Potlatch Fund’s mission is to inspire the Native tradition of giving in
Northwest Indian Country to promote economic development, natural
resource protection, education, cultural preservation, civic participation, and
the overall health of Native people and their communities.

Potlatch Fund is a Native-led grantmaking foundation and leadership
development organization offering culturally appropriate training and
technical assistance to build the capacity of grantmakers, Tribes,
Native groups, and other Native grant seekers in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and
Western Montana.

History

• Potlatch Fund is a direct outcome of two years of collaborative
  meetings and conferences among funders, tribes, and other tribally driven organizations that explored the issue of “Philanthropy in Indian Country.” These gatherings sought to understand why Native Americans receive less than one half of one percent of philanthropic dollars when Natives experience such disproportionately high rates of poverty, unemployment, and disease.

  Potlatch Fund emerged in 2002 as an entity to address this disparity by helping develop and empower Native leadership and making the best use of tribal resources.

Achievements

• Real money – real people! Potlatch Fund has provided training to over 200 Native people in the areas of fundraising and project development. The place-based training's are brought to the communities where Native people live and work, which has included Umatilla, Colville, Seattle, Neah Bay and Quileute.

  Participants who have completed the introduction to foundation fundraising workshop developed the skills and confidence to submit competitive grant requests ranging from $500 to $500,000.

• In May of 2005, Potlatch Fund granted $50,000 to 23 Tribes and Native organizations through the Community Building Grants Program. Funded organizations ranged from a tribally-owned radio station in Eastern Oregon to canoe families involved in cultural and environmental preservation activities in the coastal waterways of Western Washington.

• In its first two years, Potlatch Fund has successfully built a solid regional organization with three permanent staff and the administrative capacity to carry out Potlatch Fund’s mission.

  In mid 2005, Potlatch Fund launched its Native Arts Program, which will include a funders briefing paper and a grant program directly benefiting Northwest Native artists and arts organizations.

  Finally, in the direct tradition of the potlatch, Potlatch Fund will honored five Native leaders for their vision and good work on behalf of Northwest Indian Country through the Leadership Honoring Grants in fall of 2005.

Future Plans

• Potlatch Fund plans to continue to expand its technical assistance program, reaching out to locations in Oregon, Idaho, and Montana and expanding the training curricula. The organization is also committed to expanding the pool of available skilled Native trainers and consultants who can provide culturally appropriate services to Tribes and Native nonprofit organizations.