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Funds for COVID Related Hardships

September 14, 2020/in Tiwahe News /by tiwahenew

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Tiwahe Foundation received a grant from the MN Disaster Recovery Fund that allows us to provide funding to the Twin Cities American Indian community to meet critical needs in response to the COVID crisis. With this additional funding, we will double our grantmaking in the Twin Cities American Indian community in 2020. This includes funding grants in our ongoing focus areas (education, economic self-sufficiency, culture, and health and wellness) and also addressing COVID-related basic needs of our community such as food, housing, caregiving costs, etc. For a short time, we are increasing the maximum AIFEP grant amount to $5,000 (it’s usually $2,500). American Indian who live in the Twin Cities (Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, and Washington counties) are encouraged to apply.

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The Oyate Network Alumni are also invited to apply for grants up to $5,000 to address needs in their American Indian community. Only individuals who participated in a Oyate Network Cohort Training are eligible to apply. Alumni must have a 501c3 nonprofit organization identified as a fiscal sponsor in order to receive the grant.

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Congrats to Summer 2020 AIFEP Grantees!

September 11, 2020/in Tiwahe News /by tiwahenew

 

Congratulations to those that were awarded the Summer 2020 AIFEP grant! We were able to award 10 grantee’s this summer! Please join us in congratulating them! There will be an honoring held for these individuals on November 12th via Zoom 5-7pm!

Oscar Curtis
Annastacia Cardon
Elizabeth Ruiz
Mary Lyons
Deanna StandingCloud
Lonna Hunter
Darren Thompson
Tara Perron
Callie Stubbins
Nancy Swanson

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Tiwahe Foundation Announces New Directions and Leadership Change

September 1, 2020/in Tiwahe News /by tiwahenew

The Tiwahe Foundation announced today that Shirley Sneve, President and CEO, is leaving the organization effective July 24, 2020. The Foundation wishes Shirley the best of luck in the future.

Despite the significant turnover in staffing our organization has experienced in the past three years, Tiwahe Foundation finances are strong. We continue to grow our endowment and build partnerships with funders and individual donors who share our mission and values. The board’s intent is to refine our business practices and policies as needed to ensure a healthy workplace and retention of valuable and effective employees going forward. We appreciate and honor the ongoing support and generosity of our funders, donors, and partners as well as your patience and continued support during this transition.

The Tiwahe Foundation board of directors is taking this opportunity to refresh our vision and strategic priorities. We have always espoused the core values of family, respect, trust, generosity, circle of giving, and Indigenous worldview. We will continue to strengthen our practices, programs, and partnerships to ensure we live these values in all of our work and interactions. In short, we’re going to decolonize our Foundation.Tiwahe Foundation remains committed to racial equity and social justice. Especially during these current times of racial strife, pandemic, and social unrest – when our community needs us most – Tiwahe Foundation continues to work with and for our American Indian relatives.In the coming months, Tiwahe Foundation will be conducting a search for a new President and CEO and other new staff. During this transition period, it will be our priority to find the best qualified individuals to lead and staff the Foundation, while continuing our day to day operations under the interim leadership of Joy Persall and Roger Meyer. Questions during the Foundation’s transition process should be directed to Joy at [email protected] or 612.722.0999.Joy will be serving as the Interim Executive Director, working with the Board and staff on the day-to- day operations of Tiwahe and Roger will be providing general transition support to the Board of Directors and Joy, as well as supporting the Search.Joy brings a wealth of experience working with organizations locally and nationally. Having served as Headwaters Foundation of Justice Associate Director, and Executive Director of Native Americans in Philanthropy and Dream of Wild Health, Joy supports Native American, Indigenous and People of Color in transition and developing community-based leadership. Roger brings over 20 years of working with organizations in transition and experience working in the Twin Cities urban American Indian community, having been Interim Executive Director of the Tiwahe Foundation, St. Paul’s American Indian Family Center and Minneapolis’ Division of Indian Work.

About Joy Persall

Joy Persall, Ojibwe Metis’ serves as a Leadership Coach, Facilitator, and Strategic Organizational Consultant. Joy has 30 years of experience leading nonprofit, philanthropic and community organizations, guiding transitions and developing leaders. Persall supports leadership and organizations through coaching, team building and strategic facilitation for systemic change. Joy is a Bush Leadership Fellowship Alum. M.A. in Organization Development & Management and CEBC Coaching Certification, is a World Institute for Action Learning Senior Coach, certified in Leadership Circle Profile and Organizational Culture, and the Intercultural Development Inventory. Joy’s leadership experience includes Associate Director of Headwaters Foundation for Justifce, Executive Directors of Native Americans in Philanthropy and Co-Director of Dream of Wild Health.Joy is committed to community, family, working for equity, justice, and caring for Mother Earth. Primarily, Joy is a gardener of people, teams, and organizations, developing their ability to grow, learn and create new solutions in a grounded atmosphere of human dignity and deep respect.

