Colorado Plateau Foundation
We are a Native-led foundation that supports the cultures, lands, and waters of the Colorado Plateau, the landscape that we call home. We invest in Native-led organizations working in four priority areas on the Colorado Plateau: protection of water, protection of sacred places and threatened landscapes, preservation of Native languages, and sustainable community-based agriculture.
These priorities emerged from a series of inter-tribal gatherings of cultural leaders who identified these areas as requiring immediate and sustained attention. We use a culturally centered model of giving that blends strong relationships, capacity building, and tailored support to build the skills and leadership of Native-led organizations working to protect the Colorado Plateau.
Meet Our Grantees
Village of Tewa
About: The Village of Tewa is part of the First Mesa area on the Hopi Reservation which consists of 3 separate villages. The Village of Tewa has an administration which is [...]
Ute Mountain Ute Tribe (Water Resources Department)
About: The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe ("UMUT," or "Tribe") is a leader in climate-resilient management of water and natural resources in the Southwestern United States. Our team is proud of the [...]
Tseyi Association
About: Tséyi’ Association was established and founded in 1976 by a Del Muerto Canyon Resident Late Mr. Kee Gai Begay. Thereafter, the founding fathers, Del Muerto Canyon Resident Late Mr. Anderson [...]
Tó Nizhóní Ání
About: Tó Nizhóní Ání, or “Sacred Water Speaks,” is a Diné-led nonprofit organization established in 2001. Our organization originates from the Big Mountain community on Dził Yíjiin (the Black Mesa region). [...]
Theodore Roosevelt School (White Mountain Apache Tribe)
About: It is the mission of Theodore Roosevelt School to prepare and empower all students for the choices and challenges they will face in the future by providing a positive, healthy, [...]
Toohnii Binaneest’ą’ Ałtaas’éí Alliance (Fiscal Sponsor Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico)
About: Toohnii Binaneest’ą’ Ałtaas’éí ’began meeting as farmers with common concerns in the winter of 2019 and saw the scope of our collective concerns needed a concerted effort to seek solutions. [...]
About The Colorado Plateau
The Colorado Plateau is an ancient landscape of incredible beauty and diverse life. Formed millions of years ago, it extends across a 130,000-square-mile area roughly centered over the Four Corners area in the southwest United States. High-elevation deserts with red rock formations, cacti, and sage give rise to mountain ranges forested in pine, spruce, and juniper. The Colorado River and its tributaries wind through the land, carving deep canyons and wide valleys. Varied and delicate populations of plants and animals have adapted to this arid yet rich landscape.
Today, one-third of the Colorado Plateau lies within the sovereign lands of 11 different Native American tribes. The power of Native American tribes as sovereign nations, as governments that oversee over a third of the Colorado Plateau’s lands, and as the original stewards of this landscape renders Native leadership necessary to achieve any meaningful and authentic change on the Colorado Plateau.
About Philanthropic Funding
Analyses of philanthropic community data indicates that very few funding dollars are currently being allocated to Native communities
Only 0.3% of overall philanthropic funding goes to Native communities
Funding Gaps:
- Rural Initiatives: 74% goes to Native urban initiatives versus rural initiatives, leaving 26% for Native rural initiatives
- Native-led Initiatives: 68% goes to non-Native led organizations, leaving 32% to Native-led organizations
- Funding overall to Native American organizations and causes decreased 29% from 2006-2014
- Of funding to Native causes, 50% goes to organizations servicing a Native American population, but led by non-Native Americans, and only 50% to organizations led by Native Americans