Deadline: 30 September 2019

Applications has been launched for Native America Agriculture Fund to support Native American farmers and ranchers and promote their continued engagement in agriculture.

NAAF was created after conclusion of the lengthy Keepseagle v. Vilsack litigation and was designed for the purpose of addressing four areas important to the success of Native farmers and ranchers: business assistance, agricultural education, technical support and advocacy.

Awards

• The maximum award size depends upon the type of project for which funding is sought. Special Emphasis projects have a maximum allowable award of $75,000 per project.

Eligibility Criteria

• Nonprofit organizations with IRS Section 501c3 tax-exempt status, or if such status has not yet been achieved, such organizations may apply for funding through a Fiscal Agent that has received such 501c3 tax-exempt status;
• Educational institutions described in Section 170(b)(1)(A)(ii) of the Internal Revenue Code; 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;
• 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 the 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 requirement designed by NAAF. The limited waiver of sovereign immunity will not be required in the application, instead applicants can wait until award notifications have been received. The waivers must be submitted prior to award distribution.
• Organizations must have provided and plan to provide business assistance, agricultural education, technical support, or advocacy services to Native farmers and ranchers;
• Organizations must base their work in the United States;
• Organizations must propose projects that will provide assistance designed to further Native farming and ranching activities that will directly benefit Native farmers and ranchers;
• Organizations must use any award made exclusively for charitable and educational purposes described in Section 170(c)(2)(B) of the IRS Code.

How to Apply

Applicants can apply online via given website.

For more information please visit https://nativeamericanagriculturefund.org/grants/