Tamalpais Trust is a twenty-year charitable lead family trust established in 2012. Our grant awards are administered through RSF Social Finance, located in San Francisco, California. We provide funding opportunities that support Indigenous-led organizations and funds focused on promoting and revitalizing Indigenous languages, food systems, waterways, and knowledge, and bring Indigenous worldviews, practices, and ceremonies to the field of philanthropy.
Tamalpais Trust is proud to build upon its first decade and long commitment to the preservation and strengthening of Indigenous lifeways. As we look to the future, we have transitioned to a governance structure led by an Indigenous Navigation Council who will guide our work while also influencing larger ecosystems, movements, and systems to help shift philanthropy in ways that align with Indigenous worldviews and ways of being. It is with great responsibility and trust that the Navigation Council serves in this role to continue upholding the vision of Tamalpais Trust to support Indigenous lifeways, lands, cultures, and ceremonies for the next generations.
In order to align our work with a relationship-based approach to grantmaking, we have revised our geographic priorities to encompass places and partners of deep connection within the trade routes of Turtle Island (including the Arctic), Abya Yala (Mexico, Central, and South America), and Moananuiākea (Pacific region following the kelp highway and Austronesian migration). It is with profound gratitude that we recognize the many partners who form an integral part of Tamalpais Trust’s genealogy. As we enter a new phase of growth, we consider it a privilege to carry on the legacy of these partners and to supporting organizations working to promote and revitalize languages, food systems, waterways, and knowledge.
Grant funds are committed to:
- Supporting the development of Indigenous-led philanthropy and building capacity and relationships among Indigenous organizations and networks
- General operating grants and/or regranting funds to build capacity and relationships among Indigenous-led organizations and networks
- Investing in Indigenous-led philanthropy and models of leadership rooted in Indigenous world views
- The preservation and revitalization of Indigenous languages, traditional lifeways, knowledge, and territories
