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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 also serve as an educational resource for Friends seeking to understand Indigenous concerns better. We grant funds to Indigenous peoples and organizations in the North American geographical region. Grant awards average $2,000 per individual or organization. We favor projects of a one-time nature, pilot projects, and seed money to help initiatives get off the ground and projects that serve a community rather than a single individual.
The Quaker Fund for Indigenous Communities Granting Group is made up of Quakers from all parts of PYM who support Indigenous communities through grants and advocacy.
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 organizations or individuals 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 submit a brief report to document how funds were spent to remain eligible for future grants.
Annual Reports
Annual reports include grant requests funded and other actions, education, and sharing.
- 2023-2024 Annual Report
- 2022-2023 Annual Report
- 2021-2022 Annual Report
- 2020-2021 Annual Report
- 2019-2020 Annual Report
- 2018-2019 Annual Report
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)
- 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 second Saturday of each month (except July and August). 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 to the granting group who share a commitment to supporting Native American cultures. 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.
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.
Funding Background
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.
In considering grant requests, we favor projects that are initiated by Native Americans themselves and that are of a “one-time” nature—pilot projects and seed money to help Indian initiatives get off the ground. We also favor projects that will benefit a community, and we consider requests with national impact as well as a local focus. We are particularly interested in learning about Native American initiatives and new programs in the tri-state area (PA, NJ, DE).
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.
