Jubilee Fund
The Jubilee Fund is a project of Mennonite Church Canada and Mennonite Central Committee Canada that attempts to address in a small way the imbalance of wealth and power between people of Indigenous (First Nations, Métis, Inuit) descent and Canada’s settler population.
The Jubilee Fund comes out of a desire to pursue justice and eliminate oppression. The biblical “Year of Jubilee,” as described in Leviticus 25, was a celebration that God commanded the Israelites to fulfill every 50 years. It was a time for the land that was sold within the previous 50 years to revert back to its previous ownership, and any person enslaved within that 50 years would be freed. People would return to their family property and clan. As a result, no one would be placed in a permanent state of poverty, enslavement, landlessness or disconnection from their family.
Through the Jubilee Fund, Mennonite Church Canada and Mennonite Central Committee Canada provide their constituencies with the opportunity to participate in a culturally sensitive, holistic witness to Jesus Christ in a broken world. This fund is a symbol of God’s healing and hope for a better world; a world in which bridges are built so that newcomers to this continent and the Original Peoples can live together in communities of grace, joy and peace. This fund was created through networking of Mennonite Church Canada, Mennonite Central Committee, Indigenous partners and community groups.
Application details
The idea of establishing a Jubilee Fund began in 1990 in response to discussions between the Conference of Mennonites in Canada (the forerunner of Mennonite Church Canada) and Mennonite Central Committee Canada on how to respond to the year 1992 -- the 500-year anniversary of Columbus’ arrival in the Americas -- and 1993 – the year of Indigenous Populations, as designated by the United Nations. The decision was that these two occasions offered an opportunity to extend a Jubilee gesture to Aboriginal people in Canada and to redress, in a small measure, some of the tragic losses they suffered during the past centuries. The hoped-for intent was to also move beyond broken relationships and promises to the establishment of new relationships and new opportunities.
The Jubilee Fund is invested with Abundance Canada. Earnings generated by the endowment are granted to selected projects that meet the fund’s criteria.
The Jubilee Fund continues to be an endowment housed with Abundance Canada. Donations are to be sent to their offices and designated for the Jubilee Fund. Each year the interest is granted to selected projects that meet the fund’s criteria.
Leaders of Mennonite Church Canada Witness and Mennonite Central Committee Canada signed a recommitment to the Jubilee Fund in 2010. New donations are being solicited and a new grant application form was chosen that embodies the spirit of Jubilee.
The grant aims to:
- Directly benefit grassroots or non-profit Indigenous organizations/groups/communities in Canada.
- Promote an experience of Jubilee for Indigenous people.
- Address injustice related specifically to land.
Geographical target area:
Jubilee Fund issues grants to grassroots or non-profit Indigenous organizations, groups and/or communities in Canada.
What is funded:
Projects related to land, including, but not limited to: initiatives involved in reconnecting people to their traditional land base, protection and reclamation of sacred sites and traditional or treaty land, sustainable land use and environmental justice initiatives.
What is not funded:
- Individuals
- Non-Indigenous organizations
- Fundraising projects
Criteria:
- Groups or organizations applying for grants must have local Indigenous leadership.
- Project must be rooted in the Indigenous community within which it will take place, and take direction from the Indigenous community it serves.
- Priority will be given to groups who lack access to federal/tribal funding.
- Priority will be given to groups who incorporate the leadership of women, elders and children into their project.
Annual proposal deadline:
The proposal deadline is February 15. Notification of the result will be received by March 30. Successful applicants will receive their grant by April 30.
How to apply for a grant:
Give to the Jubilee Fund:
Write cheques to Abundance Canada and designate “for Jubilee Fund” on the memo line. All donations are tax-deductible. Cheques may be mailed to:
Abundance Canada
12 - 1325 Markham Road
Winnipeg, MB R3T 4J6
For donation information please contact Abundance Canada:
Phone: 1-800-795-2037 or 488-1985 in Winnipeg
Email: winnipeg@abundance.ca
This fund is administered by Abundance Canada