Supporting Boots on the Ground: ILI’s New First Nations Stewardship Fund for Guardians

August 25, 2026

By Valérie Courtois and Linda Dwyer

Both of us have been lucky enough to lead Guardians programs. We know the pride of seeing Guardians care for lands and waters and become role models for youth. But we also know the challenge of constantly looking for funds, working on complicated proposals to ensure we can make payroll and juggling complicated reports for small buckets of money. These experiences helped inform a new initiative here at the Indigenous Leadership Initiative (ILI).

We are excited to announce the ILI First Nations Stewardship Fund, a new opportunity for First Nations Guardians programs. Programs can apply to the $2 million fund to support Guardians and coordinators salaries, operational costs, community engagement, and other eligible activities.

The fund is designed to get investments into the field quickly and avoid some of the burdens we experienced as Guardians leads. The intake process is clear and straightforward, and the reporting will be lean and efficient. Programs will be selected by an independent advisory panel with decades of Guardianship experience, and programs will be notified within a matter of weeks of their selection.

ILI has always believed that Guardians programs are strongest when they have multiple sources of funding. We are proud to help broaden the base of support and spotlight Indigenous values in stewardship.

Diversified Investments Strengthen Guardians Programs

A strong foundation is especially important in this time of larger fiscal uncertainty. While Canada included renewed investments for Indigenous Guardians in its March 2026 A Force of Nature Strategy, challenges remain—from tightening public government budgets to rising operating and living costs in communities.

Meanwhile, more First Nations want to launch or expand Guardians programs. They want to get more boots on the ground to monitor species at risk, perform emergency response, prepare for wildfire risk, support on-the-land camps, manage protected areas, and research climate impacts—work that benefits not only the land and communities but all Canadians.   

The demand—and the need—are growing, and diversified funding streams help Guardians programs become more resilient. Federal investments, for instance, can provide core support for Guardians’ work, particularly where it overlaps with Canada’s nature and climate targets. And impact benefit agreements, provincial co-management agreements, research grants, and other partnerships provide can provide financing as well.

Private philanthropy has a role to play too, including by investing in innovation and supporting stewardship priorities identified by First Nations.

Partnership with Mastercard Foundation

ILI has been one of the biggest cheerleaders of Guardians programs for over a decade. We’ve helped encourage federal investment and other financing for Guardians, but until now, we haven’t been able to offer significant funding ourselves.

That changed recently. In September 2025, ILI was humbled to receive a landmark gift from the Mastercard Foundation to advance Indigenous-led conservation and stewardship and deliver impact in the lives of Indigenous youth. We are drawing on this generous gift to finance the First Nations Stewardship Fund.  

We want to contribute, in our small way, to uplifting the great work Guardians do every day. We also want to demonstrate that when organizations spend money directly in communities for core stewardship activities, their investments pay dividends in First Nations’ empowerment and progress toward nature and climate goals.

We welcome other donors, partners, and organizations to join us in expanding financing opportunities and providing direct investment in Guardians programs through this fund.

Building for the Future

One of the best parts of our experience working with Guardians programs was seeing the impact on young people. Many Guardians are youth themselves, and we watched them build capacity, gain confidence, support their families, and even hear their children say they are proud of the job their parents do.

We’ve seen high school students light up when Guardians talk to their classes and help them realize they can find meaningful jobs in their communities linked to land and culture. We used to say in those classrooms: “Someday you will have my job, because you are the Guardians and leaders of the future.”

By supporting Guardians’ work today, we hope ILI’s Stewardship Fund can help tomorrow’s young people grow into those roles and fulfill the responsibility to care for the land.