Cultural Survival – Keepers of the Earth Fund (KOEF)

Cultural Survival – Keepers of the Earth Fund (KOEF) is a grant from Cultural Survival, an Indigenous-led nonprofit, that funds self-designed development projects by traditional Indigenous communities worldwide, rooted in Indigenous values and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). Since 2017, KOEF has supported 392 projects in 40 countries, distributing over $2.

2 million through a wrap-around grantmaking approach. Awards of up to $12,000 go directly to grassroots and emerging Indigenous groups, collectives, organizations, and governments, with or without official state registration. Projects must be designed and managed by Indigenous community members.

The 2025 call for project concepts focuses on Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa.

Keepers of the Earth Fund | Cultural Survival Keepers of the Earth Fund Haz clic aquí para información en Español Clique aqui para informações em português 2025 Keepers of the Earth Fund Call for Project Concepts in Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa Keepers of the Earth Fund (KOEF) is an Indigenous-led fund within Cultural Survival, which is designed to support Indigenous Peoples’ community advocacy and development projects.

Since 2017, we have supported 392 projects in 40 countries through small grants and a wrap-around approach totaling $2,219,369. The Keepers of the Earth Fund (KOEF) awards grants of up to $12,000 USD, which go directly to traditional Indigenous communities, collectives, organizations, and governments, to support their self-designed development projects based on Indigenous values.

KOEF funds projects implemented by grassroots and emerging groups, with or without official registration from their State government, and is the first source of funding that some organizations and communities have ever received.

Rooted the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), Cultural Survival’s work uses a rights-based approach in our grantmaking strategies to support Indigenous grassroots solutions through the equitable distribution of resources to Indigenous communities. Cultural Survival values ​​collective projects, run by and for the benefit of the whole community.

At KOEF, we believe that Indigenous Peoples are the ones who best know their problems and solutions, which is why we support projects designed and managed by Indigenous members of the same community that the project will serve, identifying and using their own values.

We appreciate strategic, innovative, and Indigenous values-based approaches to community development, collaboration for the good of the whole community, and strategic capacity building with specific results. Our fund is led by Indigenous people and projects are collectively approved by an internal committee made up mainly of members of different Indigenous Peoples.

Thanks to the experience gained in these years of KOEF's work and the large and increasing number of applications received each year, we have established a hybrid strategy in our calls for proposals, with one year of public call followed by two years of applications by invitation.

The communities and organizations that we invite are selected from a database made up of applicants who submit through the public calls, as well as communities we connect with in other ways.

2025 Keepers of the Earth Fund Call for Project Concepts in Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa 2025 Keepers of the Earth Fund Call for Project Concepts in Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa Learn about our current and previous grant partners: Meet Our 2025 KOEF Partners Strengthening Indigenous Knowledge to Mitigate the Impacts of Climate Change and in Natural Disaster Recovery Meet Our 2025 KOEF Partners Focusing on Food Sovereignty, Indigenous Medicine, and Spirituality Meet Our 2025 KOEF Partners Revitalizing Arts and Strengthening Indigenous Languages 2024 KOEF Partners Impacted by the Extraction of Transition Minerals Meet Our 2024 KOEF Partners Championing Their Indigenous Languages, Knowledge Systems, and Cultures Meet Our 2024 KOEF Partners Fighting for Their Territory, Autonomy and Self-determination Meet Our 2024 KOEF Grant Partners Strengthening Livelihoods around Lands & Climate Change Meet Our 2023 Grant Partners Living in Resistance to Transition Mineral Mining Meet Our 2023 Grant Partners Working to Secure Food Sovereignty and Strengthen Indigenous Economies Meet Our 2023 Grant Partners working to Transmit Indigenous Knowledge Meet Our 2023 Grant Partners Defending Their Lands and Autonomy Meet Our 2023 Partners Strengthening Traditional Medicine and Indigenous Spirituality Meet our 2022 grant partners!

Meet our 2021 grant partners! Meet our 2020 grant partners! Meet our 2019 grant partners!

Meet our 2018 grant partners! Meet our 2017 grant partners! For questions contact: koef@cs.

org . Community Empowerment for Cultural Tourism and Indigenous Language Strengthening in Namibia 2025 Keepers of the Earth Fund Call for Project Concepts in Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa The Art of Vicuña Harvesting by the Diaguita Nation in Argentina 2067 Massachusetts Avenue Cultural Survival, Inc. is a non-profit organization with federal 501(c)(3) status. FEIN 23-7182593.

We acknowledge that we are headquartered on Massachusett land , in Cambridge, MA, and we thank the past, current, and future Indigenous stewards of this territory. Cultural Survival advocates for Indigenous Peoples' rights and supports Indigenous communities’ self-determination, cultures and political resilience, since 1972.

Cultural Survival envisions a future that respects and honors Indigenous Peoples' inherent rights and dynamic cultures, deeply and richly interwoven in lands, languages, spiritual traditions, and artistic expression, rooted in self-determination and self-governance. Cultural Survival E-Newsletter - News and Updates Information on conferences, meetings and global events pertaining to Indigenous Peoples Free digital CSQ Magazine