Greetings!

Ahhh, the warmth of summer is finally here! Welcome to the latest edition of the Native Americans in Philanthropy E-Newsletter. Now is the perfect time to renew your Native Americans in Philanthropy membership

We are delighted to share with you some of the work we have been doing with and on behalf of our members. Native Americans in Philanthropy has strategically increased its visibility, impact on philanthropy and connections with community through:

Updated and redesigned web site www.nativephilanthropy.org includes access to information, dissemination of resources and outreach to emerging leaders with our knowledge and best practices. Through a regular electronic newsletter membership participates in making information available through sharing grant awards, announcements, success stories and highlights leaders in the field. Look for more changes to the website this summer and send us your news for the E-Newsletter.

We participated in a number of presentations to Native, philanthropic and other stakeholder groups. We have been involved in panel discussions for the National Indian Gaming Association, National Congress of American Indians, Philanthropy Northwest, Council on Foundations, the Joint Affinity Groups, National Network of Grantmakers, and the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

The Louis T. Delgado Distinguished Grantmaker Award was presented to Rebecca Adamson of First Nations Development Institute and the Ingrid Washinawatok El-Issa/Flying Eagle Woman Award for Community- Based Philanthropy was presented to Pilar Gonzales of Changemakers. These awards recognize leaders in the field who give back to community and raise up the best practices of Native philanthropy. Award winners serve as inspirations and examples to members and emerging leaders.

We are proud to announce our new Board Officers and Directors for 2006: David Cournoyer, Chair; Howard Valandra, Vice Chair; Susan Anderson, Secretary/Treasurer. The Board has recently met in their Annual Planning Retreat. Increased education, advocacy and strategic partnerships remain important strategies to achieving our vision. A new Leadership and Mentoring Project is also being designed and all details will announced in upcoming E-Newsletters. Thank you to Otto Bremer Foundation for your important support for this project and our on-going work.

Today is a good day to renew that membership or become a member. July - June is our fiscal year. Pass this E-Newsletter along to your colleagues and keep those memberships coming!

Native Americans in Philanthropy Board of Directors: David Cournoyer, Gabrielle Strong, Howard Valandra, Jo-Anne Stately, Susan Anderson and Louis Delgado (not pictured: Mike Roberts and Ron Rowell).

Joy A Persall, Executive Director and Neely M. Snyder, Administrative Associate.

Waukazoo Recognized for Health Work

Indian Country Today (Vol. 25, Iss. 2) article written by James May, June 21, 2005 "Waukazoo Recognized for Health Work"

Martin Waukazoo, the Oakland-based head of the Native American Health Center, was one of three recipients of the 2005 Champions of Health Professionals Diversity Award.

The award was presented by the nonprofit California Wellness Foundation to individuals who have done exemplary work in the health field in underserved communities. The award also includes a $25,000 grant to each of the three awardees.

The Native American Health Center in Oakland has been in existence for 20 years and has seen its operating budget go from a little over $800,000 to over $13 million today. In that time, Waukazoo has seen the organization grow from 14 to 170 employees. The organization also has helped clinics in Fresno and Sacramento that ran into management difficulties.

Read the rest of the story.

Elouise Cobell of Montana Honored for Indian Trust Fight

Elouise Cobell, who has led a nine-year court fight that is forcing the federal government to give an estimated 500,000 American Indians a full accounting of what has happened to their government-controlled individual Indian Trust accounts, is one of five winners of Cultural Freedom Fellowships awarded by the Lannan Foundation of Santa Fe.

The foundation has announced that it is giving a total of $675,000 to support the work of anti-globalization activist Maude Barlow of Canada; book publishers Bobby Byrd and Lee Merrill Byrd of the United States; journalist Amira Hass of Israel and Montana banker Elouise Cobell of the Blackfeet Nation.

The cultural freedom fellowship program is designed to recognize individuals whose work inspires their communities, domestic and international, that are struggling to uphold and defend their right to cultural freedom and diversity. This support is intended to encourage and enhance the recipients' efforts to advance the cause of cultural freedom, a basic human right dependent on political, economic, and environmental justice.

To find out more about Elouise Cobell vs. Norton, please visit the following: www.indiantrust.com and www.lannan.org

Robert Wood Johnson Community Health Leadership Program Awards $1.2 Million to Health Innovators

The Robert Wood Johnson Community Health Leadership Program (CHLP) named 10 people today to the nation's highest honor for community health leadership. Each will receive $120,000 for their exceptional and effective approach to addressing the myriad health care challenges facing people in communities across the United States.

Whether it is dispensing HIV prevention information to street workers from the trunk of a car, providing culturally competent substance abuse counseling services to Native Americans, or organizing worker campaigns to create healthier workplaces, the 2005 Community Health Leaders have harnessed the power and resources within their communities to address the needs of working poor, uninsured or otherwise vulnerable people living there.

Read the rest of the story.

Funding in Native Communities

Blandin Foundation ~ Minnesota statewide Community Economic Advantage (CEA) grants including $6.25 million to The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to acquire forest conservation easements and up to $250,000 for the Red Lake Band of Chippewa at Red Lake, Minnesota.

