This Giving Tuesday - Support Rising Hearts!
Hello Everyone!
It’s a long read, but hopefully you’ll learn more about what we do that we enjoy so much! This #GivingTuesday, please consider donating to Rising Hearts! Support the heart work, the growth and expansion of this organization. Rising Hearts was founded in 2016, inspired by the Native Youth from Standing Rock who ran to DC to oppose the Dakota Access Pipeline and the fight to protect what is sacred. The heart work is rooted in grassroots efforts, cultivating community, increase awareness, and all proceeds are distributed to all programming and compensating the voices we work with. We are a team of 2 - Jordan Marie Brings Three White Horses Whetstone, founder and organizer, and a part time Programs Coordinator. The programs and opportunities to give back to relatives and communities remains the most important objective and will always remain the center. We are so excited for 2026, which may be our last year in what we do. Help us continue the heart work!
END OF YEAR GOAL: We hope to raise another $10,000 to put towards compensation for our Programs Coordinator position, travel / lodging stipends, and gear for our community.
2025 Recap Highlights - What have we been part of:
+ 5 Wander Project x Rising Hearts charity runners
+ 41 Rising Hearts charity runners at various races / personal runs
+ 2 Boston Marathon Indigenous runners along with 3 other runners we were able to support and a big community event we organized with On! And spoke on a panel with the BAA.
+ ‘25 GU Energy Labs x Rising Hearts Western States Endurance Run 100 Athlete Advocate (Scott Flatlip) - hosted 1 panel (Kinship Building)
+ ‘25 TrailCon - we tabled and hosted a panel - Kinship Building.
+ Run In Beauty went from post production to a private premiere with On at the U.S. office in Portland, OR on November 18th.
+ March: 4th Annual Running On Native Lands virtual/in person run/walk
+ April: 3rd Annual Earth Day 5k
+ May: 7th Annual Running For Justice run/walk for May 5th National Day of Awareness and Action for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Peoples and the RH founder, Jordan, ran the Marathon For Justice to help bring more visibility.
+ 19 Athlete Advocates receiving support to run at their selected races!
+ 11 community partners have received donated shoes and gear from our partner, On Running
+ 4 workshop/film screenings of Know To Run: Yatika (the film has been selected and screening in 10 film festivals)
+ Running With Purpose book is underway with fellow RWP Athlete Advocates Susie Stephen and graphics artist, Nicol Hodges!
+ 11 panel discussion opportunities for Rising Hearts
+ 2025 The Running Event in San Antonio, TX - will host our own panel on December 3rd (and most popularly requested now), Kinship Building with amazing voices!
+ 9 grants submitted - 1 awarded
+ Continued kinship with On Running as Right To Run long term grantee
+ 2025 NYC Marathon and partnership with NYRR - 2 Indigenous runners ran and represented Rising Hearts and nearly fundraised $5,000!
+ 2025 Every Woman’s Marathon - we sent 13 runners and all crossed the finish line! Currently raising $10,000 until 12/15/25 for end of year goal!
+ Monthly Mini-fundraisers, ranging from $150 - $550 per month.
+ 2025 Trail Running Film Festival in Harrisonburg VA with Rising Hearts x Shenandoah Valley Bicycle Coalition at Sage Bird, where over 50 attended, local organizations tabled, and a panel that included voices from Prolyfyck Run Crew and Rising Hearts! Also included a weekend of movement with a plogging run/walk before the screening, and a trail run/walk the next morning!
+ 2025 Earth Day plogging run/walk with Shenandoah Valley Bicycle Coalition
+ October: Join Prolyfyck Run Crew for their Monday Mile-ish Runs and pizza party!
2026 Wishlist List:
+ Submit 10 applications and hope we get 5!
+ Looking for sponsorships of our events / runners - please reach out for partnerships / sponsorships!
+ Fund the founder’s position for at least part-time work since the amount of work has increased
+ Create 1 more film - fully funded
+ Create commercial / storytelling opportunities with brands featuring community!