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Alyssa Parkhurst joins the Tiwahe Foundation staff as a Migizi Intern

June 19, 2020/in Tiwahe News /by tiwahenew

Hello, my fellow living beings! First and foremost, I wanted to express my gratitude in being able to become a part of the Tiwahe Foundation team during my summer internship with Migizi. I am grateful for this opportunity to join Tiwahe in serving our community.  My family comes from the Red Lake Nation. I’m a life-long resident of Saint Paul, Minnesota. I graduated high school in 2019, where I also did Post-Secondary Enrollment Option (PSEO) at Saint Paul College. I’m a sophomore at Augsburg University, and intend to graduate in the Spring of 2023. I am an Act Six Scholar, and was elected Vice President of Augsburg’s Indigenous Student Association. I plan to double major in American Indian Studies and Psychology. Some of my hobbies include volleyball, powwow dancing, and gardening. I am an old-style jingle dress dancer, and love to dance for the people. I’ve played volleyball for the past 7 years, on both my middle and high school teams. I love everything that comes with gardening — planting, weeding, harvesting, and everything in between.  I’ve worked many jobs. Most recently, I worked at the American Indian Family Center for the summer of 2019 through Migizi as a Communications and Development Intern. I learned different aspects of communications and development, and I also worked with our youth program there, making healthy lunches with the kids, taking them on hikes, and being active with them.  During my first year of college, I also volunteered 30 hours of time at the American Indian Family Center, and then was contracted as the Intergenerational Healing Garden Coordinator. Unfortunately, I did not get to do much with this position, because of all the quarantine stuff that happened this spring. However, I did get to work at the Saturday tutoring sessions, helping to tutor the youth, and providing a safe space for them to come on the weekend.  I look forward to sharing my skills and knowledge with the Tiwahe Foundation, and I am excited to deepen my skill sets moving forward.  -Alyssa Parkhurst

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AIFEP Grants Awarded in June 2020

June 19, 2020/in Tiwahe News /by tiwahenew

Painting by Anishinabe artist, Karen Savage, 2018. Anishinabe writer Marcie Rendon, and granddaughter, Anna Cardon, March 2020 Epidemic Pandemic Fun

On June 10, Tiwahe Foundation awarded nine new AIFEP and six COVID-19 artist response grants. Congratulations to all of the grantees! 

Joanna Boyer:

For additional tuition resources and the freedom of a dependable laptop, a home printer, and workspace. Resources will continue to help the grantee to work part-time. Impact areas: education and health and wellness.

Peyton Counts:

To begin Ph.D. coursework in clinical psychology and work on a thesis focused on Native American suicide prevention. Impact areas: education and health and wellness.

Michael Loso:

Reach the goal of completing 26 academic credits toward undergraduate degree with a GPA of 3.6 or higher. Impact area: education.

Apryl Joe:

To increase my knowledge and awareness about trauma work and healing focusing on non-Native and Indigenous approaches and practices. This learning will include conducting informational interviews with Native organizations who are doing similar work, interviewing Indigenous elders to learn more about traditional healing and wellness practices, plus developing an Indigenous healing framework that can be used to support Indigenous people with their own self-healing journey.

George McCauley:

To develop Project Hawatay to serve as an educational resource on video for Omaha language, values, and culture, including the necessary cultural protocols for developing these resources. Impact area: culture.

Lisa Skjefte:

To participate in Summer 2020 summer classes to complete a Master’s degree in Public Health at the University of Minnesota. Impact area: Education and health and wellness.

Roy Taylor:

To purchase the necessary equipment, software, and services that will assist me to produce and broadcast radio quality documentaries, and weekly community radio broadcast. I will also produce and stage theatrical drama, comedy, storytelling, and performance opportunities. Impact area: economic independence.

Kira Vanderlan:

To start a home organization and design business. Impact area: economic independence.

Lauren Panklow:

To assist with transportation to college. Impact area: education.

COVID-19 artist grants awarded in June 2020 

$1,000 grants were awarded to the following artists to share their work with the Tiwahe Foundation to demonstrate our resilience in times of pandemic. Tiwahe will share their work on our website and thought social media. Congratulations to the artists! 

