A joint statement from East Bay Community Foundation, Bay Area Asset Funders Network (AFN), San Francisco Foundation (SFF) on the 10th Anniversary of the Shuumi Land Tax
As philanthropic organizations operating on the unceded territories of the Lisjan Ohlone people, we have an opportunity—and responsibility—to move beyond acknowledgment toward meaningful action. Today, we invite our colleagues across the funding landscape to join us in supporting Indigenous land sovereignty through the Shuumi Land Tax.
Sogorea Te’ Land Trust and the Shuumi Land Tax
Sogorea Te’ Land Trust, the first urban Indigenous women-led land trust in the country, facilitates the return of Lisjan Ohlone lands to Indigenous stewardship. This groundbreaking organization honors the deep cultural and spiritual connections that have sustained the Lisjan Ohlone people for thousands of years.
“Shuumi offers us an opportunity to dream in a place our ancestors have always been rooted in, to continue to heal the land and the people, and to invite guests in our territory to be a part of this dream with us.” — Corrina Gould, Co-Director of Sogorea Te’ Land Trust, Tribal Chair of the Confederated Villages of Lisjan
For generations, Gould’s family has lived on Ohlone land in what is now known as Oakland and the surrounding Bay Area. As Tribal Chair of the Confederated Villages of Lisjan, she describes how her people have become “homeless in their own homeland.” Her family was enslaved in two Bay Area missions and over time, many of her relatives were forced to leave the region entirely. Those who remained lacked access to homeownership and to the land. Through Sogorea Te’ Land Trust, Gould is rebuilding a land base for urban Indigenous communities in the East Bay.
The Shuumi Land Tax—”Shuumi” meaning “gift” in the Chochenyo language—offers a concrete pathway for non-Indigenous individuals and institutions to support this vital rematriation work. Rather than a traditional tax, Shuumi invites a voluntary annual contribution that acknowledges our relationship to the land and supports Indigenous sovereignty efforts. Since its inception, the Shuumi Land Tax has enabled critical land acquisitions, cultural preservation programs, and community healing initiatives.
Our Commitment to be in Right Relationship
Each of our organizations has embraced paying the Shuumi Land Tax because we recognize that philanthropy operates within systems that have historically displaced and harmed Indigenous communities. Our commitment to Shuumi represents more than financial support—it embodies our dedication to disrupting patterns of extraction and moving toward restorative relationship-building.
“At San Francisco Foundation, paying the Shuumi Land Tax is a meaningful act of acknowledgment—recognizing the Lisjan Ohlone people as the original stewards of our East Bay land,” said Jes Montesinos, Senior Director of the Place Pathway at San Francisco Foundation. “This commitment aligns with our values: ensuring Bay Area residents, including Native community members, can remain rooted in their communities.”
Multiple Pathways for Foundation Engagement
Understanding that every foundation operates differently, we’ve discovered several meaningful ways to integrate Shuumi payments into institutional practices:
- Direct Grant Contributions: Organizations can make annual grants to Sogorea Te’ Land Trust, calculating their contribution using the institutional Shuumi calculator that considers factors like organizational revenue, property holdings, and programmatic scope. SFF has adopted this approach and treats Shuumi as a programmatic investment in Indigenous sovereignty.
- Administrative Integration: Some foundations incorporate Shuumi as an administrative expense similar to property taxes, paying the same amount and frequency as their property tax obligations. “At the East Bay Community Foundation, incorporating Shuumi into our operations demonstrates our commitment to being good stewards of place,” explained Sabrina Wu, Senior Program Officer at the East Bay Community Foundation. “This approach recognizes Shuumi as a fundamental cost of doing business on Indigenous lands.”
- Event-Based Payments: When hosting gatherings, conferences, or community events on Lisjan Ohlone territory, foundations can include Shuumi payments as part of event planning and budgeting. Bay Area AFN began paying Shuumi earlier this year with our 2025 conference, California Philanthropy: A Roadmap for Repair. “When we gather on Lisjan Ohlone territory for conferences and events, paying Shuumi ensures we are living our values, honoring our hosts, and contributing to healing,” said Rebeca Rangel, Senior Director at the Asset Funders Network.
Importantly, Shuumi contributions should be informed by and proportionate to a foundation’s total resources and institutional footprint—considering it not within the traditional minimum distribution requirement framework, but rather in relation to the foundation’s entire asset base and comprehensive impact on Indigenous lands.
An Invitation to Join A Growing Movement
We invite fellow funders and philanthropic organizations to consider paying institutional Shuumi. At its core, this is a commitment to taking concrete steps toward repair and building authentic relationships with Indigenous communities.
Some questions that may also be helpful as you explore your organization’s relationship to this work are:
- How might your foundation acknowledge and address its relationship to Indigenous lands and communities?
- What would it look like to integrate land and honor payments into your organizational operations and values?
- How can you engage your board, staff, and partners in meaningful conversations about Indigenous sovereignty and land rematriation?
This philanthropic call builds off of valiant efforts of the Funder Circle for Shuumi & Action—a collaboration between Justice Funders, Sogorea Te’ Land Trust, and allied philanthropic leaders, which has mobilized 20 Bay Area foundations to pay the Shuumi Land Tax and other Indigenous Honor & Land Taxes.
This invitation also extends across geographies. While Shuumi specifically supports Lisjan Ohlone lands in the Bay Area, Indigenous-led land and honor taxes exist across the country. We encourage foundations everywhere to research and support similar initiatives in their regions. Our friends at Justice Funders have compiled this list of Indigenous Honor & Land Taxes for Foundations.
Moving Forward Together
We invite you to join us in supporting Sogorea Te’ Land Trust and similar Indigenous-led initiatives across the country. Together, we can help ensure that philanthropy becomes a tool for healing, sovereignty, and justice rather than extraction and harm.
For more information about calculating and paying institutional Shuumi, visit Sogorea Te’ Land Trust’s website. To connect with colleagues engaged in this work, reach out to any of our organizations—we’re here to support your journey toward right relationship with Indigenous lands and communities.
