Join us in supporting a global network of Indigenous Peoples who protect the majority of the world's healthiest and most important lands and seas, sustaining our planet now and for generations to come. Indigenous guardianship works, and investing in it enables these places and Peoples to thrive. This is our last, best chance of saving the planet, all our fellow beings, and ourselves.
Since Nia Tero's inception in 2017, we have awarded $85 million in grants directly to Indigenous organizations, their fiscal sponsors, or allies selected by our Indigenous partners to manage funds. Through our grantmaking and initiatives, we have supported 271 distinct Indigenous Peoples as they strengthened the guardianship of their territories that sequester 24.4 gigatons of carbon across 128 million hectares of irreplaceable, biodiverse ecosystems.
One hundred percent of your donation will go directly to Nia Tero’s Indigenous partners and their efforts to protect and care for their homelands.
Our mission is to work in solidarity with Indigenous Peoples who sustain thriving territories and cultures to strengthen guardianship of Earth and all beings.
Nia Tero raises money to fund Indigenous organizations and their trusted allies directly. To date, we have partnered with over 271 Indigenous Peoples and 113 organizations and awarded $85.2 million in grants. More than 90% of this money went directly to Indigenous Peoples’ organizations, their fiscal sponsors, or their chosen allies.
We also create our own short films in partnership with Indigenous creatives and Peoples, fund and mentor Indigenous storytellers, participate actively in global policy negotiations hosted by the United Nations that influence legislation and legal action at all levels of government, and invest in technologies such as solar transportation as well as new financing models.
Over 85 percent of our yearly budget is dedicated to grantmaking and programs.
We work closely with Indigenous Peoples to identify initiatives that promote guardianship of their traditional territories. These projects are carefully selected based on rigorous criteria that align with our mission and the trusted relationships with the Indigenous Peoples they elevate. Each project is monitored and evaluated to ensure progress and impact, maintaining transparency and accountability to our donors and each other.
Nia Tero is the only global organization focusing solely on Indigenous Peoples’ self-determined guardianship of collective territories. It is not an initiative within a larger mission; it is not focused on a single region to the exclusion of others or driven by one approach, such as rights or land tenure. Our board, advisory council and staff were built to reflect and support this unique mission with the aspiration that we can demonstrate and scale our model to inspire others.
In our direct partnerships, we follow the self-determined vision of the Indigenous Peoples we serve. In the rest of our work, we take what we learn and follow the guidance of Indigenous Peoples and their movements to use our position as Nia Tero to positively influence policies, legal frameworks, and political will.
Nia Tero is a global organization comprised of Indigenous and non-Indigenous team members. Our staff and colleagues are based across Amazonia, the Pacific Islands, Asia, and North America, with a large contingent in our home office in Seattle. We speak many languages, predominantly English, Spanish, Portuguese and French plus a wide range of Indigenous languages.
Our Board of Directors is similarly diverse in background and expertise, with a majority of Indigenous members. The board is accountable for providing council, insight, oversight, and direction on our enterprise strategy. Our global Indigenous Advisory Council provides non-fiduciary-related guidance and wisdom. We are grateful also to our regional advisory groups, which similarly provide regional guidance and wisdom to our place-anchored work.
Learn more:
Implicit in our vision and mission is recognizing and prioritizing Indigenous Peoples’ rights, sovereignty, self-determination, and cultural vitality within and beyond their homelands and waters.
We also acknowledge that Nia Tero’s work with Indigenous Peoples and their organizations is complementary to the many diverse and longstanding Indigenous movements that have existed for hundreds of years. We and those who have come before us and after us must join to meet this moment, and we are committed to sharing our approaches to partnership to make this happen.
With this in mind, all our work adheres to the following principles:
Take guidance from diverse Indigenous ways and means.
We aspire to live the humility and listening spirit necessary to work in service to diverse Indigenous Peoples across the Earth. We listen to both descendants and ancestors, and we work patiently to build relationships and trust.
Follow and respect the rights and self-determination of Indigenous Peoples.
Our work is guided by the priorities, systems of governance, decision-making, and ways and means of Indigenous Peoples. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is our starting point for all our work and partnerships.
Respect the diversity of Indigenous Peoples’ ways of being and doing.
Indigenous Peoples have diverse cultures, languages, ways of being, and protocols—and they live in geographically and ecologically diverse territories. Nia Tero acknowledges this spiritual and cultural diversity as essential, shaping our understanding of why the lands and waters that Indigenous Peoples inhabit remain among the healthiest and best cared for on Earth.
Value the full diversity of life.
In all our partnerships and choices, we center actions that sustain the abundance and diversity of life, including ecosystems, seascapes, humans, and all other species. Doing so honors and sustains diverse human identities and cultures that are inseparable from their homelands and waters.
Focus on Indigenous Peoples’ guardianship of collective territories.
All our work serves Indigenous Peoples living within their self-determined territories and nations. These territorial lines often pre-date and transcend modern nation-states.
Commit to long-term partnerships with Indigenous Peoples.
We seek to enter into enduring, trust-based partnerships with Indigenous leaders, communities, and nations. We place the survival of our partners above all else, and we are committed co-designing all of our efforts and sharing joint accountability with our partners.
We value every form of support. Beyond financial contributions, there are numerous ways to get involved. You can share our mission and the work of our Indigenous partners with your network, subscribe to our Seedcast podcast, or advocate for policy changes that support Indigenous Peoples' guardianship of their territories. To learn more, visit our Get Involved page.
Your gift is tax deductible as per your local regulations, as we are a tax-exempt organization. We will email you a donation receipt. Please keep this, as it is your official record to claim this donation as a tax deduction. To receive a receipt with your donation, you must enter your email when prompted to in the widget above. You will automatically receive a receipt from The Giving Block as soon as the transaction is confirmed.
Absolutely! However, if you’d like to receive a tax receipt, you must enter your email address when prompted on the third page. A tax receipt will only be generated and sent if you enter your email address.
Yes, we use The Giving Block to keep your information secure. Learn more about their security protections.
We value your privacy and trust. Your information is used strictly to process your donation, communicate our gratitude, keep you informed about the impact of your support, and update you on our ongoing projects. We adhere to stringent data protection protocols and ensure your personal information is handled with the utmost confidentiality and care. We do not sell, rent, or trade our donors' information to other entities. We never have access to credit card numbers other than the last 4 digits for verification purposes. We prioritize building trusting relationships with our Indigenous partners and you.
Access to your data is restricted to authorized personnel within our organization who are responsible for processing donations and communicating with our supporters. These team members prioritize data protection and privacy policies to ensure the integrity and confidentiality of your information. Nia Tero takes rigorous measures, including using secure databases and systems to safeguard your data from unauthorized access or disclosure.
Nia Tero commits 100% of all online donations to grantmaking that goes directly to our Indigenous partners. Learn more about our Indigenous partners and what we have been able to achieve together in our annual reports.
Yes. You may choose to cover the $1.40 credit card transaction fee with your donation by checking the box below the dollar amount, but it is not required.
Delve into inspiring stories about Indigenous Peoples, guardianship, and the work of Nia Tero and our partners through film, our Seedcast podcast, and articles.