During the Fall 2025 Grow round, Grassroots Fund awarded $328,800 to 97 grantee groups, and Indigenous People’s Network was one of the grant winners. The award process happens in partnership with community reviewers, including grant readers and the Grantmaking Committee, and is rooted in a group’s alignment with the Guiding Practices. Below is a list of the groups that received funding in each state.
The Grassroots Fund has awarded the Indigenous Peoples Network a 2023 Grow Grant. The funding will be used to support the Indigenous Roots Forever Food Sovereignty Program, led by Musquant Nompashim Netas, leader of the Ninigret Nehantick Nahaganset Clan.
The New England Grassroots Environment Fund, Inc, (Grassroots Fund) was founded in 1996 as a funder’s collaborative, with a mission to energize and nurture long-term civic engagement in local initiatives that create and maintain healthy, just, safe and environmentally sustainable communities throughout the six New England states. With an emphasis on those who have often been marginalized, Grassroots Fund empowers individuals, groups and organizations working across a broad range of environmental and social justice issues.
“The Grassroots Fund has been a steady supporter of the Indigenous People in this region,” says Chief Sequan Pijaki, Chairman of the Pocasset Pokanoket Tribe and co-founder of the Indigenous Peoples Network. “We are grateful for their partnership.”
The Grassroots Fund has selected the Indigenous Peoples Network (IPN) to be part of the 2023-2024 Food System Resilience Cohort. Initiatives will focus on the intersection of equity, food justice, and community development and will support a movement of food system leaders across the region through networking, shared learning, and coalition building.
The New England Grassroots Environment Fund, Inc, (Grassroots Fund) was founded in 1996 as a funder’s collaborative, with a mission to energize and nurture long-term civic engagement in local initiatives that create and maintain healthy, just, safe and environmentally sustainable communities throughout the six New England states. With an emphasis on those who have often been marginalized, Grassroots Fund empowers individuals, groups and organizations working across a broad range of environmental and social justice issues.
“The Grassroots Fund has been a steady supporter of the Indigenous People in this region,” says Chief Sequan Pijaki, Chairman of the Pocasset Pokanoket Tribe and co-founder of IPN. “We are grateful for this opportunity and look forward to building a more equitable food system together.”
Musquant Nompashim Netas, leader of the Ninigret Nehantick Nahaganset Clan and IPN’s Indigenous Roots Forever Food Access Program, understands that this work goes beyond food security. “Food brings people together. Food strengthens communities. It’s a different kind of medicine.”
“The Island Foundation was among the first non-profit foundations to support the Indigenous Peoples Network five years ago and we want to thank them for believing in us,” says Chief George Spring Buffalo about the 2023 award for $25,000.
The funds will support repatriation efforts of ancestral lands in Tiverton, RI and facilitate the expansion of the Indigenous Roots Forever food access program in Washington County, RI. The produce will assist with the family budgets, and will be considered “healthy medicine,” according to Chief George. The goal, says the Chief, “is to introduce tribal members and other disadvantaged folks back to healthy eating and to introduce the next generation to the concept of land.”
The Island Foundation awards Environmental Grants to a variety of initiatives in Southern Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Maine, including those that support working landscapes (sustainable agriculture and community-based fisheries); help local conservation organizations build capacity; and promote environmental justice.
Indigenous People’s Network (IPN) was awarded a Grow Grant for $3,600 from the Grassroots Fund on June 24th. Learn more about the grant.
Indigenous People’s Network (IPN) is a grassroots, community based, native organization working to improve the quality of life of All people. Our educational programs & projects are a new approach towards economic, social and cultural development. We perpetuate the Native cultural way of life by preserving the wisdom, knowledge & understanding of our holistic culture. Learn More about IPN.
The New England Grassroots Environment Fund, Inc, (Grassroots Fund) was founded in 1996 as a funder’s collaborative, with a mission to energize and nurture long-term civic engagement in local initiatives that create and maintain healthy, just, safe and environmentally sustainable communities throughout the six New England states. With a focus on those who have often been marginalized, Grassroots Fund empowers individuals, groups and organizations working across a broad range of environmental and social justice issues. By helping them identify, select and access the specific tools, resources and connections they need to challenge existing systems, they are able to develop lasting solutions to the complex problems affecting the places they live and the health of the people who live there. We’re supporting change makers who not only experience marginalization but face systemic and structural barriers to traditional funding. Learn more about the Grassroots Fund.