Robert Desjarlait: visual arts, Isabelle LaBlanc: poetry, Tom LaBlanc: poetry, Pearl Swaney: poetry, Marcie Rendon: writing and visual arts, and Will Robinson: hip hop. 

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New round of funding for American Indian Family Empowerment Program and Oyate Network Project Grants.

June 19, 2020/in Tiwahe News /by tiwahenew

Greetings Relatives! Our lives have been turned upside down over the last four months. A pandemic. George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police officers. Peaceful protests turned into looting and destruction of our community, including the total loss of Migizi’s newly renovated building (Migizi’s Executive Director Kelly Drummer was Tiwahe Foundation’s leader for years, so this loss is very personal to us). The Tiwahe Foundation was one of 22 place-based community foundations awarded grants through the Minnesota Council on Foundations’ Minnesota Disaster Recovery Fund. Thanks to this additional funding, we added an additional round of grantmaking, and we are now accepting applications for the American Indian Family Empowerment Program (AIFEP) until July 15 at 5 p.m. Applicants must reside in the seven-county metropolitan area of Minnesota: Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Scott, Ramsey, and Washington counties. There are four impact areas: education, culture, economic independence, and health and wellness. Applicants can request up to $2,500.  During the same application period, alumni of the Oyate Leadership Network may apply for up to $5,000 project-based grants through a fiscal sponsor.  “This grant will be added to our current programs that are funded by the F. R. Bigelow Foundation through the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation, Bush Foundation, and Blandin Foundation,” Tiwahe Foundation Executive Director Shirley Sneve said, “We are truly grateful for this support in challenging times facing our relatives.”

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Supporting Tiwahe through #GiveAtHomeMN

April 29, 2020/in Tiwahe News /by tiwahenew

[vc_row type=”in_container” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″][vc_column_text]#GiveAtHomeMN is a celebration of Minnesota’s generosity during tough times, a call to give back as we’re able to help the organizations that make our state a great place to live, work and play.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]The Tiwahe Foundation is a place for giving — and giving back — that benefits the well-being of American Indian people and communities in Minnesota. We are a community foundation of friends and supporters — Indian and non-Indian — who have resources, time, and talents to share. Together, we all work to unleash more philanthropy and generosity that are not only held within every person but also embodied collectively.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]We think of this as the Circle of Giving — a continuous cycle of success grounded in indigenous culture that recognizes that giving benefits both giver and receiver. The Tiwahe Foundation is a trusted community partner, connector and resource. Our core work involves:[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

Tiwahe Foundation Receives COVID19 Funds

April 24, 2020/in Tiwahe News /by tiwahenew
The Tiwahe Foundation was one of 22 place-based community foundations awarded grants through the Minnesota Council on Foundations’ Minnesota Disaster Recovery Fund.
“This grant will be added to our current programs funded by the F. R. Bigelow Foundation through the Saint Paul and Minnesota Foundation, the Bush Foundation and the Blandin Foundation. We will increase the grant dollars available to American Indians in Minnesota through three different programs,” Tiwahe Foundation Executive Director Shirley Sneve said, “We are truly grateful for this support in challenging times facing our relatives”.
There are two deadlines for proposals: May 6 and September 6.

Board of Directors is also redirecting some of its funds to increase Family Empowerment Program and Oyate Leadership Network grants to address needs brought on by the COVID19 pandemic. Nonetheless, how can these limited funds have lasting impact in this new reality? There are many folks who have lost their jobs, many who are struggling at home—juggling work and children—just trying to stay safe and healthy. How can Tiwahe’s values of family, respect, trust, generosity, the circle of giving and the Indigenous World View be a beacon of hope in trying times?

We are storytellers. Let’s use the opportunity to hear from each other and listen. The lessons and stories of our ancestors resonate more now than ever. Grants of $1,000 will be awarded to Twin Cities Minnesota American Indian artists who submit stories of healing and resilience. Proposals will be accepted in any artistic genre, such as prose, poetry, traditional arts, visual arts, performance, video or audio. The content will be housed on the website, www.tiwahefoundation.org and actively promoted through social media. Artists will retain copyright to their work.

Tiwahe Foundation will fund individuals through the Family Empowerment Program’s four impact areas of education, culture, economic independence, and health and wellness—both regular applications and needs created by our current health crisis. Alumni of the Oyate Leadership Network may apply for up to $5,000 project-based grants through a fiscal sponsor.

