Mino-Niibi Fund for Indigenous Cultures

Native-to-Native giving program supporting Indigenous-led organizations with small grants since 2012.

Mission: The Mino-Niibi Fund for Indigenous Cultures provides small grants through re-granting to Indigenous-led organizations in the Americas and the Pacific working to revitalize their own cultures, traditions, lands and livelihoods. Mino-Niibi means "good water" in the Ojibwe language.

Focus Areas

• Document and protect Indigenous knowledge
• Revitalize threatened languages
• Protect Native foodways and seed sovereignty
• Conduct youth-elder cultural exchanges
• Empower Indigenous women

Geographic Scope

• The Americas (North, Central, and South America)
• The Pacific
• Global Indigenous communities

Key Principles

• Reciprocity: Central to all partnerships, including reciprocal learning, sharing, respect, and honoring the right to self-determination
• Indigenous-led governance: Fund is governed by an all-Indigenous council from TCC board of directors and senior staff
• Networking: Helps connect grantees with one another and other like-minded organizations through the Te Ha Alliance for Indigenous solidarity

Application Process

• By invitation only
• Approximately one grant cycle per year

Recent Grantmaking (2021-2022)

• Awarded 18 grants serving Indigenous groups in 9 countries
• Supported over 70 grants since 2013
• Partnered with more than 33 Indigenous organizations in 14 countries

Contact Information

The Cultural Conservancy

• Address: PO Box 29044, San Francisco, CA 94129
• Phone: (415) 561-6594
• Email: tcc@nativeland.org
• Website: nativeland.org
• 501(c)3 nonprofit, Tax ID: 94-3003900

Funding Partners

• Primary funder: Tamalpais Trust
• Additional support from multiple philanthropic partners