LinkedIn's Root Causes Fund and participatory grant-making

Authored by: Matt Tindale and Lisa Sarago

Last year, we launched LinkedIn’s inaugural Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), reaffirming our commitment to equity and reconciliation for First Nations People. Our RAP was purposefully linked to LinkedIn’s vision; to create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce and incorporates understanding, awareness, relationships and action.

This year, we’re deepening that commitment by supporting the powerful work of First Nations NGOs through our Root Causes Fund. Providing grants to back innovative, high-impact initiatives led by community-based organisations.

We know lasting change demands humility, continuous learning, and genuine partnerships. It requires working alongside and collaborating with those with lived experience and strong community ties. That’s why Root Causes adopts a participatory grant-making model, an approach that shares decision making power and co-designed funding criteria with First Nations leaders and community experts.

 Participatory Grant-Making: Sharing Power and Shifting Paradigm

This model centres First Nations communities in the funding process, ensuring that decisions reflect their aspirations and priorities. Unlike traditional, top-down philanthropy, participatory grant-making fosters more equitable, community-led impact.

We’re guided by the wisdom of Indigenous leaders and the importance of a collectivist approach to decision-making. We’re honoured to partner with Lisa Sarago, Banok Rind, and Benson Saulo—leaders whose insights have been essential in shaping Root Causes.

It’s my pleasure to hand over to Lisa Sarago—award-winning Indigenous leader, CEO of Land on Heart, and finalist for NSW Aboriginal Woman of the Year 2025. Through her business and charity, Land on Heart Foundation, Lisa aims to celebrate and enhance understanding of First Nations culture among non-Indigenous Australians and create meaningful employment opportunities in remote areas. Alongside Benson and Banok, she played a key role in directing Root Causes funding to ensure those most impacted by economic inequality are heard and prioritised.

Insights from Lisa Sarago:

Thank you, Matt. I am a proud Bundaburra Yidinji/Western Yalanji woman, who grew up in sunny Cairns, Queensland. Representing my mob has always been a driving force in my life, and the energy I pour into Land on Heart and my charity Foundation is no exception. 

My mission is to amplify Indigenous voices in technology and create economic opportunities for First Nations peoples. Partnering with LinkedIn, an organisation that shares these values, was a natural choice.

LinkedIn proactively sought my strategic advice, along with insights from Banok Rind and Benson Saulo on the equitable distribution of the Root Causes Fund in Australia. It’s important that companies recognise that true and meaningful impact isn’t about a brand taking a “stand” but rather passing the mic and putting funding decisions in the hands of those who best understand the community’s needs.

The selection process truly reflected an approach grounded in the principles of self-determination and Indigenous-led programs. Indigenous advisors led the conversation on how to ensure the funding would be distributed equitably - across geographic regions and in industries or areas identified as priorities requiring support. We held numerous meetings to discuss and agree on the selection approach, striking a balance between strategic, national bodies that provide services to multiple individuals, communities, and businesses, and grassroots programs.

In the wake of the failed Referendum - where many remote areas overwhelmingly voted in favour of the Voice - we were especially mindful that this funding needed to support programs addressing the needs of remote communities. We also recognised that priority areas should focus on building individual capability, as well as supporting and elevating Indigenous entrepreneurs and businesses, particularly women-led initiatives.

Self-determination was a core guiding principle in our approach. We ensured that the not-for-profits selected were aligned with this ethos - supporting personal development, the advancement of Indigenous women, and Indigenous business and entrepreneurship.

As someone who has spent many years in government grants administration and community support, it has been illuminating to be part of a grant process genuinely focused on improving the lives of Indigenous people and communities - the rigid constraints of strict selection criteria or the heavy burden of reporting to funding bodies already stretched thin. How refreshing it is to be able to support Indigenous organisations in continuing their important work - progressing toward self-determination in their own way, with trust that the funding will value-add to the incredible impact they already create.

We hope this process provides insights and serves as a model for other philanthropic programs. If we are genuinely committed to supporting Indigenous Australians through funding initiatives, then following an Indigenous-led process grounded in self-determination should be considered best practice. Indigenous communities know what needs to happen in their communities.

Introducing the 2025 Root Causes partners

First Nations Foundation: Empowering financial literacy and prosperity for First Nations people through culturally designed financial education and advocacy. Evidence-based research and data helps to lead a national conversation on achieving financial prosperity for First Nations people. Proudly For Mob, By Mob. Their work includes:

• Indigenous Women's Financial Wellness: Promoting the long-term financial health and prosperity of First Nations women

• Tomorrow Money: Financial wellbeing hub providing resources on a range of money topics

• Financial Advocacy: Assisting regional, remote and urban communities to access and transfer wealth

• Culture & Money: Cultural competency training for financial services and government

Ngarrimili: Fosters business and entrepreneurship opportunities within Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander communities by providing:

• Youth Pipeline: Paid development opportunities to support First Nations youth in entrepreneurship

• Business Support: Tailored support for aspiring and established businesses and creatives

• Murran Hub: With co-working, meeting, event spaces, alongside retail gallery & cafe spaces

Australian Indigenous Governance Institute (AIGI): Indigenous-led organisation that focuses on bolstering the self-governance with Indigenous nations. Their work includes:

• Research and Practice: Developing a knowledge base on effective Indigenous governance.

• Training and Education: Providing training programs to strengthen governance.

• Mentorship and Support: Offering long-term support for building governance capacity.

• Collaboration and Advocacy: Working with networks to develop governance tools and advocating for policy change.

I-Connexions: Enhances the self-management and economic self-sufficiency of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, with a focus on young girls and women. Programs and Services include:

• Dreamweaver's Program: Fostering personal and educational development in young women

• Apprenticeships and Training: Provides Indigenous youth with direct experience through apprenticeships and training with employers

• Personal and Career Development: Young women and girls receive support in career development and cultural storytelling

Ember Connect: A digital platform designed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women to connect us with genuine opportunities that lead to a life of choice - where agency and economic independence are reality, and culture, identity and connection to Country are at the heart of everything they do. Focus areas include:

• Mentorship and Career Development: Building a connected digital community to accelerate career pathways and leadership for Indigenous women

• Employer Partnerships: Creating meaningful pathways for employers to engage and retain First Nations talent

• Game Changer Grants: Offering grants for activities focused on professional, cultural, and personal enrichment

• Voice and Advocacy: Facilitate opportunities to enhance critical consciousness and contribute to their voice

The driving force behind Ember Connect is the “Collective Capital” - a powerful and growing network of women uplifting one another, illuminating pathways to leadership, and expanding the possibilities for generations to come