What Decolonizing Wealth Project does

Decolonizing Wealth Project (DWP) is a Detroit-headquartered 501(c)(3) fiscal-sponsored nonprofit founded in 2018 by Edgar Villanueva that operates a philanthropy-sector platform centered on reparative giving to Black and Indigenous communities. The organization's core technology consists of proprietary frameworks — the Reparative Philanthropy Framework, the 7 Steps To Healing (Grieve, Apologize, Listen, Relate, Represent, Invest, Repair), and the Moonshot investment framework — supported by educational publications including the book 'Decolonizing Wealth' (2nd edition), its Spanish translation 'Descolonizando La Riqueza,' and the 'Money As Medicine' guided journal.

DWP generates inflows primarily through donations and grants from individuals (via the Liberated Capital recurring donor community), institutional funders (e.g., Pivotal for the Youth Mental Health Fund), and product sales (books via Amazon and bookshop.org plus branded merchandise through its own e-commerce storefront). It deploys capital across specialized grantmaking vehicles — the $20M Youth Mental Health Fund, the Indigenous Earth Fund ($5M+ distributed since 2021), the California Truth and Healing Fund, the California Tribal Land Return Initiative ($1.65M to 31 Tribes in 2025), the Case for Reparations ($12M+ invested), and the National Truth and Healing initiative — while pursuing sector transformation through speaking at 250+ events and conferences since 2018.

The organization operates with a 1-10 person team under fiscal sponsorship by Amalgamated Charitable Foundation, distributes 100% of net contributions to programmatic grants, and has reportedly influenced ~$1B while distributing $30M since inception. Its go-to-market is community-led and event-driven, anchored by Edgar Villanueva's personal brand as author and public speaker.

Name

Decolonizing Wealth Project

Legal name

Decolonizing Wealth Project

Website

https://decolonizingwealth.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Decolonizing Wealth Project is a Detroit-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2018 by Edgar Villanueva that operates grantmaking funds and proprietary frameworks (7 Steps To Healing, Reparative Philanthropy, Moonshot) to channel donor capital into Black and Indigenous-led reparative initiatives across the U.S.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Reparative Philanthropy Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE)

Keywords

• Reparative philanthropy
• Donor community programs
• Movement-led grantmaking
• Healing-centered philanthropy
• Philanthropy thought leadership

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Others, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Grantmaking & Donations: Primary revenue comes through grants and donations to support the organization's programs and initiatives including Youth Mental Health Fund, Indigenous Earth Fund, California Truth and Healing Fund, and Case for Reparations.
2. Merchandise Sales: Proceeds from shop sales of branded merchandise including HEALER T-Shirts, The Decolonizer T-Shirts, and other items support the organization's mission.
3. Liberated Capital Donor Community: A donor community that unites members in reparative action with exclusive healing experiences and learning opportunities. Membership requires donation and provides access to events and programming.
4. Book Sales: Sales of the 2nd Edition of Decolonizing Wealth book and Spanish translation Descolonizando La Riqueza through Amazon and bookshop.org.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Decolonizing Wealth Project is a nonprofit that operates a platform of reparative philanthropy programs, including proprietary frameworks (Reparative Philanthropy Framework, 7 Steps To Healing, Moonshot), movement-led grantmaking funds, the Liberated Capital donor community, educational publications (Decolonizing Wealth book, Money As Medicine journal), and branded merchandise whose proceeds support the mission.

Product overview

Decolonizing Wealth Project is a philanthropy-focused organization offering a platform of programs, publications, and initiatives centered on reparative philanthropy. The core offerings include Liberated Capital (a donor community), the 7 Steps To Healing framework, and educational publications (Decolonizing Wealth book, Money As Medicine journal). Their initiatives span multiple funds including Youth Mental Health Fund ($20M), Indigenous Earth Fund, California Truth And Healing Fund, California Tribal Land Return, Case For Reparations, and the Moonshot ($1T investment framework). The organization also sells merchandise (HEALER T-Shirt, Decolonizer T-Shirt) to support their mission of transforming wealth into collective wellbeing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Liberated Capital: A donor community that unites members across all backgrounds in reparative action fueling movements centering Black and Indigenous communities. Programming includes exclusive healing experiences and learning opportunities designed to support members' interests and desire to use their wealth for collective wellbeing.
• Reparative Philanthropy Framework
• Moonshot

