Fourth Quarter Grants 2019

The Northwest Area Foundation approved 97 grants worth $4,800,190 in the fourth quarter of 2019.

Funding touched on work being done in each of our four interlocking portfolios, with a special focus on grants promoting access to capital for underserved communities in our region. Funding also supported work related to general projects that are not designated to a specific portfolio.

Our grants support organizations anchored in the culture of the people they serve across our region of eight states and 76 Native nations. Our grantees are dedicated to expanding economic opportunity in under-resourced communities by advancing good jobs and financial capability. They build on the untapped potential within our priority communities: Native Americans, communities of color, immigrants and refugees, and people in rural areas.

We include grants of $10,000 or more below. For information on grants of less than $10,000, please visit our grants database.

Grants to Provide Access to Capital

The Lakota Fund Inc. of Kyle, SD will receive $250,000 over two years to develop financial products, customized training, and technical assistance for Native ranchers on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge and Rosebud Reservations.
Grant term: Dec. 1, 2019 – Nov. 30, 2021

National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders of Washington, DC, received $250,000 to support its continued efforts to build the capacity of Latino- and immigrant-serving organizations to engage in federal, state, and local policy advocacy.
Grant term: Nov. 1, 2019 – Dec. 31, 2020

Nimiipuu Community Development Fund of Lapwai, ID, will receive $250,000 over two years to support its growth—through product research and development, borrower technical assistance, lending capital, and organizational capacity.
Grant term: Nov. 1, 2019 – Oct. 31, 2021

Northside Economic Opportunity Network of Minneapolis will receive $200,000 over two years to support expansion of its technical assistance to entrepreneurs and its incubator program, as well as implementation of anti-displacement strategies.
Grant term: Nov. 1, 2019 – Oct. 31, 2021

Peoples Partners for Community Development of Ashland, MT, will receive $250,000 over two years to develop an asset-building structure through a financial savings and loan system that will provide access to capital for businesses and community members of Montana’s Northern Cheyenne Reservation.
Grant term: Dec. 1, 2019 – Nov. 30, 2021

Propel Nonprofits of Minneapolis received $75,000 for research, design, and testing to create a culturally grounded organizational assessment for community development financial institutions funded under our Foundation’s Inclusive Enterprise Development and Capital Access initiative.
Grant term: Dec. 1, 2019 – Aug. 31, 2020

Grants to Support Enterprise Development

Dream of Wild Health of Minneapolis will receive $200,000 over two years to support its efforts to create and scale a promising Native food economy network of suppliers and consumers.
Grant term: Nov. 1, 2019 – Oct. 31, 2021

HomeSight of Seattle will receive $300,000 over two years to plan and develop a new Opportunity Center, slated to open in 2023.
Grant term: Oct. 1, 2019 – Sept. 30, 2021

Local Initiatives Support Corporation of Duluth, MN, received $100,000 for a new collaboration among Duluth-based nonprofits that support entrepreneurs of color and provide workforce training.
Grant term: Nov. 1, 2019 – Oct. 31, 2020

Grants to Promote Financial Inclusion

African American Leadership Forum of Minneapolis will receive $150,000 over two years to support its efforts to build collective impact in economic development, which includes continuation of the African American Financial Capability Initiative community of practice (CoP).
Grant term: Dec. 1, 2019 – Nov. 30, 2021

Interim Community Development Association of Seattle will receive $199,904 over two years to expand its economic empowerment and financial literacy programming to serve more families in Seattle’s Chinatown International District and the Rainier Valley.
Grant term: Dec. 1, 2019 – Nov. 30, 2021

National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development of Oakland, CA, will receive $200,000 over two years to support Empowerment Economics, a culturally responsive approach to building wealth and power for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, and other communities of color.
Grant term: Nov. 1, 2019 – Oct. 31, 2021

Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse Reservation of Agency Village, SD, will receive $211,043 over two years to support culturally grounded financial education for Native youth and adults living on the Lake Traverse Reservation.
Grant term: Nov. 1, 2019 – Oct. 31, 2021

Ujamaa Place of St. Paul, MN, will receive $250,000 over two years to support continued leadership of a community of practice (CoP) to advance asset-building policies and fill gaps in asset-development services for low-income African Americans.
Grant term: Oct. 1, 2019 – Sept. 30, 2021

