May 20, 2025
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Press Release
New York, NY (May 20, 2025) — Today, the Decolonizing Wealth Project (DWP) announced the launch of the $20 million Liberated Capital Youth Mental Health Fund aimed at improving the mental health and wellness of young people across the United States. This fund represents a bold investment in youth mental health that supports culturally-responsive care for young people navigating intersecting identities and systemic challenges.
With support from seed funder Pivotal, a network of organizations founded by Melinda French Gates, the fund will grant a minimum of $5 million annually over three years to nonprofit organizations and Tribes offering mental health services tailored to the unique experiences of youth ages 12 to 24. Additional funding will support grantee capacity building and ecosystem infrastructure efforts.
“Young people today are growing up in a world shaped by climate crises, economic instability, and the complex digital landscape of social media, ” said Edgar Villanueva, Founder and CEO of Decolonizing Wealth Project. “Our youth carry a disproportionate share of these burdens, often without access to the care and support they need. This fund is about more than mental health - it’s about investing in culturally grounded care, life-affirming resources, and a future where these young people are not only seen and valued, but fully supported to thrive.”
The Youth Mental Health Fund aims to break down barriers - financial, social, and institutional that have historically limited access to mental health care for marginalized communities. By investing in these services, the fund will unlock a mental health ecosystem where all individuals, regardless of their background or identity, can receive the care they need. Today, young people face unique, intersecting challenges that demand urgent, culturally responsive care. Access to affirming spaces and competent mental health support significantly improves their well-being and life outcomes, helping to counter systemic barriers in education, healthcare, and employment.
The resources offered through the Youth Mental Health Fund build on DWP’s track record of prioritizing healing and wellbeing as an integral component of its reparative philanthropy framework. Designed in collaboration with an intergenerational advisory committee of youth leaders and mental health experts, the fund will:
- Scale access to culturally responsive mental health care for youth
- Shift narratives around what community-centered healing and care can look like
- Invest in community-based organizations that have historically been overlooked by philanthropy
For those interested in applying for funding and resources, please visit: https://decolonizingwealth.com/liberated-capital/ymh.
About the Decolonizing Wealth Project:
Decolonizing Wealth Project (DWP) is committed to bringing truth, healing, and repair to the global community. Established in 2018, and led by Edgar Villanueva, an Indigenous, award-winning author, and expert on wealth, spirituality, and social justice, DWP operates through three key strategies: sector transformation, storytelling and culture, and reparative giving. DWP’s work has radically transformed the philanthropic sector and has facilitated the distribution of over $700 million for social justice efforts. Liberated Capital, DWP’s fund and donor community has granted over $21 million to support economic solidarity, wellbeing, and earth and climate efforts primarily led by Black and Indigenous communities.
www.decolonizingwealth.com + www.decolonizingwealth.com/liberated-capital
27 organizations will benefit through Liberated Capital, a fund of Decolonizing Wealth Project, helping to uplift Indigenous efforts across the U.S. to combat the climate crisis.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – November 25, 2024 – Today, the Decolonizing Wealth Project and their funding mechanism, Liberated Capital, announced the distribution of $1 million in grants to 27 Indigenous-led organizations and tribes across the US through their Indigenous Earth Fund (IEF). The funding will support grantees’ efforts to tackle climate change and conservation through traditional Indigenous cultural practices and innovations. Grantees include local organizations working toward ancestral land return, land stewardship and conservation, advocacy, and youth engagement and education.
Since its inception in 2021, IEF has distributed over $4 million in capital to 38 Native-led organizations, and, as a result, has engaged over 200 tribes across the U.S. These grant-making initiatives reflect the Decolonizing Wealth Project’s mission to redirect resources to historically overlooked or marginalized communities, with a focus on supporting traditional Indigenous cultural practices as effective solutions to the climate crisis. Highlights of past grantees who have made significant strides through their climate work as a result of IEF funding include SAGE Development Authority creating the first Indigenous-owned utility-scale wind farm in the U.S; the creation of an Indigenous Storytelling Hub featuring digital shorts and a podcast series set to launch in 2025 by Indigenous Led; dam removal and flow restoration campaigns led by Save California Salmon, and more.
“Indigenous peoples safeguard much of Earth’s biodiversity, yet philanthropy has chronically underfunded their work,” said Edgar Villanueva, CEO of Decolonizing Wealth Project. “Our Indigenous Earth Fund addresses this critical gap by channeling resources to Indigenous climate and conservation leaders who have maintained vital ecological knowledge and practices across generations. This fund reinforces our steadfast commitment to Indigenous sovereignty and self-determination.”
“Thanks to the generous support of Decolonizing Wealth’s Indigenous Earth Fund, the Bering Sea Elders Group has continued to realize our mission of protecting our traditional ways of life, the Bering Sea, and our children’s future,”
— Jaylene Wheeler, Executive Director of the Bering Sea Elders Group.
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