Request for Proposals

Seventh Generation Fund for Indian Development

Apply Now

Request for Proposals

Organizational Sustainability & Leadership Development Promoting capacity-building support for grassroots Native American organizations and Indigenous community endeavors engaged in health, social/human services, and community building in California so they can better access and utilize philanthropic resources to meet critical needs in their communities.

The Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Development is inviting applications for California based, non-profit, Indigenous community projects that are working on health, wellness, human service, community-building and social justice initiatives.

Capacity building grants of $5000 will be awarded to those organizations who demonstrate a need for strategic planning, governance, grant writing, and fund development among other staff training and organizational growth and development needs. Women-led projects and those nurturing intergenerational leadership are encouraged to apply.

Projects must: • Have organizational budget of less than $200,000 • Reside and take place in California • Be a 501c3 or work with a fiscal manager/sponsor • Indigenous community designed & led • Meet all SGF eligibility requirements (see website)

To apply please follow our Grant Application Guidelines (included).

Founded in 1977, Seventh Generation Fund is an Indigenous Peoples’ non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and maintaining the uniqueness of Native peoples and the sovereignty of our distinct Nations through small grants, community organizing support, training and technical assistance, and leadership development to grassroots Indigenous communities.

PO Box 4569, Arcata, CA 95518 www.7genfund.org jk@7genfund.org 1-707-825-7640

Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples / Indian Development Grant Application Guidelines Seventh Generation Fund is an Indigenous identity-based organization dedicated to the self-determination of Native Peoples and the sovereignty of our Nations that mobilizes financial, technical, and informational resources directly to Native communities to empower action.

To apply for grant support, please complete the following: 1. GRANT APPLICATION COVER SHEET 2. PROPOSAL NARRATIVE in 6 pages or less, that includes: • Brief description of your organizational background/history and Mission Statement.

• Needs Statement that describes the critical concern or issue(s) that your project is addressing. Make sure to define the project’s Native constituency/community. You may include demographic information or credible statistics from and about the community such as from the census and other pertinent data related to the issue your project is addressing.

• Program description stating what your organization/project is planning to do in response to the needs or issues in the community. This section should include a brief statement on how the grant funds will be used by the project.

• List of Objectives that are related to and built from the Needs Statement and describes what will be achieved, produced, or changed and include measurable benchmarks and outcomes.

• Activities directly relating to the Objectives and describe in detail the process by which each Objective (and overall work) will be accomplished.

• Timeline. This section provides a clear and realistic picture of how your project will proceed according to a certain timeframe, such as chronologically by month or quarter. It should have a sequentially organized schedule for each activity.

• How the community is directly participating in and engaged with proposed work.

3. BUDGET showing the annual operating costs of your organization within a specific timeframe (such as fiscal year or program year). If you are requesting project specific support, a project budget should be included that clearly itemizes project costs.

4.

Include all items on the Application Checklist.

We do not fund: Individuals, loans, scholarships, personal travel, government institutions, endowment campaigns, litigation, attorney fees or court costs, annual contribution drives, religious conversion, missionary related work, or non-Indigenous entities or institutions.

Proposal deadlines (Postmarked) February 1, May 1, and September 1

Eligibility Requirements & Selection Criteria 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 decisionmakers) 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 $150,000.

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 has the utmost respect for Native Nations, communities, and organizations.

Unfortunately, we cannot fund all the worthy and eligible proposals we receive.

Program Areas Seventh Generation Fund supports projects engaged in community empowerment and organizing endeavors, issue advocacy, cultural revitalization, strengthening Indigenous knowledge and practices, and Native leadership development, in the following program areas: Arts & Cultural Expression: Promoting traditional, contemporary, and media art forms that express creativity, enhance tribal identity and cultural vitality, strengthen intergenerational cultural transmission, and recover tribal languages.

Environmental Health & Justice: Supporting frontline grassroots actions and advocacy for protecting and restoring ecosystems and reinforcing traditional stewardship relationships and practices with the land. This includes community-based efforts to revitalize traditional spiritual practices and life ways and to protect and preserve traditional sacred sites and religious freedom.

