Our history

Founded in 2004 by Susan Balbas and Bernadette Zambrano, Na’ah Illahee Fund  (Mother Earth in Chinook Wawa) emerged from their shared background in grassroots organizing and social justice. While working with the Changemakers Fund, Balbas trained under leading philanthropists and saw firsthand how money could catalyze social change. Yet she also noticed something deeply troubling: Native communities were almost entirely absent from that landscape. With less than one-half of one percent of U.S. philanthropic dollars reaching Indigenous peoples, Balbas and Zambrano recognized a calling to create something radically different.

In its early years, NIF linked global Indigenous rights work with local community action—building bridges between the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the World Social Forum, and grassroots movements in the Pacific Northwest. NIF’s first grants supported canoe families, traditional foods gatherings, and youth-elder exchanges that strengthened cultural continuity and belonging, especially for Native women and girls. Though modest in size, these early investments had deep cultural impact.

Throughout the 2000s, NIF also responded to the urgent needs of urban Native people in the Seattle area through innovative direct programming such as Native Girls Code, Yahowt Food and Land Restoration, and the Wise Action Civic Engagement program. These initiatives nurtured leadership, creativity, and self-determination—eventually inspiring new Native-led nonprofits that continue that work today.

As NIF evolved, it returned to its core mission: catalyzing grassroots leaders and organizations with the resources, relationships, and infrastructure they need to thrive. Recognizing that systemic inequities stem from both lack of capital and lack of infrastructure, NIF developed a holistic approach that includes capacity building, leadership development, fiscal sponsorship, and peer learning networks. 

As co-founder Susan Balbas reflected, “It’s not just about getting money out—it’s about how you do it, how you build relationships, and how you develop trust.” That relational model—anchored in accountability, reciprocity, and Indigenous ways of knowing—remains NIF’s hallmark today.

After more than two decades, Na’ah Illahee Fund continues to advance its founding vision: to protect and serve Mother Earth, strengthen Indigenous self-determination, and ensure that Native communities have the resources, relationships, and recognition to thrive on their own terms.