The NAAPU Indigenous Women Fund is more than a funding mechanism. It is a
feminist act of redistribution — shifting power, resources, and decision-making into
the hands of grassroots Indigenous women who have always led, yet have rarely
been resourced to lead on their own terms.

It is a fund designed by women, for women — rooted in landscapes, belief systems,
knowledge, and priorities defined by Indigenous women themselves. It invests in
those too often unseen, unheard, and excluded from traditional philanthropy — not
as beneficiaries, but as architects of change.

A New Era of Power, Justice, and Indigenous Women’s Leadership

For generations, Indigenous women have stood at the heart of their communities —
protecting ancestral lands, sustaining culture and language, responding to climate
shocks, and organizing for justice in the face of systemic exclusion. They have been
guardians, healers, strategists, and movement builders — often without recognition,
and even more often without resources.

Despite their central role in sustaining communities and defending rights, Indigenous
women’s organizations have remained historically underfunded and structurally
marginalized within mainstream philanthropy.

The NAAPU Fund was born from decades of grassroots organizing and lived
experience. It emerged as a direct response to the systemic barriers Indigenous
women face in accessing funding — rigid application systems, extractive donor
frameworks, and the persistent lack of trust in community-led structures.

NAAPU exists to shift power — not symbolically, but materially.

Redistributing Resources, Reclaiming Self-Determination

As an Indigenous women-led feminist fund, NAAPU mobilizes and redistributes
resources directly to grassroots Indigenous women, girls, and marginalized
communities. It is grounded in a simple but transformative principle: Indigenous
women are not recipients of change — they are its leaders, designers, and decision-
makers.

Governance, design, implementation, and accountability are led by Indigenous
women themselves. The Fund is rooted in trust, solidarity, and long-term systems
transformation rather than short-term project outputs.

Its launch marked a historic milestone. With a commitment of £988,000 from Comic
Relief, the first funding circle is supporting more than 30 Indigenous women-led
groups — including both formally registered and informal collectives. This investment
represents more than financial support; it signals recognition, legitimacy, and a
decisive shift in how resources flow.

Funding Movements, Not Just Projects

The Fund operates through a flexible, accessible grant model that reduces
bureaucratic barriers and centers relational accountability. It provides core support,
capacity strengthening, mentorship, and spaces for movement building. NAAPU
strengthens Indigenous women to remain grounded in their own visions,
governance, and community mandates.

This is funding for sustainability.
Funding for autonomy.
Funding for the future.

Rooted in Indigenous Feminist Principles

At its core, NAAPU is guided by Indigenous feminist values. It centers
intersectionality — prioritizing girls, young women, women with disabilities, and
marginalized communities. It invests in collective power through assemblies and
shared spaces of learning. It recognizes care, healing, and psychosocial wellbeing
as essential to sustaining activism and leadership. It supports long-term systems

change through policy engagement, land rights advocacy, and climate justice
leadership.

NAAPU understands that transformation is not only structural — it is also relational,
cultural, and deeply human.

It affirms what has always been true: Indigenous women have always led — now
they are resourced to lead sustainably, visibly, and powerfully.

A Declaration for the Future

The launch of the NAAPU Indigenous Women Fund signals a transformative chapter
in Indigenous feminist philanthropy. It is a model built on trust in grassroots wisdom,
institutional strengthening from within, and alliances across movements and sectors.

It offers not only funding, but visibility. Not only resources, but legitimacy. Not only
support, but power. Where Indigenous women rise together, communities thrive.

NAAPU stands as a declaration: the future of justice, climate resilience, and cultural
survival is inseparable from Indigenous women’s leadership.

That leadership is not emerging. It has always been here. Now it is resourced,
recognized, and
unstoppable.