The idea that communities can own land, feed themselves, buy back the block, and build economies rooted in care is often treated as a distant aspiration, possible someday, somewhere down the line. But across the country, that future is already taking shape, carried by people building local economies on their own terms and shaping the resources, opportunities, and decisions that affect their communities.
This year, the EFOD Fund, a community-controlled fund governed by the EFOD Collaborative, moved more than $2M to 23 organizations, reflecting our belief that thriving communities are built through relationship, trust, and sustained investment.
In partnership with First Nations Development Institute (FNDI), EFOD supported the Native Wealth Building initiative through a second round of funding, bringing in seven new organizations to the EFOD network and strengthening Indigenous approaches to food systems change. This growing group of Native-led practitioners reflects the understanding that wealth building is cultural, intergenerational, and best defined by local communities.
Work like this is really about partnership—showing up for one another when things are difficult, and staying in relationship long enough to imagine and create together. Funding is one part of that, but the deeper work is trust and a shared vision.
Richard Elm-Hill
Program Director of Native Agriculture and Food Systems Investments at First Nations Development Institute
EFOD Allied Member
Funding decisions are made by the EFOD Collaborative’s Community Investment Committee (CIC), which invests in community-led organizations that use food as a vehicle to build ownership, community wealth, and self-determination. CIC members are food systems practitioners, organizers, and community leaders leading place-based work and bringing firsthand knowledge of what it takes for communities to thrive. Since launching the Fund in 2020, the EFOD Collaborative has deployed more than $12 million to practitioners advancing equitable food-oriented development across the country.
Of the 23 organizations supported this year, sixteen received renewal funding, reflecting an understanding that pathways to community ownership take time and are rarely built through one-time investments. The remaining seven were supported through a partnership with FNDI, building on FNDI’s longstanding work supporting Native-led organizations and the trusted relationships they have cultivated within Native communities.
“Renewal funding from EFOD provides the stability our member organizations need to build lasting economic ownership. Building pathways to land and economic ownership is a long-term commitment; it requires funders who understand that trust and sustained support are catalysts for growth, giving our member organizations breathing room to build the creative solutions our communities are fighting for.” – Haleh Zandi, EFOD CIC member
Funding decisions are guided by the EFOD Criteria. More than a funding rubric, the criteria help ensure our decisions support projects rooted in shared power, local ownership, and the long-term well-being of the communities they serve. EFOD Network organizations demonstrate these principles in practice: building community wealth, developing local leadership, strengthening ownership, and investing in the long-term health of the places they call home.
These investments are part of a broader effort to strengthen community ownership. In 2025, the CIC made a commitment to place greater emphasis on community ownership within the Fund’s grantmaking, recognizing ownership as an important pathway toward community self-determination. Community ownership can serve as a safeguard against displacement, extraction, and outside interests determining what happens to the people most affected by those decisions.
Community ownership looks different across the EFOD Network. For some organizations, it means acquiring and stewarding land. For others, it takes the form of cooperative ownership, community-governed enterprises, shared infrastructure, collective decision-making, or creating pathways for residents to shape the future of their communities. While the approaches vary, each organization reflects a commitment to ensure that wealth, power, and opportunity remain in the hands of the communities helping create them.
2026 EFOD Renewal Recipients include: Black Oaks Center, Pembroke, IL; Community Services Unlimited Los Angeles, CA; Dream of Wild Health Minneapolis, MN; Hmong American Farmers Association, Minneapolis, MN; Inclusive Action for the City Los Angeles, CA; Residents Association of Greater Englewood Chicago, IL; Sticky Rice Club Oakland, CA; Planting Justice Oakland, CA; Project New Village San Diego, CA; Rocky Acres Community Farm, Freeville, NY; Agroecology Commons, El Sobrante, CA; Southeast MI Producers Association, Royal Oak, MI; Oakland Bloom, Oakland, CA; Chilkoot Indian Association, Haines, AK; Mandela Partners Oakland, CA; Paradise Natural Foods, Detroit, MI.
2026 Native Wealth Building Recipients collaboration with FNDI to welcome the following Native-led organizations to EFOD: Buffalo First, Mobridge, SD; Buffalo Youth Nation Project (Cheyenne, WY); Malama Loko Ea Foundation (Haleiwa, HI); Navajo Birthworker Collective (Window Rock, AZ); Ohelaku (De Pere, WI); People’s Food Sovereignty Program (Ronan, MT).
At EFOD, we believe communities already hold the vision, leadership, and solutions needed to thrive. Our role is to move resources, build relationships, and stay invested for the long term because the people doing the work to build local power shouldn’t have to build these futures