Case Study: NDN Collective

Location: USA

Investment type: Philanthropic and debt finance

An Indigenous-led organisation dedicated to building the collective power of Indigenous Peoples, communities and Nations.

They undertake a range of work across activism, philanthropy, grant- making, power-building, organising and narrative change. NDN has developed granting and investment arms to resource and amplify the evolving suite of Indigenous-led solutions and initiatives which are developing across the USA.

The NDN Fund

The investing and lending arm of NDN provides debt financing and capacity-building services across two loan pools:

• SEEDING: for large-scale infrastructure that needs more than $500,000 - with a focus on renewable energy, community development and housing, social enterprise and regenerative agriculture.
• Relief & Resilience: provides small business loans under $500,000 to businesses and entrepreneurs.

It is important to emphasise that the fund has been developed to create 'a paradigm shift in how society invests in economic development by grounding our investment strategy in Indigenous systems thinking, recognising the interconnectedness of all things and our responsibilities to our homelands and each other. (NDN Collective 2022a)

NDN Grants and Fellowship

A core focus of NDN is to dramatically increase philanthropic investment into Indigenous-led organisations. Their granting programs work across supporting the defence of land, water and natural resources from extraction and exploitation, through to regenerative community development and decolonisation through the revitalisation of Indigenous ceremonies, cultures, languages and ways of life.

NDN runs an annual Radical Imagination grants program, which awards individual $50,000 grants to 10 Indigenous artists/culture bearers of all traditions, mediums and genres. As part of the grant, recipients are asked to:

• Imagine and practice justice within their communities.
• Amplify community voices to counter inequitable systems, policies and practices.
• Propose solutions to dismantle structural racism through their art

“An entire system of wealth has been built from Indigenous lands and assets through extraction and removal.

The NDN Foundation was formed to rematriate wealth back to Indigenous hands under Indigenous control. We seek to honour and resource our Peoples’ prosperity and self-determination.”

— Gaby Strong Managing Director NDN Collective (Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota) | (NDN Collective 2022B) 

https://ndncollective.org/

This case study is an extract from Regenerating Investment in Food and Farming: A Roadmap.