Deadline:August 31, 2018
Cultural Survival is pleased to announce the Keepers of the Earth Fund (KOEF) Call for Project Concepts. The KOEF is a small grants fund that supports Indigenous values-based community development. These grants have supported Indigenous-led projects on the leading edge of solutions to the most pressing issues for Indigenous Peoples everywhere.
Through the KOEF, Cultural Survival intends to provide grants ranging between $500 and $5,000 to Indigenous-led and -controlled organizations and groups around the world.
Grants can support projects focused on a vast array of development activities.
Applications will be viewed with an eye toward innovation, Indigenous values woven into the design of the project, and projects addressing real-time development needs. The connection between Indigenous values and the proposed project should be clearly articulated.
The primary purpose of the Keepers of the Earth Fund is to empower grassroots Indigenous communities in establishing their rights and retaining their traditional values.
We seek to fund projects that work in collaboration with others for the larger community as opposed to working alone. We encourage partnerships and networking, capacity building for results, and strategic approaches to Indigenous development.
PROJECT CONCEPT FORMAT
Please respond to the following questions:
1. Who are you, and what is your role in the proposed project?
2. Who is the community and where is it located?
3. What do you want to do, how long will it take, and how much does it cost?
4. Who is currently supporting this work? (funders and other stakeholders)
INTEREST AREAS
Communities should feel free to propose projects on any topics that are of importance to your community. Of particular interest to CS are projects focused on the following topics and their intersections: Free, Prior, Informed Consent, self-governance, the rights of Indigenous women, economic sovereignty, land rights, environmental and biodiversity protection, Indigenous language and knowledge retention, movement-building, equitable distribution of resources, and Indigenous participation in international, national, regional and local spaces.
REQUIREMENTS TO APPLY
- Be an Indigenous organization, grassroots group, or a traditional Indigenous government.
- Be Indigenous-led
- Have an annual organizational budget of less than $150,000USD / year
- Have a bank account in the name of your organization or have an existing written agreement with a fiscal sponsor. (For Indigenous governments, please contact us to discuss.)
KOEF supports emerging and grassroots Indigenous-led development projects and is often the first funding source for Indigenous organizations and projects. Grant amounts will range between $500 and $5,000 USD.
WHAT WE DO NOT FUND :
- Projects that do not originate from or are not led by an Indigenous community
- Event fundraising, fundraising or endowment campaigns, or deficit funding
- Fees associated with lawsuit proceedings or representation
- Electoral campaign activities
- Disaster relief
- Vocational education or training
- Missionary Projects
- Conference registration fees
- General operating expenses
- Documentaries and/or filmmaking
- Work being done by an individual
- Scholarships or school application fees
SUBMITTING YOUR PROJECT CONCEPTS
We accept project concepts in written, video, or audio formats in English, Spanish, Didxazá, K’iche, Sunuwar, Hindi, Nepali, or Russian.
- Please limit submissions to 2-pages written or three-minutes of audio or video. The project concept should respond to all the questions listed in the project concept Format.
- Submit by email at [email protected]
