PRBB Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Montana-based PRBB Foundation women’s and girls’ causes, environmental justice, racial justice and Indigenous rights in the U.S. and abroad.
IP TAKE: With a strong focus on women’s grassroots organizing, the PRBB Foundation describes itself as “honored to both support and learn from the many valiant women we encounter in our work.” Its model for grantmaking “is based upon personal relationship and trust to assure that all selected projects meet high standards of accountability.” About half of the foundation’s grantmaking remains in the U.S., emphasizing Maine, South Dakota, Wyoming and Montana. This funder shows a clear priority for community- and Indigenous-led groups.
This funder selects its grantees with the assistance of a “global network of volunteer advisors” and does not accept unsolicited proposals. PRBB does invite organizations that believe they are an exceptional match to the foundation’s interests to reach out via its contact page.
PROFILE: Founded in 2006, the PRBB Foundation aims to “support and empower grassroots groups of women to be a positive force in shaping themselves, their families & communities and the environment that we share.” Located in Bozeman, Montana, this foundation maintains a small staff and is a member of Exponent Philanthropy, Peace and Security Funders Group and the Women’s Funding Network. This funder currently makes grants for women’s and girls’ causes and, to a lesser extent, environmental conservation and justice. Grantmaking is global in scope, but about half of its grants go to organizations operating in the U.S., with an emphasis on the states of Maine, South Dakota, Wyoming and Montana.
Grants for Gender-based Violence, Women and Girls
The PRBB Foundation does not name specific interests for its women’s and girls’ grantmaking. Its global grants tend to support organizations working with indigenous and at-risk women in developing nations. In Guatemala, the foundation has supported Asociación Generando, which aims to empower political activism in indigenous women and survivors of gender-based violence. Another global grantee, Fonds pour les Femmes Congolaises, works to “build communities in the Congo free from violence where women and girls have rights to physical integrity and economic justice.” Other global grantees include the Darfur Women’s Action Group, the Itinerant University of Haiti and El Salvador’s Nueva Esperanza.
PRBB also supports women’s organizations in the U.S., where recent grantmaking has focused on education, economic opportunity, mental health and youth. One recent grantee, Where All Women Are Honored, works at the Rapid City/Pine Ridge Indian Reservation community in South Dakota to provide services and advocacy to women and LGBTQ+ victims of domestic violence, dating violence and trafficking. Other past grantees include New York’s Girls Educational and Mentoring Services, which works with women between the ages of 14 and 24 who are victims of sexual exploitation, and the Maine Centers for Women Work and Security, which runs programs that help women develop the skills and knowledge that support economic stability and independence.
Grants for Environmental Conservation and Justice
Through its lens of grassroots women’s organizing, the PRBB Foundation also gives to organizations involved in conservation and environmental advocacy in the U.S. and abroad. In the U.S. the foundation has recently supported the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, a women-led group that helps to organize and activate communities “just a fenceline away from industrial sites that pollute air, water and soil” to improve environmental and living conditions. In North Carolina, the foundation recently gave to Medicine Bowl, an organization that aims to “heal our relationship with the planet” through sustainable agriculture, conservation and community-building initiatives. Outside of the U.S., the foundation has given to Paso Pacifico, which local communities and groups to “restore and protect the Pacific Slope ecosystems of Mesoamerica.”
Grants for Racial Justice and Indigenous Rights
Since 2020, the PPRB Foundation’s grantmaking has seen an uptick in funding for groups supporting justice and equity for Black and Indigenous groups in the U.S. and abroad. Recent funding has gone to Freedom Lodge, Inc., a South Dakota organization that offers services and learning opportunities related to “health, healing and recovery in South Dakota and across Indian Country.” Another recipient, Our Indigenous Lifeways of New Mexico, supports community-based movements for social and environmental justice, including educational programs on financial and food literacy and the “negative impacts from uranium mining.” Other grantees in this area include the Native American LBTQ+ group United Resilience, Owe Aku of South Dakota and the Blackout Collective, which provides “ground support, training, and opportunities for deep space visioning in communities that prioritize the liberation of Black people.”
Important Grant Details:
The PRBB Foundation made close to $400,000 in grants in a recent year. Grants are generally awarded in amounts up to $25,000 and support smaller grassroots and community organizations, for which these grants can make a significant impact. Grantees are generally women- or BIPOC-led groups. For additional information about past grantees, see the foundation’s past grants page.
The PRBB Foundation selects its grantees through “a global network of volunteer advisors” and does not accept unsolicited applications for funding. The foundation does, however, invite those who “have experience with a remarkable group who reflects our vision” to contact the foundation with their story.
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