Native Youth and Culture Fund Grant

Native Youth and Culture Fund Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: First Nations Development Institute
Amount: US $20,000 - US $60,000
Last Updated: January 15, 2025

Summary

The Native Youth and Culture Fund, initiated by First Nations Development Institute, aims to empower Native youth through two-year grants ranging from $20,000 to $60,000. These funds support programs that foster leadership, cultural preservation, and intergenerational knowledge transfer. Grants will be awarded to initiatives that engage youth in structured activities, mentorship, and the revitalization of traditional practices. This investment reflects a commitment to nurturing future leaders in Native communities, ensuring their cultural heritage is honored and sustained.

Overview

Our Mission Our mission is to uplift and sustain the lifeways and economies of Native communities through advocacy, financial support, and knowledge sharing. We envision a world in which Tribal Sovereignty is upheld, and Native ingenuity and knowledge are honored and respected. Grant Overview First Nations believes that Native youth represent the future of Native communities and that investing in youth and giving them a sense of place and tradition in the community ensures a future of bright and capable leaders. We seek programs that meet youth where they are, support them in accomplishing their goals and dreams as future leaders, and shape pathways that prepare them for an empowered adulthood guided by their cultures and families. In 2002, First Nations launched the Native Youth and Culture Fund (NYCF) to support tribes and Native American-led organizations that work with Native youth through programs that provide learning, leadership building, and intergenerational mentoring. In 2024, through this Fund, two-year grants ranging from $20,000 to $60,000 will be awarded to Native youth programs and projects that focus on increasing youth leadership and providing opportunities for intergenerational transfer of knowledge. 10 to 12 grants of up to $60,000 will be awarded to structured day and/or overnight camp programs that focus on recreational, cultural, educational, language, Native youth leadership and intergenerational mentoring activities. (If you are applying as a camp program you must indicate this within the application.)4 to 8 grants of up to $60,000 will be awarded to programs supporting Native youth by California-based tribes or California tribally controlled non-profit organizations. These grants are made possible through our California Tribal Fund (CTF). The CTF was created to support California-based, California-Native-led nonprofits and tribal programs in controlling and protecting their food systems, water, languages, traditional ecological knowledge, and land.10 to 12 grants of up to $60,000 will be awarded to programs supporting Native youth that demonstrate alignment with one or more of the program priorities (see below). Native Youth and Culture Fund Priorities All proposals must demonstrate their project or program will carry out one or more of the following: Provide structured day or overnight camp activities. Camps are defined as structured day or overnight programs that focus on recreational, cultural, educational, youth leadership, and intergenerational mentoring activities.Focus on preserving, strengthening, or renewing cultural and/or spiritual practices, beliefs, and values of Native youth.Engage youth and elders in activities that demonstrate methods for documenting traditional knowledge systems, practices, and/or beliefs.Increase youth leadership and their capacity to lead through intergenerational educational or mentoring programs.Increase youth access to and sharing of cultural customs and beliefs and traditional Native art forms using appropriate technologies (traditional and/or modern), as a means of reviving or preserving tribal language, arts, history, or other culturally relevant topics.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Type of Eligible Entities:Tribes, Native-controlled nonprofits, and Native-controlled community organizations using a fiscal sponsor, located in the United States or U.S. territories are eligible to apply. First Nations considers “Native-controlled” to mean that the majority (51% or more) of the organization’s Board of Directors is tribally affiliated.Types of eligible applicants include, but are not limited to:Federal- and State-Recognized Tribal Governments and DepartmentsNative-controlled 501(c)(3) nonprofitsNative-controlled community organizations with fiscal sponsorshipNative §7871 OrganizationsUse of Grant Funds:Funds may be used for programmatic, administrative, and organizational capacity-building activities that support Native youth programs. Matching funds are not required under this grant.Examples of include, but are not limited to:Staff salariesCurriculum developmentHonorariaStrengthening technological and informational systemsFood purchasesMaterialsProgram evaluation

Ineligibility

First Nations does not currently provide funding for individuals, public schools or organizations serving American Indians that are not Native-controlled or tribally-operated. Furthermore, urban groups that serve only off-reservation tribal members are unlikely to be funded outside of specifically-targeted opportunities.Organizations located and/or serving communities outside of the United States or U.S. Territories are not eligible to apply.