Challenging Philanthropy: TWP recognized as a “Transformative Partner”

Trees, Water & People (TWP) is honored to have received the “Transformative Partner” award in recognition of our Indigenous Lands Program’s (ILP) work in New Mexico towards water resilience, multi-stakeholder facilitation and long-term watershed scale restoration planning. 

Zoe Bashkin (ILP Resource Coordinator) and  James Calabaza (ILP Director) were presented the recognition by honorary guest and keynote address Deb Haaland (former United States Secretary of the Interior).

The team was excited to attend the final convening of the Native American Recovery Zone Fund Grant (NARFZG) program in Santa Fe, NM this week. The New Mexico Foundation, in partnership with local, regional, and national foundations, awarded grants to 12 Native-led organizations in Phase 1 of the NARFZG three years ago. 

Operating and convening under a Trust-Based Philanthropy framework, the community of grantees and funders gathered to share their stories of impact, success, challenges and what’s ahead for each. Every organization had a story to tell, each uniquely serving their communities towards food sovereignty, environmental justice, reproductive rights, economic security, and youth development. 

These conversations don’t end here. Next week our Executive Director, Sebastian Africano, will be on a panel highlighting this fund program at the joint Native Americans in Philanthropy & Hispanics in Philanthropy conference in Albuquerque, NM.

We are grateful for the opportunity to share more about this program and be part of a larger story of mutual trust, long-term relationships and community care.