Eligibility Requirements & Selection Criteria

General Support Grants | Mini Grants | Program Criteria

 
Seventh Generation Fund supports Native communities whose goals and objectives closely match one of our Program Areas. To submit a grant please go to the How to Apply page.
 

• Arts and Cultural Expression
• Environmental Health & Justice
• Human Rights
• Intergenerational Leadership
• Sacred Earth
• Sustainable Communities
• Women’s Leadership

General Support Grants: top ↑
Deadlines for submitting a proposal for these grants:
February 1, June 1, October 1
$600 - $5,000 per year

• Assist with establishing an emerging, grassroots Native organization or community
• Cover general operating costs of an existing Native organization
• Help a Native community-based organization accomplish its work
• Facilitate project-specific training, pay for experts/consultants, or provide for other organizational capacity building needs
• Support group participation in regional workshops, national forums and special conferences to help build new skills to benefit the community

Applications must be postmarked no later than the deadline. We will acknowledge receipt of your proposal You will receive written notification of our decision within 6-8 weeks

Mini Grants top ↑
$50 - $500
There are no deadlines. Proposals may be submitted at any time during the year in the form of a one or two-page letter that includes a proposed budget for the project.

Program Criteria top ↑

Seventh Generation Fund supports Indigenous-initiated and led community-based organizations. As threshold requirements, for the purposes of consideration for support from Seventh Generation Fund, an eligible organization is defined as one that:

• Is a Native American / Indigenous Peoples’ initiative or project that accomplishes its work within the community it serves (reservation, reserve, rancheria, rural, urban, etc);
• Is Indigenous / Native led – at a minimum 80% of its board of directors / leadership (policy and decision-makers) are Indigenous Peoples;
• Has a majority Indigenous/Native American individuals on staff who are engaged at all levels of the organization / project, not solely as administrative or support staff;
• Has an annual operating budget of less than $200,000.

Further, this seven-point Selection Criteria provides a minimum standard which Seventh Generation Fund applies to assess grant applications, as follows:
That the Project,

• Emerges from within a Native community. Its purpose, design and implementation strategy originates from the Indigenous Peoples it serves.

• Engenders leadership authority and decision-making activities that are vested directly in the people in whose community the project is centered and who are impacted by the initiative.

• Promotes and enhances the Native language, culture, traditions, values and lifeways of the community constituents.

• Demonstrates the intent to become self-reliant and a commitment to the development of training and technical assistance strategies to increase the group’s capacity for self-reliance.

• Shows a capacity and willingness to carry out its mission in a manner that impacts the largest number of people and broadest segments of their society.

• Strives to incorporate internal capacity building processes within its structure and planning in order to increase the number of skilled people within the community.

• Honors and upholds diversity. Does not promote or perpetuate racism, sexism, oppression nor exploitation of other humans nor of the Natural World.

Seventh Generation Fund Does Not Fund: top ↑

• Individuals
• Non-Indigenous organizations
• Organizations without 501c3 determination or those without a fiscal manager/sponsor
• Political campaigns or direct lobbying
• Scholarships or fellowships
• Fundraising events
• Religious organizations, missionary or proselytizing activities
• Capital improvements

Seventh Generation Fund has the utmost respect for Native Nations, communities, and organizations.
Unfortunately, we cannot fund all the worthy and eligible proposals we receive.