Shared Stewardship Solutions

Changemakers Community Economic Development Corporation

Shared Stewardship Solutions

Shared Stewardship Solutions is a digital platform that fosters trust-based, early-stage partnerships between Indigenous nonprofits and funders.

Hilo, HI 96720, USA

USA

Hybrid of for-profit and nonprofit

The specific problem we are addressing is the lack of access to early, trust-based funding relationships for Indigenous-led, community-based nonprofits. These organizations serving Native Hawaiian, Native American, First Nations, and Alaska Native communities lead critical work in climate, education, food systems, and cultural resilience. Yet they receive just 0.36% of institutional philanthropic funding in the U.S., despite serving millions across the U.S. and Canada. This underinvestment is driven by limited access to philanthropic networks, a lack of dedicated fundraising staff, and funding systems prioritizing transactions over relationships. In research conducted through the U.S. Census Bureau’s TOPx Sprint, 90% of Indigenous nonprofits surveyed lacked professional fund development staff, severely limiting their ability to engage with funders early in the process. At the same time, funders often lack culturally grounded tools to engage in ethical, long-term partnerships with Indigenous communities. Shared Stewardship Solutions offers a digital platform to bridge this gap. It facilitates early-stage, values-based connections between Indigenous nonprofits and funders. By prioritizing relationships over proposals and supporting community-defined success, our solution addresses structural barriers to access and lays the foundation for more equitable, sustainable, and culturally respectful collaboration at scale.

Shared Stewardship Solutions is a digital platform that helps Indigenous-led, community-based nonprofits and funders connect early, build trust, and co-create solutions before a proposal is ever written. Designed specifically for Native Hawaiian, Native American, First Nations, and Alaska Native communities, the platform replaces extractive, transactional grant processes with a culturally grounded, relationship-first model. Nonprofits create profiles that share their priorities, values, and types of support needed—not just funding, but mentorship, time, and partnership. Funders also create profiles, offering not only financial resources but also opportunities to co-learn and engage through shared values. A values-based matchmaking system connects both sides based on alignment, not just keywords or funding categories. The platform features secure “Solution Hui” spaces for collaboration, storytelling tools that honor oral traditions, and customizable dashboards for tracking impact based on community-defined success, not funder-imposed metrics. It will be cloud-based and mobile-friendly, with strong data privacy protocols to uphold Indigenous data sovereignty. This tool isn’t just about funding—it’s about reimagining how Indigenous communities and funders build long-term, respectful partnerships. By embedding Indigenous knowledge systems into modern digital infrastructure, Shared Stewardship Solutions creates a path toward more equitable, sustainable resourcing for Indigenous-led innovation.

Shared Stewardship Solutions serves two primary groups: Indigenous-led, community-based nonprofits and philanthropic organizations. Both face gaps this platform is designed to address. The first group includes Native Hawaiian, Native American, First Nations, and Alaska Native organizations across the U.S. and Canada. These nonprofits are rooted in their communities and draw on traditional knowledge to lead efforts in climate resilience, education, food sovereignty, and health. Yet they remain underfunded receiving just 0.36% of U.S. institutional philanthropic dollars. Many lack access to paid grant writers, flexible funding, or early-stage support. They are often excluded from strategy-setting, forcing them to adapt to funder priorities rather than lead with their own. The second group is philanthropic organizations, foundations, donor collaboratives, and institutional funders. The sector is predominantly white-led, with 75% of foundation CEOs identifying as white and fewer than 1% as Native American. Though many funders want to support Indigenous communities, they often lack relationships, cultural understanding, or trust-based tools to do so effectively. Shared Stewardship Solutions bridges this divide by creating a digital space for nonprofits and funders to connect early, build trust, and co-create solutions grounded in Indigenous values, community priorities, and long-term stewardship.