Grants to Expand Work Opportunity

Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians Economic Development Corporation (ATNI-EDC) of Portland, OR, received $70,000 to support participation in our Vibrant Tribal Economies (VTE) initiative and promote economic development work with ATNI member tribes.
Grant term: Dec. 1, 2019 – Nov. 30, 2020

American Indian Science and Engineering Society of Albuquerque, NM, will receive $150,000 over two years to develop and disseminate a college and career readiness toolkit for Native high school students interested in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields.
Grant term: Nov. 1, 2019 – Oct. 31, 2021

Boys & Girls Clubs of America of Atlanta will receive $400,000 over two years to expand career and college exploration programming in Native Clubs within our region.
Grant term: Nov. 1, 2019 – Oct. 31, 2021

Northwest Indian Community Development Center of Bemidji, MN, received $75,000 to finalize and document the Anishinaabe narrative of workforce and community development.
Grant term: Nov. 1, 2019 – Oct. 31, 2020

Plenty Doors Community Development Corporation of Crow Agency, MT, received $60,000 to support participation in our Vibrant Tribal Economies (VTE) initiative and promote economic growth.
Grant term: Dec. 1, 2019 – Nov. 30, 2020

Rosebud Economic Development Corporation of Mission, SD, received $75,000 to support participation in our Vibrant Tribal Economies (VTE) initiative, as well as ongoing economic development efforts under its Three Sisters Strategy and Seven Generations Plan.
Grant term: Nov. 1, 2019 – Oct. 31, 2020

Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa of Tama, IA, received $75,900 to support workforce and economic development planning efforts.
Grant term: Nov. 1, 2019 – Oct. 31, 2020

General Grants

When we fund projects that help organizations and communities in ways that aren’t specifically associated with one of our four interlocking portfolios, we include those grants in the “General” category. General grants of $10,000 or more are listed below. For information on general grants of less than $10,000, please visit our grants database.

Idaho Community Foundation of Boise, ID, received $75,000 to support 2020 Census education and outreach in Idaho’s hard-to-count populations.
Grant term: Oct. 1, 2019 – Sept. 30, 2020

Indigenous Peoples Task Force of Minneapolis will receive $175,000 over two years to support efforts to grow its programming base in response to rising service demand and widening disparities experienced by the Native American community in the Twin Cities area.
Grant term: Nov. 1, 2019 – Oct. 31, 2021

Minneapolis American Indian Center of Minneapolis will receive $175,000 over two years to strengthen programming and assist with its current expansion efforts.
Grant term: Nov. 1, 2019 – Oct. 31, 2021

Minnesota Council on Foundations of Minneapolis received $75,000 to support 2020 Census organizing in Minnesota’s historically undercounted communities.
Grant term: Dec. 1, 2019 – Nov. 30, 2020

Native American Development Corporation of Billings, MT, received $60,000 to support 2020 Census outreach and education in Montana’s Native communities, including subgrants to Tribal Complete Count Committees and urban Indian centers.
Grant term: Oct. 1, 2019 – July 31, 2020

Philanthropy Northwest of Seattle received $125,000, which it will pool with funds from Washington-based philanthropies to support education, outreach, and mobilization efforts of community-based organizations to ensure everyone is counted in the 2020 Census, including Native communities.
Grant term: Oct. 1, 2019 – June 30, 2020

South Dakota Native Homeownership Coalition of Kyle, SD, will receive $200,000 over two years to continue relationship-building efforts with tribal leaders and reservation stakeholders by: providing education and convening, strengthening homebuyer education, building a pipeline of housing construction and inspection specialists, and changing its overall sustainability model into a 501(c)(3) structure.
Grant term: July 1, 2019 – June 30, 2021

Winrock International Institute for Agricultural Development of Little Rock, AR, received $60,000 to support an eight-month research and development process, conducted by its Wallace Center. Results will help our Foundation learn about organizations using food systems as economic development strategies for our priority communities.
Grant term: Nov. 1, 2019 – June 30, 2020

Sponsorships

Sponsorships support opportunities for grantees to participate in activities that advance their learning, build relationships, exchange ideas and resources, and collaborate in unexpected ways. When sponsorships of $10,000 or more are awarded, we list them here (however, no sponsorships of this size were awarded during the fourth quarter of 2019). For information on sponsorships of less than $10,000, please visit our grants database.