The Christensen Fund (the Fund) envisions a bioculturally diverse world enriched and sustained by beautiful, bountiful, and resilient communities, landscapes, and seascapes. The Fund backs the global Indigenous Peoples’ movement in its efforts to advance the rights and opportunities of stewards of biocultural diversity. This new mission is rooted in a commitment to support the full and effective implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
Founded in 1957 by Allen D. and Carmen M. Christensen, the Christensen Fund is a private grantmaking foundation contributing approximately $10M in annual grants. The Fund’s team members represent broad cultural and geographic diversity and are based in the Fund’s home office in San Francisco, CA and selected regions abroad.
The Opportunity
This is an exceptional opportunity to lead a foundation at the forefront of supporting and elevating the rights of Indigenous People around the world. With its clear focus on biocultural diversity and strong conviction that environmental and cultural stewardship by Indigenous People is the path forward, the Christensen Fund is a philanthropic trailblazer. Admired as a thought leader and influencer in this work, the Fund has distinguished itself as a credible partner to indigenous communities in part because team members bring lived experience, and in part because collaboration is ingrained in the organization’s DNA; listening to and following the lead of community partners is how funding opportunities are identified and developed.
The new Executive Director will join the Fund at a pivotal moment and will help shape the trajectory of the new strategy. They will hold a vision and lead the team bringing the rights-based focus to life through investments and partnerships designed to:
- build solidarity between and across Indigenous Peoples’ movements; and,
- increase awareness of international frameworks that protect rights to Land, Territories, Resources, and Governance
The Ideal Candidate
The Christensen Fund’s new executive director is an inspiring leader who sees the opportunity to advance the rights of Indigenous People as a calling. Whether or not you have lived experience with indigenous or marginalized communities, you bring a deep understanding of the challenges we are trying to address and the cultural competencies to help us do it successfully. You are an individual who has established your reputation as a leader in philanthropy or in a field relevant to the Fund’s work (social justice, human rights, land rights, climate change, food justice, agroecology) and will leverage your networks and passion to serve and promote our mission.
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