Moonjelly Foundation is a global nonprofit that supports Indigenous stewardship of land, sea, and community health.

We work with Indigenous communities to promote and pioneer new ways of sharing knowledge between communities from different places and cultures.

We also work with Indigenous academics to: co-design science and research to support local leaders, unlock funding, remove institutional barriers, and apply science in ways that support ancestral decision-making.

READ THE MOONJELLY FUNDING DECLARATION

The ocean holds most of the planet’s biodiversity. Indigenous People, while only a small share of the global population, protect much of what remains.

Yet most conservation funding still struggles to support Indigenous communities in ways that enable long-term stewardship.

Moonjelly unlocks the power of knowledge sharing, especially Indigenous knowledge, and academic research to ensure Iocal communities have the tools they need to care for place.

Meet Moonjelly Foundation.

Moonjelly is not a single project or short-term initiative. It is the weaving together of years of trust-based work with Indigenous academics, practioners, and communities - now operating as a coherent, evolving platform.

We work bottom up.

Support … community-defined priorities and Indigenous leadership

Co-design … simplified funding mechanisms

Strengthen … traditional local governance through cross-cultural knowledge exchange

Connect … through peer-to-peer learning between Indigenous communities

Commit … to long-term presence beyond grant cycles

Moonjelly Academy is the living expression of our work - bringing together years of trust-based practice across Indigenous communities in the Pacific.

What began as immersive relationship-building, peer-to-peer knowledge exchange, Indigenous governance circles, applied science, food systems work, and place-based stewardship now functions as one integrated learning and action platform.

The Academy supports communities to:

Share knowledge horizontally and cross-culturally
Use knowledge to strengthen Indigenous governance and decision-making
Apply scientific tools in service of traditional leaders
Care for land, sea, and food systems as living infrastructure
Commit to long-term stewardship of place

Moonjelly Academy focuses its work on building collaborations between Indigenous academics and scholars within its network - between each other, with local communities, and the global scientific world.

We are Moonjelly.

Moonjelly Academy

Redefining Conservation Through Trust

The Moonjelly Navigator Circle & Fund

Indigenous-Guided

Moonjelly works with Indigenous academics and leaders through the Moonjelly Navigator Circle to unlock resources and build knowledge sharing and community among Indigenous knowledge holders.

The Navigator Fund supports this work by directing financial and technical resources in ways defined by Indigenous leaders and knowledge holders.

Read our Declaration and learn more about how Moonjelly is redefining trust-based funding for Indigenous ocean action