San Manuel Band donates $1 million to non-profits on Giving Tuesday

Indianz.Com > News > San Manuel Band donates $1 million to non-profits on Giving Tuesday

Chinle Planting Hope on the Navajo Nation is one of the recipients of a $1 million #GivingTuesday announcement by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. Courtesy photo

Tuesday, November 28, 2023

Indianz.Com

The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians announced $1 million in donations to 10 non-profit organizations across the nation.

“Less than 1% of U.S. philanthropic funds go to causes that support Native American communities,” the California-based tribe said in a news release on Tuesday.

The tribe is donating $100,000 each to the non-profits. The recipients follow:

Norton Science and Language Academy in San Bernardino, California, provides an educational environment that celebrates diversity, encourages inclusivity, and nurtures the holistic growth of their 1,200 students.
Native Forward Scholars Fund is the largest scholarship provider to Native students.
Stronghearts Native Helpline provides culturally relevant and Native-centered support for American Indian and Alaska Native persons impacted by domestic, dating and/or sexual violence.
Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries and Museums is an international association dedicated to preserving and advancing the language, history, culture, and lifeways of Indigenous peoples.
Garcia Center for the Arts in San Bernardino, California, provides cultural and art programming and is a space for creatives to practice and develop their crafts without barriers.
Confederated Tribes and Bands of Yakama Nation‘s CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) seeks to make sure every dependent child within their jurisdiction is in a safe, caring, culturally responsive family.
Cherish Ministry in Fontana, California, supports at-risk single mothers in underprivileged communities, many of whom are survivors of abuse. Each year, Cherish provides baby care items, infant to kindergarten educational resources, life-skills classes, in-home mentoring, spiritual support, positive parenting classes, and job-readiness training to 450 mothers and children.

Native youth participants from the Center for Native American Youth, one of the recipients of a $1 million #GivingTuesday announcement by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. Courtesy photo

Center for Native American Youth at Aspen Institute is a Native women led organization of the Aspen Institute that focuses on the education and advocacy of Native youth on reservations, in rural communities and urban areas across the nation.
Chinle Planting Hope is an indigenous-led organization providing creative community development in the Navajo Nation.
Spotlight Documentaries produces and fund documentaries to highlight pressing issues and to launch impact campaigns to advance important issues in the world.

“All 10 grantees are addressing critical issues and align with the Tribe’s four philanthropic pillars: inspiring our future through education, empowering lives, reinforcing healthy and resilient communities, and preserving cultural traditions and empowering Indian Country,” the news release stated. “It is imperative to fund causes that make a real difference in the communities they serve.”

The announcement coincided with Giving Tuesday, on November 28, 2023. The annual initiative seeks to inspire generosity around the world.

In September, the tribe announced $13.5 million in grants to 161 Native, local and national non-profits.

“Often times, we find hardworking people dedicated to improving lives and communities, yet may have limited resources to complete their calling. Without these altruistic individuals, many of the tools used to support mental health, family housing, cultural preservation, and even to pursue higher education, would not exist,” Chairwoman Lynn Valbuena said in a September 14 news release. “As a Tribe, we understand the importance in providing a hand up so that non-profits and community leaders can make the impacts that change the world around us.”

According to the September release, the tribe has granted over $350 million to non-profits in the last 20 years.

10 Non-Profits will each receive $100,000 totaling $1 Million on Giving Tuesday thanks to San Manuel Band of Mission Indians

The following is the text of a November 28, 2023, news release from the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians.

HIGHLAND, California (November 28, 2023) — The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians will donate $1 million on Giving Tuesday to 10 impactful nonprofit organizations to support underserved communities across the nation.

Less than 1% of U.S. philanthropic funds go to causes that support Native American communities. Nonprofit organizations in the Inland Empire receive less than $26 per capita compared to $262.99 per capita across California. In honor of Native American Heritage Month and to facilitate greater impacts for underserved communities, grants of $100,000 each will be granted to ten organizations that serve Native American and Inland Empire communities.

The Giving Tuesday Grant recipients are the following:

Norton Science and Language Academy
Native Forward Scholars Fund
Stronghearts Native Helpline
Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries and Museums
Garcia Center for the Arts
Confederated Tribe and Band of Yakama Nation
Cherish Ministry
Center for Native American Youth at Aspen Institute
Chinle Planting Hope
Spotlight Documentaries

All 10 grantees are addressing critical issues and align with the Tribe’s four philanthropic pillars: inspiring our future through education, empowering lives, reinforcing healthy and resilient communities, and preserving cultural traditions and empowering Indian Country. It is imperative to fund causes that make a real difference in the communities they serve.

More than 35 million adults participated in Giving Tuesday in 2022. This global encouragement for generosity is a reminder to make a change.

The Giving Tuesday donations are in addition to the 161 grants approved by the Tribal Council in September which totaled over $13 million.

About the Grantees

Norton Science and Language Academy (NSLA) in San Bernardino provides an educational environment that celebrates diversity, encourages inclusivity, and nurtures the holistic growth of their 1,200 students.

Native Forward Scholars Fund (NFSF) is the largest scholarship provider to Native students. Each year NFSF awards some 17,000 scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students.

Stronghearts Native Helpline provides culturally relevant and Native-centered support for American Indian and Alaska Native persons impacted by domestic, dating and/or sexual violence.

The Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums (ATALM) is an international association dedicated to preserving and advancing the language, history, culture, and lifeways of Indigenous peoples.

The Garcia Center for the Arts in San Bernardino provides cultural and art programming and is a space for creatives to practice and develop their crafts without barriers.

The Confederated Tribe and Band of Yakama Nation’s CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) program seeks to make sure every dependent child within their jurisdiction is in a safe, caring, culturally responsive family.

Cherish Ministry in Fontana supports at-risk single mothers in underprivileged communities, many of whom are survivors of abuse. Each year, Cherish provides baby care items, infant to kindergarten educational resources, life-skills classes, in-home mentoring, spiritual support, positive parenting classes, and job-readiness training to 450 mothers and children.

The Center for Native American Youth is a Native women led organization of the Aspen Institute that focuses on the education and advocacy of Native youth on reservations, in rural communities and urban areas across the nation. Their work helps improve health, safety, and overall wellness of native youth.

Chinle Planting Hope is an indigenous-led organization providing creative community development in the Navajo Nation. The organization’s newest initiative, the Imagination Station, will include a library, playground, children’s museum, and educational community play space.

Spotlight Documentaries utilizes the power of film to produce and fund documentaries to highlight pressing issues and launch impact campaigns to advance these important issues in the world. Currently, Spotlight Documentaries is using their platform to raise awareness on sextortion, online solicitation by predators, human trafficking and cyberbullying with an impact campaign called SAFE ONLINE.

The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians is a federally recognized Indian tribe located on the San Manuel Indian Reservation near Highland, California. San Manuel exercises its inherent sovereign right of self-governance and provides essential services for its citizens by building infrastructure, maintaining civil services, and promoting social, economic and cultural development. As the Indigenous people of the San Bernardino highlands, passes, valleys, mountains and high deserts, the Serrano people of San Manuel have called this area home since time immemorial and are committed to remaining a productive partner in the San Bernardino region. For more information, visit sanmanuel-nsn.gov.