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Melissa Olson Joins the Tiwahe Foundation Staff

April 24, 2020/in Tiwahe News /by tiwahenew

Boozhoo Relatives,

I am excited to join the Tiwahe Foundation as the newly hired Program Director. First, I want to say thank you to everyone who has taken time to welcome me to the Tiwahe Foundation. I look forward to working with our Tiwahe team, our community partners, our grantees, and our Oyate leaders to strengthen our Circle of Giving. A little bit about myself – I am a mixed-heritage Anishinaabekwe, a proud tribal citizen of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe at Leech Lake, with relatives also from White Earth and Lac Courte Oreilles communities. I am graduate of the University of Minnesota, and I’ve worked in the Twin Cities Native communities for the past two and a half decades in various roles. I live in Minneapolis with my longtime partner John, and our dog Bronson. I come to my work with the Tiwahe Foundation having divided my time over the past two years between my role at KFAI Fresh Air Radio as the co-managing editor of our audio storytelling program and my role as the Director of Creative Evaluation at Inspire to Change, a consulting firm in St. Paul, Minnesota. I feel both roles have prepared me to help tell the stories of our relationship to our land and to one another as we tell the stories of Tiwahe’s Oyate Network Leaders and Family Empowerment grantees. My own story would not be possible without the love and support of the Tiwahe Foundation. As Program Director, it’s my intention to give back to our communities by building on the trust and support shown to me over the past decade. The value that we place in giving and sharing with one another is vital to keeping the Circle of Giving strong, and I am committed to do my very best to strengthen and build our individual and collective capacity. I look forward to working with you all!

https://tiwahefoundation-media.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/08113125/Melissa_Bio_Pic2020-1.jpg 600 1200 tiwahenew https://tiwahefoundation-media.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/21034304/TF-logo-Horizontal-300x140.png tiwahenew2020-04-24 10:38:592025-03-05 20:39:22Melissa Olson Joins the Tiwahe Foundation Staff
Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

Tiwahe Foundation Announces COVID19 Initiative

April 14, 2020/in Tiwahe News /by tiwahenew

[vc_row type=”in_container” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ width=”1/1″][image_with_animation image_url=”4636″ alignment=”center” animation=”Fade In”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]The Tiwahe Foundation Board of Directors is redirecting some of its funds to increase Family Empowerment Program and Oyate Leadership Network grants to address needs brought on by the COVID19 pandemic. Nonetheless, how can these limited funds have lasting impact in this new reality? There are many folks who have lost their jobs, many who are struggling at home—juggling work and children—just trying to stay safe and healthy. How can Tiwahe’s values of family, respect, trust, generosity, the circle of giving and the Indigenous World View be a beacon of hope in trying times?

We are storytellers. Let’s use the opportunity to hear from each other and listen. The lessons and stories of our ancestors resonate more now than ever. Seven grants of $1,000 will be awarded to Twin Cities Minnesota American Indian artists who submit stories of healing and resilience. Proposals will be accepted in any artistic genre, such as prose, poetry, traditional arts, visual arts, performance, video or audio. The content will be housed on the website, www.tiwahefoundation.org and actively promoted through social media. Artists will retain copyright to their work.

In addition, $13,000 to respond to COVID19 needs–$5,000 for Oyate Leadership Network alumni project-based grant and $8,000 towards the four impact areas of the Family Empowerment Program.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ width=”1/1″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1586873347939{padding-top: 30px !important;}”]

[button color="accent-color" hover_text_color_override="#fff" size="large" url="https://tiwahefoundation.org/aifep-fund/" text="Apply Here" color_override=""]

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About Tiwahe

Our mission is to strengthen Indigenous leadership and cultural identity.

We invest in and cultivate Indigenous prosperity and excellence by providing resources including grants, traditional knowledge, and learning communities that foster cultural enrichment, self-determination, and reciprocal relationships. In doing so, we create the conditions that allow our people to generate positive intergenerational ripple effects in American Indian communities.

Recent Posts

  • 🍂 Fall is a Season of Preparation for Tiwahe Foundation 🍂
  • Summer is a “do season” for Tiwahe Foundation
  • Join Us In Celebrating Our First Round of 2024 AIFEP Grantees!
  • Spring: A Time of Renewal for Tiwahe Foundation
  • American Indian Family Empowerment Program (AIFEP) Grantee Spotlights

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125 SE Main St, Suite 222, Minneapolis, MN 55414

612-722-0999

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