In December 2022, the board voted to go into a spend down and close its doors. The Foundation plans to formally sunset by 2028. The spend down process will:
In doing so, the family wealth passes to Indigenous wisdom keepers and cultural bearers.
LOOKING BEYOND PHILANTHROPY TO CARRY OUT OUR VISION IN NEW AND ALTERNATIVE WAYS GROUNDED IN THE LEADERSHIP OF INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES.
The Swift Foundation together with Indigenous leadership, has built an integrated, holistic model of grantmaking rooted in Indigenous values that are responsive to the rights and self-determination of Indigenous Peoples. After several years of reflection and engaged work with communities, Swift Foundation determined that this work is best achieved outside of the traditional philanthropic paradigm by directly strengthening Indigenous leadership, self-determination, and catalyzing a transference of family wealth to Indigenous wisdom keepers and cultural bearers living in Indigenous homelands and communities.
The Foundation sees our spend down as a process of moving from sunset to sunrise. By our final sunset in 2028, we will have moved the Foundation’s assets to Indigenous-led and mission-aligned nonprofit organizations, creating many new sunrises that actualize our values.
From left to right: 1. Photo of Wolakota by Zachary Straw courtesy of Sicangu CDC; 2. Photo of Corn Gathering courtesy of Traditional Native American Farmers Association; 3. Photo of Parque de la Papa in the Andes courtesy of IIED
We see the respect, care, and honoring of Mother Earth as a core value that is essential to maintaining the well-being of humanity and the future survival of all living beings. We consider this our responsibility as humans.
We understand relationality as key to a holistic, interconnected, and interdependent view that effectively forms the basis for reciprocity and complementarity in our actions, and honors life as a dynamic complex web.
We value the collective well-being of the whole that promotes community and solidarity forms of production, accumulation, and redistribution in harmony with nature, and supports the construction of a society where differences are respected within a framework of equality, justice, and dignity.
Photo by Camilo Thompson – AIDA – Nayarit, Mexico
