Native American Agriculture Fund
The Native American Agriculture Fund invites applications to its 2024 grant program. The fund provides support consistent with its trust agreement to advance business assistance, agricultural education, technical support, and advocacy services for Native American producers and communities. Funding is offered across entity types with both general and special focus areas. Pools include support for nonprofit organizations, educational organizations, community development financial institutions, and tribal governments and instrumentalities. Special focus areas emphasize climate and regenerative agricultural practices and, for CDFIs, additional CDFI and Native CDFI support. Youth programming is available to all eligible entity types. Funds may support projects of 12 or 24 months and may be used for project support, general support, scholarships, re grants, lending programs, or capital expenditures. Stated pools and request ranges include, among others, 1,000,000 dollars for nonprofit general and special focus with requests between 100,000 and 200,000 dollars, 500,000 dollars for educational organizations with requests between 75,000 and 150,000 dollars, 4,500,000 dollars for CDFIs with no fixed request limits, and 1,000,000 dollars for youth programming with requests from 20,000 to 200,000 dollars. Eligible applicants include 501(c)(3) organizations, educational organizations described in Section 170(b)(1)(A)(ii), community development financial institutions including certified and emerging Native CDFIs that are 501(c)(3), and instrumentalities of federally recognized tribes meeting the fund’s charitable and reporting requirements including limited waivers as applicable. The program aligns with the trust agreement’s definitions and restrictions. Applications are due May 1, 2024. Typical award sizes for some pools range from 100,000 to 500,000 dollars depending on entity type and focus. Additional information and official details are provided by the Native American Agriculture Fund.
Award Range
$100,000 - $200,000
Total Program Funding
$10,000,000
Number of Awards
Not specified
Matching Requirement
No
Eligible Applicants
Additional Requirements
Nonprofit organizations with IRS Section 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status, or if such status has not yet been achieved, such organizations may apply for funding through a Fiscal Sponsor that has received such 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status; Educational organizations described in Section 170(b)(1)(A)(ii) of the Internal Revenue Code; Tribally controlled or Bureau operated schools, as well as schools operated by an Indian Tribe or Tribal organization, align with the language in Section 170 of the Internal Revenue Code, qualifying them as eligible educational institutions for the Native American Agriculture Funds (NAAF) grant. This eligibility stems from their adherence to the definition outlined in Section 170(b)(1)(A)(ii). As per this section, educational organizations are primarily engaged in formal instruction, maintain regular faculty and curriculum, and have a consistently enrolled body of students attending their educational activities. Tribally controlled or Bureau operated schools, granted under the Tribally Controlled Schools Act or deemed eligible by section 5205, fall within this category. Similarly, schools operated by Indian Tribes or Tribal organizations that enroll K-12 students, including pre-school, also meet these eligibility criteria. By fulfilling these requirements, both types of tribal schools align with the definition provided in the Internal Revenue Code, making them eligible for the NAAF grant as recognized educational institutions. Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), including Certified Native CDFIs and Emerging Native CDFIs, provided however that such CDFI is a tax-exempt organization described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code; and An instrumentality of a state or federally recognized Tribe, including a non-profit organization chartered under the Tribal law of a state or federally recognized Tribe, that furnishes assistance designed to further Native American farming or ranching activities, provided, however, that 1) the use of any grant funds by such grant recipient shall be restricted exclusively to charitable and educational purposes; 2) the grant recipient shall annually provide NAAF with audited financial statements and reports as required by NAAF; 3) if the grant recipient is a governmental entity, it shall agree to a limited waiver of sovereign immunity with respect to NAAF’s right to enforce the terms of the grant (i.e., the amount of funding awarded); and 4) if the grant recipient agrees to comply with all expenditure responsibility requirements designed by NAAF.
Geographic Eligibility
All
Application Opens
April 15, 2024
Application Closes
May 1, 2024
Grantor
Native American Agriculture Fund (NAAF)
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