“Vision is an invisible field that binds us together, emerging from relationships and chaos and information.”
-Margaret Wheatley, Leadership and the New Science
Who We Are
Emergence was founded by Liz Welch to shift power and resources to community-driven organizations.
Over the last decade, she has raised more than $100 million for Indigenous-led organizations across the country, advancing their work in culturally-grounded education, food sovereignty, economic development, and more. Through founding Emergence LLC, she has partnered with over 40 Indigenous led organizations to advance their missions through strategic advancement and fundraising, operations and infrastructure creation, and leadership development.
While continuing to guide Emergence’s work, she also serves as Director of Advancement at NDN Collective, the largest Indigenous-led fund in existence, creating systems, tools, and resources needed to impact communities and build Indigenous power.
Liz’s passion is helping leaders and organizations have the resources and infrastructure needed to confront unjust systems and accelerate community change. Liz is also a mother of two boys which continues to be a central component of how Liz sees her work in building a more just world.
“It’s been an honor working alongside Liz all these years. She’s dedicated to supporting directly impacted people to navigate through the complicated non-profit, philanthropic and fundraising landscape in order to create lasting impact on society and the world.
She’s always looking at changing systems so they are more just and equitable. Her work centers the leadership of Indigenous People while providing meaningful fundraising and advancement strategies that further the mission of high impact organizations.”
- Nick Tilsen, Oglala Lakota, Founder & CEO at NDN Collective
Our Guiding Principles
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Chaos is essential to achieving justice and equity.
Social justice demands dismantling systems that have created deep and long-standing inequities, particularly in Black, Indigenous, and communities of color.
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Connections drive community-based change.
All individuals and organizations have a powerful role to play in combating inequality, but it is the critical relationships between community stakeholders--from residents and program leaders to activists and advocates--that will accelerate change and support equity.
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Building resources shifts power to communities.
Self-sustaining organizations, with the knowledge and capacity to raise their own funds and resources, can break down traditional power dynamics and disrupt inequitable systems and structures, leading to stronger, self-sustaining communities.
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Sharing knowledge leads to growth.
Offering information and power freely within the social sector is crucial to driving community change; strong networks diminish competition and allow stakeholders and communities to thrive.
