PUBLICATIONS

This study, commissioned by the International Funders for Indigenous Peoples (IFIP), builds on previous research to advance more direct, equitable, and impactful climate funding for Indigenous Peoples. Grounded in the 5Rs of Indigenous Philanthropy—Respect, Relationships, Responsibility, Reciprocity, and Redistribution—the report examines how much climate finance reaches Indigenous Peoples Organizations (IPOs) directly and who holds decision-making power over these resources. It also establishes an important distinction between funding identified as benefiting Indigenous Peoples and funding that directly reaches Indigenous-led organizations, providing a baseline to inform Indigenous advocacy and climate finance negotiations, including discussions around the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG).

Drawing on 22,143 climate-related cash grants of at least $10,000 issued between 2020 and 2024, the study identifies 1,720 grants (7.8%) tagged as benefiting or potentially benefiting Indigenous Peoples. Each recipient was assessed against IFIP’s IPO framework to determine whether funding reached Indigenous organizations directly. The quantitative analysis is complemented by interviews with Indigenous organizations and philanthropic foundations, offering further insight into funding practices and decision-making. The findings should be interpreted in light of important data limitations, including Candid’s concentration on US- and Canada-based philanthropy, incomplete visibility into onward regranting, and the exclusion of funding not identified as Indigenous-related in Candid’s database.