BACKGROUND

Established in 2018, Decolonizing Wealth Project (DWP) is committed to bringing truth, healing and repair to the global community. Our signature framework, Reparative Philanthropy, is at the heart of our work of transforming wealth into collective wellbeing.

DWP operates through three key strategies: sector transformation, storytelling and culture, and reparative giving. Our work has radically transformed the philanthropic sector and has advised on the distribution of nearly $1 billion for social justice efforts. Liberated Capital, DWP’s fund, has directly granted over $23 million to support economic solidarity, wellbeing, and earth and climate efforts primarily led by Black and Indigenous communities.

In 2019, the State of California took a historic step to establish the California Truth & Healing Council (the “Council”), created by Executive Order N-15-19. The Council bears witness to, records, examines existing documentation of, and receives California Native American narratives regarding the historical relationship between the State of California and California Native Americans in order to clarify the historical record of such relationship in the spirit of truth and healing. The Council’s mission is facilitated by the Governor’s Tribal Advisor and includes representatives from California Native American Tribes, relevant state and local agencies, and other relevant non-governmental stakeholders. The Council will submit a final written report of findings to the Governor’s Office. The Governor’s Office anticipates that a draft of the report will be circulated for tribal consultation in Fall 2025 and anticipates releasing the final version in Summer 2026. For updates from the Governor’s Office, please visit https://tribalaffairs.ca.gov/cthc/.

Decolonizing Wealth Project believes that CA Native people have an unprecedented opportunity to leverage this political moment to advance healing for tribal communities across California.  To fully maximize the process, California Native Tribes and Native-led organizations require adequate resources to actively participate in the state’s initiatives—both to inform and shape them, and to ensure the government remains accountable for its commitments to Native communities. Additionally, there is a vital opportunity for these Tribes and organizations to collaborate and coordinate efforts focused on truth, healing, and repair across the state, advocating for reparative actions at the state level.

To this end, DWP launched a multi-year grantmaking initiative—the California Truth and Healing Fund to support California Native American families, communities, Tribes, and organizations in accelerating efforts toward truth and healing, including opportunities within and beyond the state’s process.  

The California Truth and Healing Fund is owned and operated by DWP and operates independently of the state. Its work is supported by an independent advisory board consisting of California Native Americans who make funding decisions.

ELIGIBILITY

Please note that this funding cycle is only available to current and past grantees of the California Truth and Healing Fund at this time. 

California Native American Tribes are eligible to apply.  

• Non-federally recognized Tribes are eligible to apply through a 501(c)(3) or be fiscally sponsored by a 501(c)(3).
• Tribes applying through a 501(c)(3) must submit a letter of support or approval from the Tribal governing body or provide contact information for a Tribal point of contact. If there are extenuating circumstances, please share more details in an attachment as part of your proposal. 

California Native American-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, coalitions, or projects fiscally sponsored by a 501(c)(3) based in California are eligible to apply.

• Native American-led means that the organization’s board of directors and executive leadership must be primarily California Native Americans and must primarily serve California Natives.
• California Native-led organizations, coalitions, or projects must name and provide Letters of Support from the CA Tribe(s) they represent or propose to engage, or tribally-affiliated references. 
• Individuals are not eligible for funding at this time.

AMOUNT AND USE OF FUNDS

• Grant amounts will range from $5,000 to $50,000.
• Funding cannot be used for efforts in opposition to other Tribes or tribal entities. 
• Funding must be used for charitable purposes only.

FUNDING PRIORITIES

Funding priorities of the California Truth and Healing Fund are outlined below. 

The fund seeks to support both efforts connected to the Council’s work and independent community-led work. Priorities will be given to activities that advance truth and healing efforts for California Native communities utilizing the following strategies: 1) Advocacy and Movement-Building, 2) Capacity Building & Technical Assistance, and 3) Community-Centric Healing.

Advocacy and Movement-Building: The fund will prioritize statewide and regional Native organizations and coalitions that build power to influence and hold accountable local and state agencies to deliver on their promises to Native communities, past, present, and future. Key strategies we seek to support will:

• Provide awareness, create community engagement, and build capacity to engage and influence the Council’s work in the next year, including  support to participate in the state’s tribal consultation process in Fall 2025.
• Build and expand Native-led coalitions and advocacy campaigns to hold public institutions accountable to follow through on community demands for truth and healing for the long-term. This may include funding for convening and gathering across tribal communities and Fund grantee partners to strategize, connect, share, learn, and prepare for future advocacy efforts.

Community-Centric Healing: support for traditional healing programs or efforts connected to tribal or intra-tribal Truth & Healing processes outside of the state’s work. 

• This includes efforts focused on healing through cultural mentorship, storytelling, and traditional artistic expression to support healing from historical trauma in CA Native communities.
• We support healing as needed by Tribes, and welcome varying projects rooted in a myriad of traditional tribal healing practices.

Capacity-Building & Technical Assistance: for Tribes and Native-led organizations interested in capacity-building efforts as they relate broadly to truth and healing efforts, such as:

• Tribal history, research, and narrative work to document truth-telling towards healing and repair, such as digitizing tribal history, research, narratives, documentation of land loss, cultural items, or archival material, etc.  This may include efforts to record first-hand accounts and first-person narratives that capture oral history, clarify and correct the historical record, address grievances, and/or promote truth-telling
• Capacity-building for Tribes, including resources for legal support, retrieving historical documentation, and engaging anthropological or scientific support to support claims.

KEY DATES

Grant proposals may be submitted at any time by Tuesday, June 3, 2025, 5:00 PM PST.

INFO WEBINAR

An informational session on the 2025 RFP will be held on Friday, May 16th, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Pacific. Access the Zoom link here: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87938856509.

FAQ

 Frequently Asked Questions for the 2025 RFP here.  This document is updated periodically as new questions surface.

HOW TO APPLY

We use the JustFund platform to accept and review applications. To apply, follow the steps below:

(1) Visit www.justfund.us to log in or register for an account.

If you have an existing JustFund account, click ‘Sign In’ and log in to access the RFP. If you are having trouble accessing your account, reset your password or contact info@justfund.us.

If you have additional questions, view JustFund’s, Help Center or contact info@justfund.us for support! 

(2) Enter your application details 

Before you get started, learn more about how the JustFund Common Application™ works. Please ensure that all fields in your profile are up to date. As part of your application, your profile information will also be submitted and dated at the time of submission.

Reminder: all applications must be submitted through the JustFund platform no later than June 3, 2025 at 5pm Pacific time. 

Application-Specific Questions

• What progress have you made on your project/campaign over the last year? What are the specific short or long term goals of your campaign over the next year? (recommended less than 1000 characters)

• What specific support do you need to build your capacity to do advocacy work?  What opportunities do you see for building Native power to demand change? (recommended less than 1000 characters)

Application-Specific Attachments

• Leadership and Team Bios (Required) (Please remember that the proposing organization’s Board of Directors and Executive leadership must be majority California Native-led, and must primarily serve California Natives.)*
• Program Budget & Work Plan (Required)*
• Letters of Support from CA Tribe(s) or tribally-affiliated references or point of contact (Required for CA Tribes, CA Native-led organizations, and coalitions applying through a 501(c)(3) or projects fiscally sponsored by a 501(c)(3) based in CA)
• End-of-year or annual impact reports. Suggested but not required.

CONTACT US

For questions, including assistance with the content of your application, please reach out to us at dana@decolonizingwealth.com, with the subject line: CA Truth and Healing Fund. 

For technical assistance with the JustFund platform, contact info@justfund.us.