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//RESOURCES |
Saturday
5/17/2008 7:01:27 PM |
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First Nations’ Strengthening Native American Philanthropy (SNAP) Program
First Nations Development Institute developed the Strengthening Native American Philanthropy (SNAP) initiative in 1995 to increase Native American and tribal participation in philanthropy, both as funders and grant recipients.
First Nations believes that tribes and Native organizations can develop their own philanthropic models to protect Native assets and develop new assets. Tribes have a range of organizational options available to them as they design their philanthropic programs, and we are committed to working with tribes and Native nonprofits to find the best model to fit their needs.
Through a combination of education, outreach, and the regional Wisdom of the Giveaway conference series, First Nations disseminates information about developing philanthropic models and sovereign approaches to charitable giving.
According to the 2000 Census, Native Americans account for 1.5 percent of the U.S. population. Yet, only 1/6th of one percent of national philanthropic dollars go to Native American communities or organizations.
With less than 1/2 of one percent of large foundation's grantmaking in the United States being accessed by Native American communities or enterprises, the overall goal of SNAP is to increase both awareness of and access to mainstream philanthropic monies by communities that need it most.
The SNAP initiative provides information on a range of topics, and includes the following services and products:
Workshops and Conferences
Sovereign Philanthropy Workshops – First Nations conducts workshops to provide information and training about creating tribal charitable funds and foundations and promoting individual tribal member philanthropy. Contact narc@firstnations.org for more information about these workshops.
Publications and Resource Manuals
First Nations recommends the following publications for those interested in Native philanthropy:
Conference Reports
Power of Giving: Strengthening Philanthropy in Native Communities (2006). In June, 2006, First Nations Development Institute, Spirit Mountain Community Fund, the Potlatch Fund, and Native Americans in Philanthropy (NAP) convened a group of Native philanthropic leaders in Grand Ronde, Oregon, to provide technical assistance, build capacity, and discuss how we can better support the development of Native foundations and Native philanthropy. This is the report from that conference.
Strategic Philanthropy: Assessing the Needs of the Native Philanthropic Sector (2005). On September 14 2005, First Nations Development Institute and Native Americans in Philanthropy (NAP) convened a group of Native philanthropic leaders in Minneapolis/St. Paul to discuss how we can better support the development of Native foundations and Native philanthropy. This is the report from that conference.
Speeches and articles by Rebecca Adamson on Native American philanthropy
• A River So Wide I: considering the limits on Native American use of formal philanthropy, Indian Giver, Spring 1999
• A River So Wide II: considering the options of Native American formal philanthropy, Indian Giver, Summer 1999
• A River So Wide III: Native American philanthropy enters a new era, Indian Giver, Fall/Winter 1999
• A River So Wide IV: American Indian philanthropy gathers momentum, Indian Giver, Winter/Spring 2000
• 7871 awareness: a two-way stream, Indian Giver, Winter/Spring 2001
• John W. Gardner Leadership Award acceptance speech, Indian Giver, Fall/Winter 2001
• The 1996 Robert W. Scrivner Award acceptance speech
Technical Reports
• Options for Designing Your Tribal Philanthropic Program – This publication is the first component of the Strengthening Native American Philanthropy Manual created to help tribes start their own foundations or other formalized philanthropic models.
• Operating a Tribal Philanthropic Program – This publication is the second component of the Strengthening Native American Philanthropy Manual. It provides information on designing a mission and vision statement and other topics.
• Individual Philanthropy - This publication is the third component of the Strengthening Native American Philanthropy Manual. It focuses on how individual tribal members can contribute to philanthropic causes.
• Wisdom of the Giveaway. This publication is a curriculum that offers an overview of giving traditions of Native communities and the vehicles through which tribes share and distribute local assets.
[Download PDF] 14 Megabytes
• Legal Questions and Answers - This booklet addresses the often-asked legal questions on charitable giving for individuals in tribal communities.
• Tribal Giving: What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Formalized Philanthropy? - This booklet addresses the advantages and disadvantages of formalized philanthropy.
Research Reports
The Emerging Sector: Nonprofits in Indian Country. This research paper draws upon a survey conducted in the late 1990s and provides data on the Native nonprofit sector.
Wisdom of the Giveaway Conference Reports:
• Great Lakes Wisdom of the Giveaway Conference Report. A report from the 2003 "Wisdom of the Giveaway" Conference held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in partnership with the Forest County Potawatomi Community Foundation.
• San Diego Wisdom of the Giveaway Conference Report. A report from the San Diego "Wisdom of the Giveaway" Conference held in November 2002.
Other Resources
In 1982, Congress passed the Indian Tribal Governmental Tax Status Act, codified as Internal Revenue Code (IRC) §7871, treating tribal governments as state governments for certain tax purposes. This allows tribal governments, their political subdivisions, or a department or division that is an integral part of the tribal government to receive tax-deductible donations. The following are resources to provide more information about section 7871 and organizations that fall under this section of the tax code.
• What every tribe, corporation, foundation, and financial planner should know about charitable giving to tribes and tribal organizations. This pamphlet explains the nature of §7871 organizations and provides a printer-ready document for organizations to use.
• IRS Letters sent to First Nations. This file contains two letters received from the IRS clarifying key questions related to the tax code treatment of tribal governments for philanthropic purposes. The first letter confirms that corporations created under tribal law can qualify for 501(c)(3) status. The second letter clarifies that grants made by private foundations to Indian tribal governments, and tribally created §7871 organizations, are “qualifying distributions” and not “taxable expenditures.” Therefore, donations to tribal governments and §7871 organizations are considered tax deductible.
• Office of Indian Tribal Governments at the Internal Revenue Service. The office of Indian Tribal Governments at the Internal Revenue Service was established to help Indian tribes deal with their federal tax matters.
• Examples of model tribal code that has been used to create nonprofits under tribal law. Click here for the Cherokee Nation code, and here for the code used by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.
For more information, contact Sarah Dewees at 540/371-5615 ext. 47 or narc@firstnations.org.
Last update 7/2/2007
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We believe, that when armed with appropriate resources, Native peoples hold the capacity and ingenuity to ensure the sustainable economic, spiritual, and cultural well being of their communities.
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