- Details
- By Tribal Business News Staff
- Economic Development
NDN Collective wrote that it plans to support 200 individuals and families each year with the fund, with each award ranging between $25,000 to $50,000 in cash disbursements. The program accepts applications in support of wealth-building projects, such as home ownership, financial planning, food security, cultural preservation, business development, or education/training.
“Indigenous people rarely have access to significant amounts of cash or capital – and when we do, it is transformational and life-changing,” NDN Foundation Managing Director Gaby Strong said in a statement. “The Collective Abundance Fund is an opportunity for families to use the money to establish long-term stability, as a healing tool for sustaining lifeways and livelihood, and as a way to build on the abundance of our culture, knowledge, and the assets around us. Our knowledge and ability to build flourishing communities lives in the land and in us.”
Per the grant criteria page, prospective applicants must demonstrate how their proposed activities support wealth-building goals and improve their families’ quality of life. Projects must show sustainable, generational wealth transfers while avoiding extractive practices or negative community impacts.
“The Collective Abundance Fund supports the traditional aspects of wealth, like down payments on a home, education expenses, or capital investments in a new or current business,” said Program Manager Terri Peterson. “Self-determined wealth building activities may also support multi-generational housing, like adding on a room to a home for grandma or for grandchildren, or investments in sustainable family food systems, like purchasing land and livestock or building greenhouses and gardens.”
The Abundance Fund launches on the heels of several new program officer appointees meant to take stewardship of the project. Those appointees include Sharon Pazi Zea, a Dakota and a member of the Upper Sioux Community; Wicahpi Means, a Lakota and a member of the Oglala Lakota Nation; and Courtney Davis, an Anishinaabe and a member of the Turtle Mountain Chippewa.
Peterson said NDN Collective is excited to bring on new leadership in support of the new grant program.
“We are thrilled to work alongside these leaders, each bringing a unique set of skills and lived experiences to support Indigenous relatives and community partners in information sharing, application support, and grantees from across the tri-state region,” Peterson said.
Applications are open now, with several webinars available for further discussion of the grant program. Applications close on Tuesday, July 11. Those interested must register prior to applying. Registration closes on Friday, July 7.
“We are excited to provide this opportunity to our people – for families to begin to realize their hopes and dreams and rebuild a collective future that reflects a redefinition of wealth as defined by Indigenous people,” Peterson said in her statement.
