OVERVIEW: The Christensen Fund supports the rights and efforts of indigenous peoples around the world.
IP TAKE: This funder has recently reimagined its grantmaking away from a regional approach, which means that previous grantees will need to adjust their ask to fit in with the new vision. It also means that grantseekers who were previously excluded due to geographic restrictions may want to take a second look. This is a transformative funder that conducts deep work in its areas of interest. It’s also collaborative and provides grantees with support beyond funds.
The fund is exceptionally transparent with regard to where its support goes. The website’s finances page provides both 990s and independent auditors’ reports, and its searchable grantee database offers even more precise information about its grantmaking. It’s also accessible and approachable, but given it’s recent expansion to the national landscape, expect competition in an otherwise small field.
PROFILE: Established in 1957, the Christensen Fund is a philanthropic foundation that is based in San Francisco, California. Since it was established by Allen and Carmen Christensen, the Christensen Fund has expanded beyond its San Francisco roots to address key policy issues predominantly related to the land rights of indigenous people in Africa, Central Asia, Northwest Mexico, Northern Australia, and Melanesia. Rooted in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), the Fund’s new grantmaking strategy centers it’s work on “supporting and strengthening Indigenous Peoples’ efforts to secure and exercise their rights to their land, territories, resources, and sovereign systems of governance.
Allen and Carmen Christensen created the foundation, which began focusing on charitable and educational activities and the acquisition of fine arts and ethnographic artifacts since the 1970s. Allen Christensen made his fortune as a civil and mining engineer and president of the Utah Mining Construction Company along the Pacific Rim. Although mining was his business, his interests were eclectic travel and art collecting. His wife, Carmen, was a public school teacher, artist and instructor of studio arts. Today, the foundation aims to “support indigenous peoples in advancing their inherent rights, dignity and self-determination.” Grantmaking has shifted from a regional to a rights-based approach and now focuses on the land, territories, resources and sovereign governance of indigenous peoples.
Grants for Racial Justice and Indigenous Rights, Environment, and Global Development
Across all of its grantmaking programs, the Christensen fund seeks to preserve “Indigenous Peoples’ efforts to secure and exercise their rights to their land, territories, resources, and sovereign systems of governance.”
In efforts to improve international understanding of the link between cultural and biological diversity, Christensen focuses on three themes in its grantmaking including advocating for representation of Indigenous Peoples in the international discourse on biocultural rights; developing resilient biocultural landscapes; and supporting agrobiodiversity and food sovereignty efforts.
Christensen updated its grantmaking strategy for the global Indigenous Peoples’ Movement, and while it is still too early to get a complete sense of what this will look like in practice, in theory the new strategy “centers […] on supporting and strengthening Indigenous Peoples’ efforts to secure and exercise their rights to their land, territories, resources, and sovereign systems of governance.” New grantees can review Christensen’s searchable database of past grantees in order to get a better idea of the types of programs and organizations the fund supports. Christensen is a signatory of the Climate Funders Justice Pledge.
Grants for the Bay Area
Grantmaking in the Bay Area focuses on native people and landscapes, as well as building understanding and engaging communities. The fund has recently shifted its focus from regional to thematic grantmaking programs and no longer runs a program dedicated to the Bay Area. Nevertheless, it will likely continue to support Bay Area cultural organizations.
Christensen’s past grantmaking in the Bay Area has been directed toward Native American organizations and organizations involved in community development. Past grantees include the Indigenous Educational Network of Turtle Island, Pie Ranch, the California Indian Basketweavers’ Association and the Center for Popular Research, Education and Policy.
Important Grant Details:
The Christensen Fund announces annual calls for applications on its website. Grantseekers may apply to the fund through its grantee portal. After the applications are reviewed, selected organizations are invited to submit a full proposal. Grant amounts generally range from $25,000 to $100,000.
PEOPLE:
Search for staff contact info and bios in PeopleFinder (paid subscribers only).
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