Proposal Deadline: May 30, 2018
Submit To: conference@ internationalfunders.org
More Information: (415) 580-7982
Conference Overview
In January 2017, IFIP adopted a new strategic framework with the goal to expand the sphere of funders and collaborative action among funders and Indigenous Peoples to advance issues of importance to Indigenous communities. In the spirit of this new framework, IFIP’s Global Indigenous Funders Conference is predicated on this new vision and direction. This comes at a time when our members have emphasized the importance of flexibility, collaboration, intersectionality and intercultural philanthropy, where we embrace reciprocal relationships with Indigenous communities.
IFIP’s Global Indigenous Funders Conference will facilitate this transformation. The conference aims to achieve this by building on IFIP’s yearly programming, which addresses funding strategies and continued peer learning. This will include conference spaces that will look at which donor practices and strategies need to change in order to better align with Indigenous values and the 4Rs of Indigenous philanthropy. These values will lead to better funder support on critical issues important to Indigenous communities.
IFIP educates its members and allies to practice a new paradigm of giving based on “The Four R’s of Indigenous Philanthropy” —Respect, Reciprocity, Responsibility and Relationships.
Track One – Expanding the Sphere of Funding: Shifting Roadblocks to Resourcing, Silos to Synergy
We invite proposals by funders and Indigenous partners who overcame roadblocks that prevented effective funding to Indigenous Peoples. This track provides an opportunity to both explicitly identify funding practices that created these barriers as well as case studies that share examples of how to influence and change these funding strategies and approaches. These case studies can look at changes that happened in a funding institution but explore ways to use these learnings to influence the broader funding sector.
This can include sessions addressing how funders can move from funding silos to a more holistic approach, where funders understand issues such as climate change and territories, education, issues of women, well-being, and others as inherently related.
This track provides an opportunity to both explicitly identify funding practices that create these barriers as well as case studies exploring how to influence and change these funding strategies and approaches more broadly and at a funding systems level.
Track Two – Resilience and Revitalization of Indigenous Knowledge and Practice.
This track will include sessions exploring how Indigenous knowledge and practices can provide an important framework for solutions to both local issues as well as many of the earth’s systemic crisis.
Examples related to this track can include leveraging Indigenous knowledge to address climate resilience and adaptation, language revival, cultural revival and spirituality, such as knowledge around food systems, healing and health and others at both the local and global level.
Track Three–Potentializing and Supporting Indigenous Self Determination: Lessons and Opportunities.
IFIP defines self-determined development as the ability of Indigenous communities to preserve, evolve and transform social, political, economic and cultural systems in line with their priorities.
This track will address how to bolster self-determination by both looking at mediums and approaches. It will also provide an opportunity to share positive and negative outcomes of these efforts.
The track will include sessions exploring important movements and issues that are central to the self-determination of Indigenous Peoples such as land and territory rights and protection, Indigenous women’s rights, and political and economic leadership. We recommend sessions exploring the lessons learned around developing funding strategies in support of self-determination through avenues like impact investing, leadership development, policy and advocacy efforts and others.
IFIP Global Indigenous Funders Conference-Call for Sessions Eligibility:
Session proposals may be submitted by:
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Individual donors who have given $10,000 or more in grants to Indigenous causes
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Individuals who work in IFIP member institutions
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International and regional grantmaking organizations
IFIP members will be given session selection priority, but we welcome non-member funders involved in Indigenous funding.
Session Development:
Sessions should be highly interactive among speakers and audience. Each session will be 75 minutes, including introductions, panelist discussions, and Q&A.
Please use the following considerations as guidelines to organizing a workshop session.
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Sessions should have at least one donor and one Indigenous rep. and a maximum of four speakers
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Content should contain current information relevant to the conference theme and tracks:
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Theme: Bolstering Effective Indigenous Philanthropy: Supporting Indigenous Solutions and Partnerships for Long Term Change
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Track 1: Expanding the Sphere of Funding: Shifting Roadblocks to Resourcing, Silos to Synergy.
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Track 2: Resilience and Revitalization of Indigenous Knowledge and Practice.
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Track 3: Potentializing and Supporting Indigenous Self Determination: Lessons and Opportunities
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If you are uncertain about your session’s relevancy to the theme, please contact IFIP at ashley@internationalfunders.org or at (415) 580-7982.
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IFIP may request modifications to accepted proposals, to serve donors of particular level(s).
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Eligible applicants may submit more than one session proposal.
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All sessions should discuss the grantmaking process and/or how partnerships in the field can be most effective. Models to be emulated should be shared, with discussion of ways to adopt and adapt successful methodologies to other projects.
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Sessions should provide strategies for donors to become more effective in their portfolio analysis and grantmaking to Indigenous programs.
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Sessions should represent different points of view and must include Indigenous representation along with donor perspectives.
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We are offering simultaneous translations throughout conference in both Spanish and English
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We discourage the use of more than 3 to 5 PowerPoint slides