Products and services

• Liberated Capital Donor Community A donor community uniting members across all backgrounds in reparative action, with exclusive healing experiences, learning opportunities, and programming for members' interests and desire to use wealth for collective wellbeing.
• Decolonizing Wealth (2nd Edition) Book The organization's foundational book by Edgar Villanueva with a new foreword from Bishop William J. Barber II and two entirely new chapters on decolonizing wealth and healing.
• Money As Medicine Guided Journal A guided journal for decolonizing the reader's relationship with money; trademarked creative work sold via the DWP shop.
• Descolonizando La Riqueza (Spanish Edition) Spanish language edition of the Decolonizing Wealth book, expanding access to the framework for Spanish-speaking readers.
• HEALER T-Shirt 100% cotton t-shirt with 'We are all healers' messaging, sold via the DWP shop with proceeds supporting the organization's mission.
• The Decolonizer T-Shirt The original decolonizer t-shirt with 'Starting conversations since 2018' messaging, sold via the DWP shop.
• 7 Steps To Healing Framework & Toolkit A structured healing methodology consisting of seven steps (Grieve, Apologize, Listen, Relate, Represent, Invest, Repair), offered as a downloadable PDF toolkit to support healing-centered engagement with wealth.
• Moonshot Investment Framework A $1 trillion investment framework to unlock reparative giving and healing, positioning DWP as a sector convener for large-scale reparative philanthropy.
• Youth Mental Health Fund A fund supporting culturally-responsive mental health and wellness for youth and young adults across the U.S.; $5.07M in first grants awarded to 34 organizations.
• Indigenous Earth Fund A fund investing in Indigenous leadership in conservation and climate action, distributing $1M annually to elevate and strengthen Indigenous-led protective and regenerative stewardship solutions.
• California Truth And Healing Fund A fund supporting Indigenous-led organizations and Tribes in California with awards that advance truth and healing efforts.
• California Tribal Land Return Initiative An initiative providing support to Tribal entities leading efforts to return traditional lands to their stewardship and protection.
• Case For Reparations Initiative An initiative investing in the U.S. reparations movement, with $12M+ deployed to advance reparative organizing, narrative change, and movement infrastructure.
• National Truth And Healing Initiative An initiative focused on truth and healing efforts at the national level, expanding DWP's grantmaking beyond state-specific funds.
• Reparations Movement Mapping Tool A mapping tool co-developed with FirstRepair to visualize the U.S. reparations movement and help funders, organizers, and the public track reparations activity.
• DWP Reparative Philanthropy Award A trademarked award recognizing organizations that demonstrate reparative philanthropy practices, inaugurated at the 2026 GEO National Conference with Bush Foundation and Weingart Foundation as first recipients.

Quantifiable outcome

• $30M distributed since 2018, ~$1B total amount influenced
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• FirstRepaircoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFirstRepair, founded by Robin Rue Simmons, co-developed with DWP a groundbreaking mapping tool to visualize the U.S. reparations movement.
• COTA CollectiveminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlison Corwin, founder of COTA Collective, partnered with DWP for the Donor Advisor Network Learning Series to explore climate giving through Indigenous sovereignty and land rematriation.
• Bush FoundationcoreOthersRecipient of the inaugural DWP Reparative Philanthropy Award at the 2026 GEO National Conference.
• Weingart FoundationcoreOthersRecipient of the inaugural DWP Reparative Philanthropy Award at the 2026 GEO National Conference.
• Yes! MagazinecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerMedia partnership for the 'Realizing Reparations' series, a collection of stories funded by DWP grants exploring reparations movements.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• NDN Collective: Indigenous-led organization building decolonized wealth, power, and narrative through grantmaking, organizing, and narrative change. Closely comparable to DWP's Indigenous Earth Fund and reparative grantmaking focus, and serves a directly overlapping funder community.
• Borealis Philanthropy: Philanthropic intermediary that funnels resources to racial-justice movements. Directly comparable grantmaking intermediary model focused on moving capital to Black, Indigenous, and other marginalized communities.
• Resource Generation: Organizes young people with wealth to leverage resources for social change. Comparable donor-organizing model aimed at wealthy individuals using capital for collective liberation — a direct adjacency to Liberated Capital.
• Solidaire: Movement-led donor network that mobilizes members to deploy capital toward racial, economic, and climate justice. Directly comparable as a donor community model alongside DWP's Liberated Capital, with overlapping healing- and justice-oriented framing.
• Threshold Foundation: Progressive donor collective that pools and directs member contributions to social-justice movements. Closely mirrors DWP's community-led donor model and reparative giving narrative.

Others

• Amalgamated Charitable Foundation: DWP's fiscal sponsor and a major 501(c)(3) public charity that administers donor-advised funds and fiscally sponsors movement-aligned projects. Directly comparable as the administrative infrastructure underlying DWP's grantmaking.
• Confluence Philanthropy: Philanthropic advisor network advancing values-aligned investing and giving — referenced in DWP's own conference circuit. Comparable as a peer convening philanthropy-sector advisors and donors around mission-aligned capital deployment.

Broad incumbents

• Open Society Foundations: Large global foundation supporting justice, equity, and human rights. Comparable as a broad incumbent funder operating in racial and economic justice — frequently cited alongside DWP-style reparative work.
• Ford Foundation: Large global foundation with significant race, Indigenous, and inequality programming. A broad incumbent operating in the same philanthropic-adjacent space, frequently engaging the same advisor and donor community DWP targets.

Emerging players

• FirstRepair: Reparations-focused organization co-founded by Robin Rue Simmons that partnered with DWP on the Reparations Movement Mapping Tool. Direct peer in the U.S. reparations movement with overlapping leadership circles and funder base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/DecolonizWealth
• Facebookfacebook.com/decolonizingwealth

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Decolonizing Wealth Project