Grant writing is not just about filling out forms or chasing funding deadlines. For us, it is a powerful act of storytelling and advocacy. It is a way to bring the histories, resilience, and visions of Native and BIPOC communities into spaces that have often silenced or ignored them. We see every proposal as a chance to shift systems and challenge philanthropy’s entrenched inequities. Writing a grant becomes a statement: our communities are worthy of investment, and our leaders are fully capable of shaping their futures.

The world of philanthropy has long valued technical expertise over lived experience, favoring polished presentations from organizations that reflect dominant culture values. This bias leaves grassroots leaders underfunded even as they carry the heaviest burdens in their communities. We reject this imbalance and write grants that honor cultural sovereignty, language, and storytelling traditions. We want funders to understand not only the programs they are investing in but the communities that breathe life into them. Grant writing becomes a tool to reclaim narrative control and demand funding that is grounded in trust, equity, and justice.

Our approach is to walk alongside organizations, not ahead of them. We see our role as amplifying their work, building their capacity, and sharing the skills needed to secure resources for years to come. When we write, we do not speak over or for our partners, we write with them, ensuring their voice leads every proposal. The grants we pursue are about more than financial support; they are about building movements, elevating leadership, and creating systems where Native and BIPOC-led nonprofits no longer have to fight to prove their worth.