Deadline: 30 September 2019
The Native American Agriculture Fund (NAAF) has announced the 2019 Request for Applications (RFAs) 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
The terms “farmer” and “rancher” should be interpreted in the broadest context possible and are meant to include farmers of all types of food and fiber products and ranchers of all types of livestock.
Farmers and ranchers is also interpreted to mean those engaged in aquaculture. In certain cases, farmers and ranchers can be interpreted to mean those who engage in community based agriculture such as community gardens, hunting and gathering for food production purposes and other means that individuals and communities in Indian Country engage in the process of feeding their communities.
Grant Information
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. Targeted grants do not have a limit to the amount requested.
Eligibility Criteria
- Organizations must be one of four types of eligible entities as identified in the Trust Agreement:
- 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.
- 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 farming and ranching activities, provided, however, that:
- the use of any grant funds by such grant recipient is restricted exclusively to charitable and educational purposes;
- the grant recipient is required to annually provide NAAF with audited financial statements and reports as required by NAAF;
- if the grant recipient is a governmental entity, it is required to provide 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
- if the grant is awarded, the recipient must agree to comply with all expenditure responsibility requirements designed by NAAF.
How to Apply
Interested applicants can apply via given website.
For more information, please visit https://nativeamericanagriculturefund.org/grants/#1564588067348-362ff8a6-40a6