The Blandin Foundation, is Minnesota's largest rural-based private foundation, with the mission of strengthening rural communities. For more information, please visit www.blandinfoundation.org

ChangeMakers - Fund of the Sacred Circle (A fund of the Headwaters Foundation for Justice) is awarded $10,000 to support this new fund to leverage a challenge grant, strengthen an endowment campaign and create a long-lasting and dependable resource in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Changemakers is a national public foundation that models and supports community-based social change philanthropy. For more information, please go to www.changemakers.org

W. K. Kellogg Foundation - Native American Community Development Corporation awarded $688,151.00 to address community development financing needs in Native American communities nationwide and bridge the gap between Native communities and much needed conventional and specialized sources of capital. To learn more about the foundation, go to www.wkkf.org

Antioch University - To better serve Native American students in Washington state and across the nation, Antioch University Seattle is partnering with tribes and schools to establish 18 early college high schools. As of December 2004, seven sites in Washington have received grants and assistance from Antioch. The initiative is now expanding nationally. During the next three years, Antioch will develop 10 new early colleges in several states. To learn more, visit www.antiochsea.edu

Cherokee Preservation Foundation There are three new developments: the receipt of Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) certification by the Eastern Band's community development corporation, the first annual Cherokee Day of Caring, and a new business venture undertaken by Vocational Opportunities of Cherokee (VOC) with the assistance of CPFdn grants. For more information go to www.cherokeepreservationfoundation.org

HOPI Foundation Named: Ford Foundation Announces National Finalists for 2005 Leadership for a Changing World Awards

Leadership for a Changing World is a program of the Ford Foundation in partnership with the Advocacy Institute and the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University. The program's award recognizes leaders or leadership teams across the United States who are tackling the nation's most entrenched social problems, getting results and changing lives.

"The Leadership for a Changing World finalists exemplify the finest qualities of public service leadership. As they work to address extraordinarily complex social problems, they also give hope for our nation's future. All Americans can learn from what this diverse group of leaders is doing, without much public notice, to address inequities, impart new skills, strengthen the resolve, and lift the spirits of the communities they serve," said Kathleen D. Sheekey, President and CEO of the D.C.-based Advocacy Institute, a Leadership for a Changing World partner.

Selected in a highly competitive process, each finalist is eligible to become one of 17 national award winners who will receive $100,000 each to advance their work and an additional $15,000 for supporting activities. The final winners will be announced on October 13, 2005.

To encourage a national conversation about the importance, quality and diversity of community leadership, Leadership for a Changing World recognizes the achievements of outstanding leaders who are not well-known outside their immediate communities or fields; provides financial support and other assistance for their work; and, through a multi-year collaborative research initiative, explores with awardees how leadership is perceived, created and sustained.

To view the full list of 2005 National Finalists, go to www.leadershipforchange.org

Events Significant for Native peoples in Philanthropy

Indian Land Tenure 2005 Golf Classic Join Indian Land Tenure Foundation on August 3, 2005 for their 2nd Annual Golf Tournament at The Meadows at Mystic Lake in Prior Lake, MN. Open to all golfers: hole contests, prizes and raffles. Proceeds will support the work of the Indian Land Tenure Foundation.

ILWG 15th Annual Indian Land Consolidation Symposium Hosted by the Coeur D'Alene Tribe in Worley, Idaho on August 8-11, 2005.

Diverse Voices, Values and Traditions: Philanthropy in the 21st Century Neighborhood Funders Group Conference and 25th Anniversary Celebration - September 11-13, 2005.

Embracing Change: The Future of Philanthropy - Philanthropy Northwest 2005 Annual Conference and Membership Meeting - September 11-13, 2005 at Dolce Skamania Lodge in the Columbia River Gorge.

2005 Fall Conference for Community Foundations - First Nations Development Institute is Turning 25! Reception and Gala Banquet on October 22, 2005 at the National Museum of the American Indian on the National Mall in Washington, DC.

HUD's National Indian Housing Summit - September 19-22, 2005 in Reno, Nevada.

EGA Fall Retreat 2005 - September 25-28, 2005.

The Power of Generations: Pursuing Social Justice through Sacred Relationships - National Network of Grantmakers Annual Conference ~ October 8-11, 2005 at the Semiahmoo Resort (Native-owned resort North of Seattle, WA).

INDN's List Campaign Camp - October 13-15, 2005

Celebrating 25 Years of Indian Giving - First Nations Development Institute is Turning 25! Reception and Gala Banquet on October 22, 2005 at the National Museum of the American Indian on the National Mall in Washington, DC.

Native American Art Studies Association (NAASA) Conference & Travel Awards - October 26-29, 2005 at the Marriot Suites - Old Town in Scottsdale, AZ.

National Congress of American Indians Annual Convention - October 30-November 4, 2005 in Tulsa.

Opportunities...

ELP Fellowship for Emerging Leaders - Apply now for the class of 2006-2007!

Buffett Award for Indigenous Leadership - Deadline September 30, 2005.

Budget Analyst - United Nations Foundation. The Budget Analyst prepares and analyzes UNF's budgets and management reports, prepares ad hoc financial analyses, and provides analytical and project support to the CFO, Controller, and Grants Administration Manager on an as-needed basis.

Corporate and Foundation Relations Manager - America's Second Harvest.

Executive Director - Funders Concerned About AIDS. The ED serves as the chief executive officer of FCAA working in partnership with the Board to articulate its vision, strategic direction and program focus.

Program Associate for Europe & CIS - Global Fund for Women. The Program Associate reports to and works closely with the Program Officer for ECIS in helping to review and coordinate correspondence with organizations that request support from the Global Fund for Women.

More jobs...

Other Resources...

Policy and media relationship explored - Indian Country Today article. The development of a promising new public policy research center in Indian country is now underway.

Tiller's Guide to Indian Country - Anyone eager to serve, partner with, or market to Native American tribes and communities will benefit from the completely revised and expanded book.