Fund of the Sacred Circle
The Fund of the Sacred Circle (FSC) supports Native leadership working to ensure that indigenous cultures are honored, American Indians are treated with fairness and equity, and that the sovereignty and self-determination of Native people is secure. The fund is Native-led, supporting projects that address systemic injustice affecting American Indian communities. The fund is a partnership of Native activists and donors of all backgrounds, supported by Headwaters Foundation for Justice and the Wisconsin Community Fund.

Funding Focus:
The Fund of the Sacred Circle supports American Indian organizations throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin addressing issues of racial, social, economic and environmental justice.
The fund has identified (but is not limited to) the following areas of interest in 2007-08:

Language and cultural revitalization:
Language and culture is vital to the identity and future of American Indians. The fund supports groups engaged in changing society by preserving, protecting, and promoting Native culture and language.

Land and environmental restoration:
Environmental destruction and loss of tribal lands negatively impacts the cultural, spiritual and economic well-being of our communities. The fund supports organizing work to reclaim traditional land base and restore traditional stewardship of natural resources.

Sovereignty and treaty rights:
American Indians have a unique historical and legal status as sovereign nations. The fund supports organizing efforts that uphold and advance tribal sovereignty and treaty rights.

Self-determination and civil rights:
Native communities long have experienced genocidal and assimilation policies and practices. The fund supports efforts to ensure that the civil, legal, political and religious rights of American Indian’s are secure, and that native heritage and self-determination is respected and defended.

Groups must meet the general Headwaters’ funding criteria: 

• Organizing as a means of directly engaging community in addressing issues;
• Social justice focus to address the root cause or conditions of a community’s social, economic or racial injustices;
• Impacting social, economic and political institution or systems that perpetuate injustice;
• Constituent leadership of and accountable to the community that is affected by the issue and is being organized;
• Limited access to traditional funding sources—typically, this means annual operating budgets of less than $300,000.
• Working in alliance with the knowledge of and collaboration with other groups working for justice.
• Minnesota and Wisconsin based.

Funding levels:
Planning Grants up to $5,000 and Implementation Grants up to $10,000.

Application deadline: Monday, August 3, 2009.

Guidelines and application form:
Click the links below to download the grant application materials. Applications and guidelines have been rewritten for all grantmaking funds. The old applications and forms will not be accepted. You must use the new forms available for downloading below.

Application: pdf or MS Word

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