+ Increase representation of Indigenous runners, Charity Runners, and our Running With Purpose Athlete Advocates at more races and events to be part of
+ Send 2 Athletes to the Boston Marathon
+ Send 2 Athletes to the NYC Marathon
+ Send 20 Athletes to the Every Woman’s Marathon
+ 2026 The Running Event in San Antonio, TX - we are seeking sponsorships to send 10 of our athlete advocates to join, RH booth, and host our Kinship Building workshop/panel
+ Host a local running retreat for our Running With Purpose Athlete Advocates in the Fall ‘26
+ Host local running retreat with 2025 Every Woman’s Marathon runner’s in Spring ’26
+ Organize our virtual/in person run/walk/movement events!
+ 10 Charity Bib runners for Rising Hearts with our partner, The Wander Project (see below for more information on how to become one!)
+ 35 charity runners for Rising Hearts for any race of their choosing / dedicating their race to Rising Hearts as a fundraiser with our RH Charity runner GiveLively link that any runner / athlete can use to raise funds for by creating own account - Each runner will receive a Rising Hearts singlet, GUdies, and if needed, free pair of shoes!
RISING HEARTS:
We are an Indigenous led organization, elevating community voices through meaningful kinship, movement, advocacy and storytelling.
We empower communities by fostering intersectional collaboration, promoting cultural resilience, joy and creating meaningful change for the next generations. Through our programs, we inspire collective action, elevate Indigenous and community centered narratives, creating safe and supportive spaces, continuously learn and show up how we can, and mobilize support for those in need.
Much of the heart work we prioritize is cultivating kinship with brands, companies and groups, while creating meaningful collaborations with the Rising Hearts athletes, community partners and broader movement community.
Our Programs:
Running On Native Lands Initiative
Running With Purpose Athlete Advocates
Rising Hearts Stories | Filmmaking
Virtual Movement Events | Race Organizing
Charity Runners for Rising Hearts
Workshops / Panels and DEI Consultations
Learn more about our programs we have and what we consult on and collaborate on. We’ve received a few small grants to support our work for which allows us to compensate our teachers and voices we amplify through our programming and supporting our Athlete Advocates.
Please scroll through to see the impact we’ve made and the communities we are honored to be part of in doing this work. It’s connected us to incredible humans that we are grateful to know and learn from.
Donate via link www.risinghearts.org/donate to donate and support! Wopila tanka, many thanks!
- Rising Hearts
RISING HEARTS MERCH
Many have asked - we now have Rising Hearts singlets, RH Crops, and Truthsgiving Shirts! More to come for 2026!
OUR PROGRAMS
The Running on Native Lands Initiative helps support the running and outdoor industry bringing land acknowledgements and land blessings to their events and work they do through DEI consultations to improve their commitments and add more, help connect race directors and brands / companies, with local Indigenous voices and group in the community to help show that Indigenous Peoples are still here, regardless if the community is rural or urban, reservation or not. This program has helped bring more Indigenous runners to the start line, something that we are so proud of and honored to be able to help and hopefully can continue!
Our work helps to increase Indigenous visibility in the running community through Indigenous participation in their races and events. Through this process over the last couple of years, this has led to brand visibility, brand sponsorships and ambassadorships, grant support, travel/lodging support and more.
Our mission through this initiative is to foster better, more meaningful and reciprocal kinships, call for accountability, and help support Indigenous communities/groups where races/events are being organized on, all while growing a deeper connection with the lands and with community.
We currently have 12 partners who have joined this effort! And with more funding support, we can take on more partnerships with being able to compensate 2 staff (1 PTE paid, 1 FTE unpaid).
3 Year Kinship with GU Energy Labs:
Our kinship with GU Energy Labs will come to an end this year, but will still have support from GU moving forward, the next GU Gives Recipient will be the Running Industry Diversity Coalition and we can’t wait for it!
Year 4 at Western States:
Through our kinship with GU Energy Labs, we are excited to have entries to gift to an Indigenous runner to participate in this prestigious and exclusive event. It’s the oldest 100 miler in the world, ad while it has it’s own elite status, it is an exclusive, expensive, inaccessible, and in affordable event for so many who may want to do this run that traverses the Wasiw + Nisenan Lands. Since 2022, we have co-sponsored Yatika Starr Fields, Callie Vinson, Alexandria Staten and in 2025, we supported Scott Flatlip and he crossed that finish line!
