Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples

Summary: 

Organizational profile:
Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples (SGF) is an Indigenous identity-based organization dedicated to the self-determination of Native Peoples. Founded in 1977, Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples emerged from Indigenous communities during the cultural, social, and political renaissance era of the ’60s and ’70s. SGF grew and evolved into the foremost Indigenous social-profit organization in the U.S. serving transnational community-based organizations. Seventh Generation Fund has partnered with thousands of Indigenous community-based organizations. This has spanned 6 continents and countless Indigenous communities.
 
Among SGF’s program areas, Land, Water, and Climate supports Indigenous Peoples’ traditional land and water stewardship and life systems practices; protects the integrity of sacred places, and the continuity of Life. It supports actions for land defence and water protection; advances Indigenous Peoples’ right of Free, Prior and Informed Consent; advocacy and direct-action strategies against Ecocide and Aquacide; supports frontline, education, and policy initiatives protecting sacred sites; and the development of community-led renewable energies, and climate change initiatives and adaptation projects rooted in cultural values. The Land, Water, and Climate Program implements its work through the following pathways for ecological justice to assure the sacred birthright of future generations:
▫    Climate Action for Future Generations
▫    Land Back – Water Back
▫    Renewable Energies
▫    Sacred Places and Sacred Relationships
 
Financing Instruments: Grants
 
Project scale:
$500 to $50,000 (average grant award: $10,000 - $25,000)
 
Recipient countries regions/country groups: Global
 
Recipient categories: NPOs, civil organizations, community-based organizations
 
Eligibility Criteria:
 Eligible applicants:
▫    Emerge from and are led by the Indigenous Peoples served and who are impacted by the issues, methods, and outcomes.
▫    Nurture and center the culture, language, values, traditional knowledge systems, and healthy lifeways of the Indigenous Peoples involved in and served by the project.
▫    Have 80% or more Indigenous Peoples in decision-making leadership as the Board of Directors or other decision-making entity, and have an Indigenous Executive Director, all Indigenous co-Directors/Project leaders, and Indigenous Peoples engaged throughout all aspects of the organization.
▫    Are an SGF Affiliate Project*, a non-profit with 501(c)(3) tax exempt status, a federally-recognized tribal nation project, or have a fiscal sponsor. If fiscally sponsored, the Seventh Generation Fund prioritizes applicants with Indigenous or People of Color fiscal sponsoring organizations.
▫    Have a project budget of <$500,000. Community-based organizing projects are prioritized.
▫    Are in good standing with Seventh Generation Fund without reports due or outstanding issues.
Native Peoples’ organizations and projects are eligible to apply for one grant per calendar year. SGF does not support: non-Native organizations, scholarships, or religious missionizing efforts.
 
*Note: Affiliates are organizations that come “in-house” into SGF usually because they are emerging programs (less than five years old) or do not yet have the staff or capacity to run as independent 501(c)(3) non-profit. The Affiliate Program allows projects to direct efforts towards accomplishing its programmatic goals and objectives, while SGF assists in the administration, technical training, fiscal management, program oversight, and organizational development. SGF’s assistance allows affiliate projects to fully participate in community-based organizing efforts and direct action campaigns.
 
Application guidelines:
Grant-seekers need to fill in the form at https://7genfund.submittable.com/submit
Apart from the basic information of the grant-seekers organization, SGF also requires clarification on how the project or organization started, what the project is, how the project stays engaged with and accountable to the community it serves, how the work is grounded in the culture and values of the community served, etc.
Email questions to: grants@7genfund.org
 

Publication Date
Tuesday, 29 March 2022
Applicable location
Africa
Americas
Oceania
Asia
Europe
Topic/Theme
Forest conservation and management
Forest landscape restoration
Climate change
Database
Financing opportunities