Power of Ceremony & Healing Grant

Status: Closed

What We Seek to Support

We seek to fund Indigenous and First Nations individuals who dedicate their time leading ceremonies in Indigenous communities. Applicants will need to name the house they serve on the application and apply for the one central place where they provide teachings.

We encourage the following to apply:

• Smokehouse Lead Workers/Caretakers

• Longhouse Lead Speakers/Caretakers

• Bundle Keepers

• Song Carriers

• Sundance Leaders

• Sacred Tobacco Ceremony Leaders; and

• Ceremonial Gift Makers: Traditional makers of cedar hats, drums, rattles, regalia, beadwork, caskets, and other traditional items for ceremony purposes.

We intend these funds to be spent on what you need to run the ceremony you lead in your community.  We trust our people who are awarded will use the funds in the way they know best to support their community.

Who Should Apply

Applicants must be located in the greater Northwest region: Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, and British Columbia are eligible for funding under this program.

1. Indigenous Individuals, Alaska Natives or First Nation Individuals with Tribal Affiliation

*For NIF, Indigenous includes anyone who holds tribal affiliation/identifies with Indigenous nations in North, Central, or South America or identifies as Native Hawaiian.

What types of groups are we unable to support?

We are passionate about our beliefs and we want to be sure that the organizations that we support match our ethics.  As a result, our Power of Ceremony grant does not provide grants to:

• Groups that practice or promote racism, sexism, homophobia, or any form of oppression or exploitation of other humans or the natural world

• Promote or support violence, aggression, or oppression or any infringement on other people

• Are not making an effort to be environmentally responsible

• Are connected to political parties, political rallies or otherwise partisan in their work

How do we make decisions?

NIF funding priorities & how proposals are evaluated:

• Applications must be submitted by the Indigenous applicant.
• Incomplete applications will not be considered.
• This grant aims to lift up ceremony leaders who provide healing for their community.
• Preference will be given to leaders passing sacred or traditional teachings to youth.
• Funding aims to support populations with little or no access to financial resources in hard-to-reach places.
• Grantees receiving funds for NIF’s 2023 Green Infrastructure Capacity Building grants are not eligible to apply.

Please understand that applications often exceed available funding. Our goal is to fully fund all applications, but the amount provided is based on the availability of funds and the number of requests under review.

What is our grant making process?

• Apply – Indigenous-only applicants will fill out the application via Submittable before the deadline.
• Review – Once the grant period has ended, the Grants Committee (composed of community members, NIF staff, and board members) will convene to review all applications, select recipients, and award funds.
• Notify – In September 2023 NIF will notify award recipients.
• Follow-up – By September 4, 2024, Please contact Nettie Gould, Grants Manager and share how this grant helped you provide ceremony to your community.

What are the next steps if your application is approved or denied?

The grantmaking committee review of submitted applications will occur September 5-8, 2023, award letters and denials will be sent by mid September 2023. Na’ah Illahee Fund will send checks with award letters via U.S. mail.

Na’ah Illahee Fund & Potlatch Fund appreciates your efforts and the contributions your work adds to your community. Our reporting requirements are not burdensome and we will follow up to find out what impact your efforts have had in your Native community. That is all we ask of you!