3 films made by Rising Hearts to spotlight amazing humans, but also show the impact community groups can make, big or small, at events like this. With our newest short film with On, RUN IN BEAUTY, featuring Alexandria Staten, premiered in November 2025 with more public screenings to come in 2026.
Running With Purpose Collective was founded in June 2021! It was created to bring like minded runners and movement leaders whose intersection of movement and advocacy brought us together. This Collective is here to continue uplifting the intersection of running/movement and advocacy. Supporting 34 athlete advocates from across the lands. All focused on racial, social, climate justice and kinship. We are hoping to help transform the running and outdoor industry and community to be more supportive, inclusive, accessible, respectful, safe and diverse. With our connections across the industry, we hope to share the heart work each person is doing but also, our extended community friends and organizations!
Through multiple partnerships and grant opportunities, we have helped our athletes, runners, run clubs and community organizations with access to races, workshops, retreats, product, shoes, and travel / lodging stipends to support their journey!
3 Athlete Advocates have been featured in our RWP series with ACTIIVST, you can watch via our RH Stories page on the website. Several have had their voices heard on multiple podcast opportunities! For each monthly and mid-month newsletter we put out with Rising Hearts updates, we try to elevate their own local efforts, events, and run reflections that they have been part of. We have helped support them on their London Marathon, Toronto Marathon, DC Half, She Is Beautiful 5k/10k, Cocodona 250, Javelina Jundred, Boston Marathon, New York City Marathon and more with travel support. And several have received financial scholarships for their specific run or event they wanted to participate in through our partnership with On - Right To Run (we are a founding grantee member since June 2022 and still going!).
We heavily advocate for meaningful kinship founded on reciprocity and beyond a one time opportunity or donation, it needs to be sustainable.
Representation absolutely matters! We want to help amplify so many inspiring voices that are putting in the heart work to inspire + make change happen in their community.
We've helped with the impact campaign for Run To Be Visible featuring Dr. Lydia Jennings and co-directed / produced by Rising Hearts founder, Jordan Whetstone, and story produced the running with purpose series with our partner, ACTIIVST, and use the co-directing + producing skills of RH founder, to continue connecting + amplifying.
Narrative Shift, a new production company co-founded by Jordan with her partner Devin and friend, Bonnie, about to publicly launch early 2026, has one project in that just privately premiered with On (our friends and client) in November 2025 at the U.S. On location in Portland, OR. We are hoping to get a calendar of public screenings starting in January 2026.
Next short film to publicly premiere soon: Run in Beauty: Alexandria Staten (www.risinghearts.org/runinbeauty)
We've helped raise over $450,000 through our virtual runs from 6/2020 - 12/2025.
Our last one of the year, 6th Annual Truthsgiving 4 and 2 mile run/walk/bike/move event just concluded on 11/30 - with all registration fees and donations, donated to the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and to the Wabanaki Public Health and Wellness organization.
We've organized 47 runs so far ! With the help of our partner, Elitefeats, we’ve donated to: Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women, NIWRC, Sovereign Bodies Institute, Kola Thompson, June Left Hand, IIYC-LA, Wings of America, Urban Indigenous Collective, Seeding Sovereignty, Unity Runners/Run for Breonna, Kul Wicasa Wopasi, Cheyenne River Youth Project, Lakota Youth Development, Running Into Culture, Native Women's Society, Stop Line 3, Wambli Ska, Indian Residential School Survivors Fund, Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, Friends of Puvungna, NDN collective, Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, ReNew Earth Running, Daryl Murphy/Miles For Justice, Justice for Chapin Abajo, Wabanaki Public Health & Wellness, The Navajo (Diné) Oasis Project, 2 Hot 4 Hoodies, California Heritage: Indigenous Research Project, Native Wellness Institute, Āina Momona, Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic, Native Land Digital, and several more in smaller donations.
We’ve held 9 panels this year with our partners or virtually, 18 in person run/walks organized by our athlete advocates, friends, or new friends who reached out wanting to support locally by bringing people together! We are so excited that this is happening and growing.
