. population, only 0.4% of philanthropic dollars explicitly benefit Native Americans. But the tide is beginning to turn. At the “Integrating Native Wisdom and Values in Philanthropy” breakout session at our 2024 Annual Conference, the Jerome Foundation and the Northwest Area Foundation illuminated how their organizations have worked in partnership with and have been guided by Native leaders to develop funding relationships and organizational practices rooted in Native values of respect, listening, humility, generosity, and reciprocity. Through this critical work, they have successfully shifted their internal practices to embrace generative—not extractive—approaches to resource management, be transparent and accountable, adopt a values-based lens, and recognize the wealth of cultural wisdom and expertise of Native people and communities. The movement to Indigenize philanthropy is here—and we’re only just getting started. #NAPCON #NAPCON2024 #Philanthropy #NativePhilanthropy #Nonprofit #NativeNonprofit #NativeLed #WeAreIndigenous #Native #NativeAmerican #Indigenous

One important step is to include Native representation on governance boards!

An overarching question asked and answered at our 2024 Annual Conference was “How do we Indigenize Philanthropy?”. At today’s closing plenary session, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan remarked about how necessary it is that we as Native people are present and at the table in every space where decisions impacting our lives are being made. As for our non-Native allies in the philanthropic field: “I just want to encourage you to do as much as you can so that YOU do most of the work. That you come to communities with the spirit of reciprocity, and not just of asking for education, but to do the work on the front end. And to think about–for those of you in philanthropy who represent foundations who have profited off of the removal of Indigenous people from land–that you think really hard about what does that actually mean for the work that you do every day and for the people that you serve. And that your organizations should look like the communities that you seek to invest in–with your board, with your employees, with the folks that you fund.” –Lieutenant Governor of Mni Sota Makoce (Minnesota) Peggy Flanagan (White Earth Band of Ojibwe) There’s a lot of work to be done. But together–through trusting partnerships and reciprocal relationships–we can Indigenize philanthropy. #NAPCON #NAPCON2024 #Philanthropy #NativePhilanthropy #Nonprofit #NativeNonprofit #NativeLed #WeAreIndigenous #Native #NativeAmerican #Indigenous