On This Page:
Introduction
The Quaker Fund for Indigenous Communities Granting Group is dedicated to supporting and funding initiatives that sustain Indigenous communities and preserve Indigenous cultural heritage.
We grant funds to Indigenous groups and individuals who initiate projects to serve Indigenous communities in the North American geographical region. While no grant is too small, we are rarely able to award more than $2,000 to any individual or group applicant.
We favor projects of a one-time nature, pilot projects, and seed money for projects initiated and carried out by Indigenous people for the benefit of a community. We consider requests with national impact as well as a local focus. We are particularly interested in supporting initiatives and new programs in the Mid-Atlantic area. We have supported a wide range of projects to promote Indigenous languages, cultural events and festivals, food sustainability, youth programs, and health. See our annual reports for examples of the projects we have supported.
The granting group began its relationship with Indigenous peoples in 1795, and in the past, Quakers were complicit in efforts to “civilize” Indigenous peoples, including the operation of boarding schools where children were stripped of their culture. Supporting Indigenous communities in their efforts to sustain their identity and culture is one way to redress the wrongs of the past.
Who Can Apply?
Indigenous groups and organizations or individuals with a project to serve an Indigenous community in the North American geographical region can apply.
How Do I Apply?
Please apply using our online grants portal. Please apply at least two months before funds are needed. Questions? Contact grants@pym.org.
Grant Requirements
If funded, please provide a brief report about the progress of your project and how our grant supported it. This will allow us to consider you for any future grants you may request.
Granting Group Membership
Appointed by PYM’s Granting Committee:
- Thomas Armstrong
- Cherie Clark (Recording Clerk)
- Terry Cooke (Liaison)
- Miriam Fisher-Schaefer
- Thomas Grabe
- Carol Ann Gray
- Winnie Hope
- Lois Kuter (Clerk)
- Shay O’Connor
- Fran O’Neill
About Us
The Quaker Fund for Indigenous Communities serves Philadelphia Yearly Meeting which is made up of approximately 11,000 individual Friends (Quakers) who meet in thirteen Quarterly Meetings which are in turn made up of over 100 Monthly Meetings in eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. The Quaker Fund for Indigenous Communities is, today, one of PYM’s granting groups, under care of the Administrative Council. Some projects and working groups have a short life and others, like the Quaker Fund for Indigenous Communities, have been active for many years – over 200 years in our case.
It is our responsibility to try to assist the Friends of Yearly Meeting to act upon their concerns and to help them keep informed on issues of concern to Native Americans.
The Quaker Fund for Indigenous Communities granting group meets on the third Saturday of each month. As is the case for all Quaker business meetings, our monthly meetings for business are also meetings for worship. In making any decision the Quaker Fund for Indigenous Communities granting group works on the basis of consensus and not “majority rule.” Every member of the granting group must be comfortable with a decision. If just one person is not comfortable, we continue to seek the right decision. This can be time-consuming, but it is important in insuring that we make decisions by drawing on the Spirit within us rather than by following one individual’s strong will. The clerk of the granting group is not so much a leader, but more of a convener who makes sure that decisions are based on consensus and our spiritual leading.
The Quaker Fund for Indigenous Communities granting group includes from six to ten active members at any given time. We are all volunteers and our membership changes. We are all individuals with different levels of knowledge and experience to contribute and an eagerness to listen to and learn from Indigenous voices. We welcome those interested in joining the granting group or attending a meeting to get in contact. Contact the Clerk, Lois Kuter, at loiskuter@verizon.net.
Funding Background
The committee was establish by the wills and bequests of Mary W. Trimble, Edward Woolman, Huldah H. Bonwill, Marshall & Johnson, Parrish, and Marjorie Trent. Committee established 1795 and added to in following years.
Concerned Friends have bequeathed money to the Quaker Fund for Indigenous Communities during its two hundred years of work and this is held in trust by Yearly Meeting for our use. Our yearly budget is the interest from the investment of these contributions.
We examine each funding decision as it comes before us, and the fact that we have supported something or some particular tribe or organization in the past does not mean we will find spiritual clearness to support it in the future. This allows us to adapt to changing needs and concerns brought to us by Indigenous peoples. The grant applications the Quaker Fund for Indigenous Communities received in the 19th and 20th centuries are very different from those we receive today.
Annual Reports
Annual reports include grant requests funded and other actions, education, and sharing.