Sustainable Communities: Advancing community development and cohesion through food security/sovereignty methods, alternative and renewable energy, grassroots organizing, cultural healing and strategies for well-being that preserve, nurture and restore tribal life ways that advance Native Earth-based knowledge, cultural sustainability, and traditional practices.

Human Rights: Empowering Indigenous Peoples within local, national, and international arenas by building their knowledge base of human rights instruments, gaining experiential skills, and participating in negotiation, advocacy, and international diplomacy.

Intergenerational Leadership Initiative: Promoting and strengthening culturally-relevant, community-based training in leadership that strengthen, uphold, and honor Indigenous (tribal) identities, protocols, learning, sharing and core values, among diverse generations.

Women’s Leadership: Promoting and honoring the leadership role of Indigenous women by supporting femaleinitiated and led projects that advance the concerns and perspectives, and empower and build the capacity of Indigenous women and girls of all ages, in all arenas.

Types of Grants General Support - From $600 to $5,000 per year. An organization may apply for one General Support grant per fiscal year for the following purposes: • General operating costs • Seed funds to assist with establishing an emerging community based organization • Capacity building to help facilitate project specific training, pay for external experts or consultants, or for other organizational development needs Traveling Song Initiative - In amounts of $500 or $1,500 or $2,500 per year (Call office for form) • Travel, accommodations, food costs - Support for Indigenous Peoples’ participation in regional, national, and international meetings, advocacy and skills building opportunities.

Mini-grants – From $50 to $500 per year – A full proposal is not required. Requests require a cover sheet and a 1-2 page letter including a proposed budget and timeframe and can be sent at any time.

Application Checklist Only completed grant applications to the Seventh Generation Fund will be considered for support. A complete grant application package includes the following: √ Cover Sheet √ Proposal Narrative (no more than 6 pages) √ 501c3 – IRS non-profit tax determination letter or management letter from fiscal sponsor √ Financial Information: Operating Budget for current fiscal year (and Project Budget for project-specific request) √ List of other sources of funding – Indicate whether Pending or Approved and amounts √ Leadership information, i.e. list of Board of Directors, indicating Indigenous affiliations √ Staff and volunteer listing, indicating (where appropriate) Indigenous affiliations √ OPTIONAL: Letters of support, news articles, photos, or other materials pertinent to the proposal or to help us better understand your work. (Additional materials will not be returned.)

Send your completed proposal package to: Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples Attn: Proposal Review Committee P.O. Box 4569 Arcata, California 95518 USA Or by email to: contact@7genfund.org (Indicate “Proposal” in the subject line)

Elahkwa – Wok lau – Tlazocamati – Askwali - Mvto – Pilamiya – Salamat Po – Maltiox Yotva - Yupaichani Waddo - Yokoke – Miigwech - Mahsi' - Ahéheé – Tse:deya – Gracias - Thank you

www.7genfund.org

Grant Application Cover Sheet 1. Date of Application: __________________ Grant Request Amount (in US Dollars): $__________ 2. Organization Name: ______________________________________________________________ 3. Project Title: ____________________________________________________________________ 4. Indigenous Nations/Communities: ___________________________________________________ 5. Contact Name & Title: ____________________________________________________________ 6. Address: _______________________________________________________________________ Street City State/Province Zip _____________________________ Country 7. Mailing Address (If different than above): _________________________________________________________________________________Street City State/Province Zip _____________________________ Country 8. Phone: (

) _____________ Fax: (

) _______________ Email:_________________________

9. Type of grant support - please check one: (Call office for Traveling Song Initiative form) £ General Support (up to $5,000) £ Mini-Grant ($500 or less) 10. BUDGET INFORMATION: Total Project Budget: $_________________ Total Organizational Budget: $____________________ 11. Do you have 501(c)3 tax certification as a non-profit? £ Current SGF Affiliate Project £ YES (Attach a copy of the tax certification to your proposal) £ NO If not, who is your project sponsor? (Include copy of tax certification and fiscal management agreement) Sponsoring Organization: ____________________________________________________________ Contact Name & Title: ______________________________________________________________ Mailing Address: ___________________________________________________________________ Phone: (

) __________________ Fax: (

) _________________ Website:__________________