Grants

Grantmaking Program

Since 2005, Potlatch Fund has re-granted over $5 million in the support of tribes, tribal nonprofits, Native-led nonprofits, Native artists, and Native initiatives in our four-state service areas of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington.

 

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We generally DO NOT Fund:

• Academic institutions, school districts, religious organizations, governmental agencies, or any other organization that may serve Native and Tribal communities but do not meet the criteria of being a Native-led organization.
• Publications, reports, research, workshops, conferences, classes, personal travel, loans, scholarships, litigation or attorney fees.
• Endowment funds or capital campaigns.

 

2022-2023 Native Led Organizing Grant

Potlatch Fund and Social Justice Fund share a grantmaking collaboration that supports Native-led community organizing throughout our overlapping five-state region. Our goal is to continue to work together collaboratively for greater impact, supporting the social justice efforts such as MMIWP, LGBTQIA2S+, Environmental Justice, Indian Child Welfare, Boarding School Healing, Mental Health and Wellness, and Voting Rights. We hope to continue on our path of trust-based, community-based, and collaborative grantmaking and are excited to announce our awardees. SJF and Potlatch Fund granted $300,000 to the following projects and organizations:

• Hipeexnu kii U Nuun Wisiix, Inc
• Return of the Boise Valley People
• Indigenous Idaho Alliance
• Carrying The Message’ MMIP Group
• Western Native Vote
• Center Pole, Inc.
• Indigikitchen
• Montana Missing Indigenous Persons Task Force
• North Central Montana Human Trafficking & MMIP Task Force
• Unspoken Words (native podcast)
• Enshxengiɢnan Wímałba: We are Teaching at the River
• Naknuwithlama Tichamna – Caretakers of the Land
• War Cry Podcast
• Unkitawa – Community Innovations Program
• Native Family Learning Lodge
• Hummingbird Indigenous Family Services
• Salt Fire
• Blackhawk Singers
• MMIP Families
• Nimiipuu Protecting the Environment
• Nimiipuu Ecosystems Restoration, Inc

 

2021 Grant Cycle

2020 Grant Cycle

What is the difference between project support / program support and general operations / general support?
A project, or program, has a specific start and end date together with predetermined outcomes. General operations, or general support, is funding to strengthen the organization’s overall operations and is not tied to a specific project/program.

Resiliency Fund

Applications Closed

To address changing and evolving community needs and the impact of COVID-19, Potlatch Fund is accepting applications for the Resiliency Fund starting June 21, 2021.

The Resiliency Fund will provide support to Native communities for programs and projects that strengthen and support resilient infrastructures and long-term well-being. Includes general operating funds and projects that create hope, social connection, adaption, flexibility and purpose.

There is no application deadline. Instead, grants will be processed and awarded on a rolling basis until funds are exhausted. (All application methods will be available June 21, 2021.) [Learn More]

Healthy Pathways for Native Youth

(This grant program is on hold in lieu of emergency Covid-19 grants. )

Through this initiative, Potlatch Fund will provide grant support to summertime projects that share our vision of investing in Native youth as our current and future leaders. We seek new or existing programs with the important goal of providing Native youth the leadership skills to strengthen their resiliency, cultural identity and awareness, increase positive engagement in their community and promote healthy choices and lifestyles. This initiative will support Native youth in their transformation from childhood to young adulthood by providing resources to their home communities as they equip the youth with cultural knowledge that builds resilience, leadership, health and wellness. [Learn More]

Community Building

(This grant program is on hold in lieu of emergency Covid-19 grants.)

Whether residing on a rural reservation or within a large metropolitan area, nurturing a sense of community is essential to Native people and their identity. We support organizations and community programs that impart values, histories, and knowledge across generations to make our communities stronger and healthier. We are particularly interested in supporting initiatives that address the root causes of social, economic, racial, or environmental issues. We believe that communities inherently have a wealth of knowledge to address their own issues, given adequate resources. The well-being of individuals and community-based organizations are integral to the well-being of a community as a whole. Ideally, this program is envisioned to increase the capacity of individuals, organizations, and communities. Potlatch Fund is open to receiving applications that aim to build awareness around the 2020 Census within Tribal communities. [Learn More]

Native Student Success

(This grant program is on hold in lieu of emergency Covid-19 grants.)

Native students are our community’s most valuable asset as they will become our future leaders who will guide us toward a future of sustainability, sovereignty, and preservation of all Native communities. Potlatch Fund’s vision is that all Native students have access to a meaningful education that provides them with the opportunity to reach their full potential and realize their goals. In addition to the standard markers of educational success, Potlatch Fund believes it is vital that Native Students are well versed in their culture, identity, and Tribal sovereignty. This grant promotes opportunities to empower a student through self-directed learning and educational pathways that increase a broader understanding of their role as Indigenous leaders and capable individual community representatives. [Learn More]

Language Preservation

(This grant program is on hold in lieu of emergency Covid-19 grants.)

In 2017, Potlatch Fund is embarking on a three-year grant strategy to increase the capacity of Language Preservation and Education Fund grantees. It is our desire to fund the development of language transfer systems and we will offer grants that support this goal. Grant support will be offered for community language assessments (2017), development of a strategic plan (2018), and the implementation of the strategy (2019). Successful grantees can apply in subsequent years but are not required to complete all three years. Grantees that did not conduct the Potlatch Fund community language assessment tool in 2017 will be required to submit another current survey as an equivalent. [Learn More]

Native Arts

(This grant program is on hold in lieu of emergency Covid-19 grants.)

Potlatch Fund believes that the arts serve an intrinsic benefit to Native communities. The status of art and the practice of artmaking are tied to a broader social ecosystem that improves the health of our society. Native art has always been integral to every aspect of tribal life. In tribal culture, art is not separate from everyday life, but rather art is the center of tribal life and everyday objects and tools are decorated beautifully with designs that perpetuate tribal identity, culture, and knowledge. [Learn More]