Tribal Climate and Conservation 

The Pledge is a publicly shared commitment to support this Tribal Nations-led conservation collaborative. The Fund is an effective and streamlined way that funders can use to meet their commitments to the Pledge,

Any grants or other charitable support of Tribes, inter-Tribal organizations, and Tribal consortia for work on biodiversity and conservation issues.

These include:

• Tribal Nation natural resource and conservation programs and projects
• Inter-Tribal projects, regrant, and/or technical assistance programs directly to Tribal Nations
• Tribal consortia working directly with Tribal Nations
• Native-led conservation NGOs working in direct partnership and service to Tribes or Tribal- led initiatives
• Non-profit organizations recommended by a Tribal Nation for conservation

In addition to funding Tribal Conservation projects, the Tribal Nations pooled conservation fund will also support Tribes to meet the matching requirements to obtain federal funding for Tribal conservation work. This unique opportunity provides more coordination to unlock and leverage additional federal funding to support Tribal conservation work.

We hope to reach $100 million in commitments under the Pledge (spending during the next three years, 2022-2025). Of which, we hope to reach $75 million contributed to the pooled Fund and $25 million in pledges.

There is no minimum commitment to join either the Tribal Nations Conservation Pledge or Fund.

Native Americans in Philanthropy (NAP) will coordinate with donors and the collaborative on press releases, social media posts, and public outreach. NAP will provide an annual report on Tribal conservation work supported by this Fund and Pledges. Additionally, NAP will maintain a Tribal conservation website that will inform, coordinate, and highlight this collaborative Fund and Pledge.

Yes, there are many examples of foundations funding Tribes directly in conservation work. In 1982 Congress passed the Indian Tribal Governmental Tax Status Act. This legislation, codified as Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 7871, treats tribal governments as state governments for certain tax purposes. It allows tribal governments, their political subdivisions, or any tribal governmental fund, entity or program that is an integral part of a tribal government to receive tax-deductible donations. Donations to such entities are deductible by the individual donor for income tax purposes and also count as qualifying distributions for foundations. Additionally, some Tribes have incorporated a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation under either Tribal law or state law. Section 17 of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 (IRA) establishes Tribal entities have the same tax status as the Tribe.

Native Americans in Philanthropy has developed a comprehensive, inclusive and a transparent process to disperse funding. Through NAP’s Tribal Nations Initiative, a national Tribal Leader advisory group will guide the this fund with a steering committee consisting of key Native-led technical assistance and convening partners to review and approve projects. Projects will be solicited through an open RFP process.

There will be an bi-annual RFP and grant cycle. Additional funding opportunities may be made available where the collaborative can support tribes accessing significant federal funding opportunities, particularly related to matching requirements.

The pooled fund will fund conservation projects in five distinct categories; 1. capacity for inter-tribal organizations for technical assistance and tribal conservation field-building work, 2. conserving and restoring rivers, wetlands, watersheds and coasts, 3. land conservation and restoration “Land Back”
projects, conserving and restoring forests, grasslands, plateau regions and other important ecosystems that serve as carbon sinks, 4. connecting and reconnecting wildlife corridors, large landscapes, watersheds, seascapes and species protection and mitigation, and 5. support “match” requirements for federal conservation funding.

Can I restrict my support within the Fund to project in that area? Yes, you can designate geographic restrictions on contributions to the Fund and NAP will match your funds to appropriate projects. Alternatively, pledge members can review projects recommended for funding by the Advisory Committee and provide direct support to those projects that match their geographic interests.

All grants made by the Fund will be announced via press releases and publication on the NAP website. The website will list all members contributing to the pooled fund. For organizations pledged but not in the pooled fund, pledge amounts and updates will be provided on the website.

Yes, NAP has developed 2 phases to administer this fund. In phase 1, funding will be used for field building to support the infrastructure of NAP and its national partners for this fund. In phase 2, this fund will fund conservation projects directly to Tribes, in which 4-7% of those funds will be used to support NAP and its inter-tribal partners to administer the funds, provide ongoing technical assistance, support the website maintenance, provide reporting, coordinate collaborative meetings and other activities to support this work.

The Pledge and the Fund are housed at NAP. Please contact Greg Masten at gmasten@nativephilanthropy.org