CHARITY BIB OPTION 1:
We’ve partnered with The Wander Project for our 3rd year (about to enter Year 4) to give you a fun way to support our heart work and for us to support you in amplification of your fundraising efforts! Raising money for a cause has never been easier. For 2025, we had 4 runners through this partnership, with $12,000 raised for Rising Hearts! Every runner’s fundraising minimum ranged from $1,000 to $5,000 (Cocodona 250). All meeting their goals!
For 2026, we hope to find 10 charity bib runners, so please reach out!
In 2025, we’ve had 5 amazing runners become Charity Bib runners and we hope to bring more for 2026! So far, we have 1 confirmed!
If there is another race you’d like to participate in that’s not on this original list, you can still sign up for a charity bib and select Rising Hearts!
https://www.wanderproject.org/event-partners/
WANT TO RACE FOR RISING HEARTS - SEE LINK BELOW TO SELECT!
Not seeing a race you want to run in this list? Check out all of the Wander Project events and choose the “Your Choice” option. They will reach out to learn more about your charity of choice and once you let them know that you’ll be running for Rising Hearts, they will make sure your funds come to support our mission!”
Athletes who want to support Rising Hearts for a race that is not listed, can sign up for any of the events on The Wander Project calendar: https://www.wanderproject.org/event-partners/ and pick 'Your Choice' for charity and then fill out the form to indicate they want to support Rising Hearts: (FAQ page here: https://www.wanderproject.org/athletes/frequently-asked-questions/)
CHARITY BIB OPTION 2:
Dedicate any race you have signed up for to Rising Hearts. If you want to register for one, we can reimburse your fee! Donation page is through GiveLively where you can create you own account to fundraise. Through this new option, we have 35 (with about 15 current) runners dedicating their run / race to Rising Hearts! And we have 2 California International Marathon runners as well, about to run this coming weekend. We are projected to get close to our goal of $36,000 raised through just this program for 2025!
Suggested fundraising limits:
RH Athletes / Community = $500
Non RH Athletes = minimum $800
Perks: RH Singlet, merch, stickers, fuel, and if shoes are needed, we can help you! Reach out to Rising Hearts at info@rising-hearts.org to learn more and dedicate your run! And no penalties for not reaching your goal!
Just before the start!
What a weekend we had at the Every Woman’s Marathon!!! All 13 Rising Hearts runners crossed the finish line. Congratulations to ALL OF OUR RUNNERS!!! You did it. We did this as a team. Thank you for being part of this!!! And what a powerful and meaningful start to include Marlinda Bedonie’s voice, to give the land acknowledgement at the start line!
It’s only been a week, but already having FOMO! To Team Rising Hearts, enjoy the marathon shuffle, resting, hydrate, maybe even dreaming of what’s next. You can bet that we will be back for the 2026! Much love to all our runners, their families and community that supported them along the way and coming out to support on the course!
Big thanks to Lex Saenz, Devin Whetstone and Ariel Richer - our Rising Hearts team for supporting all the runners, getting them fueled, and bringing the energy! Thank you to all of our sponsors for supporting us!! Thanks to everyone at Mile 12 - Rising Hearts Cheer Zone and Indigenous Enterprise for performing for all the runners!!!!
FUNDRAISER:
We are over half way to our $10,000 goal for Rising Hearts, our last big fundraiser for the year! And we have until 12/15/25 to reach it. 127 donors so far, thank you so much! We have $6,386 raised so far. So if you can donate, please do! If not, please share! Have your employer match your donation!
We can’t express our appreciation and gratitude to all the donors and friends we have made within the running and outdoor spaces who are supporting us in this effort! We want to shout out to the organizers of the Every Woman’s Marathon for collaborating with us, gifting entries, and to rabbit, for also gifting entries to our team as well! We wish we could bring more, and we hope to do even more for 2026. We have many more friends and sponsors who have all chipped in to support our training and journey to get to the start line together. Wopila tanka, many thanks!!!
Read every runner’s reflection of this experience! www.risinghearts.org/blog/25ewm-reflections
