Healthy Pathways for Native Youth Grant
Through this initiative, Potlatch Fund will provide grant support to summertime projects that share our vision of investing in Native youth as our current and future leaders. We seek new or existing programs with the important goal of providing Native youth the leadership skills to strengthen their resiliency, cultural identity and awareness, increase positive engagement in their community and promote healthy choices and lifestyles. This initiative will support Native youth in their transformation from childhood to young adulthood by providing resources to their home communities as they equip the youth with cultural knowledge that builds resilience, leadership, health and wellness.
NOTICE: This grant program is on hold in lieu of emergency Covid-19 grants.
(Go here to learn about Potlatch Fund’s new Resiliency Fund – applications open June 21, 2021.)
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Funding
- Grants will be awarded in amounts up to $10,000.
- This grant cycle is only for project support.
Funding for general operations is NOT available. - Potlatch Fund will provide up to 50% of total project expenses. Example: A grant request of $5,000 must coincide with a project budget of $10,000 or more. Grantees are allowed and encouraged to consider in-kind donations of volunteer time, materials and/or supplies. To estimate the standardized per-hour dollar value of volunteer time that may be reflected in your project budget, please see:
https://www.independentsector.org/volunteer_time - Applicants may only receive funding for one Potlatch Fund grant per calendar year.
- Applicants must be headquartered, and provide services, in: Idaho, Montana, Oregon, or Washington.
Goals
- Provide access to participation in traditional cultural activities to help build leadership skills, knowledge, cultural awareness and engagement within and beyond their community (for example: canoe journeys, rites of passage, connecting with the land and traditional ecological knowledge, and summer culture camps).
- Create strong and positive networks that include Elders, peers, extended family, and community members who are invested in supporting and mentoring Native youth.
- Build youths’ inner resilience and strength to resist drug and alcohol abuse, depression and suicide, and the adverse effects of intergenerational poverty through participation in traditional culture.
- Potlatch Fund’s mission is to expand philanthropy within Tribal Nations and Native Communities in the Northwest by inspiring and building upon the Native tradition of giving. We support organizations that are aligned with our mission. How does the applicant honor the Native tradition of giving, sharing, and reciprocity by giving back to the community?
Successful Applications will Demonstrate
- How the proposed work will provide leadership opportunities for Native youth.
- How the proposed work will use youth engagement in cultural and community activities to increase leadership, cultural awareness and support behavior change regarding healthy lifestyle knowledge and choices.
- How the proposed work will support youth in their successful transition from childhood to young adulthood.
- The applicant’s ability to access resources (e.g., monetary funds from other partners, volunteers, in-kind donations) from other sources.
- The applicant’s ability to carry out the proposed work (e.g., adequate staff and/or volunteers, partnerships, etc.).
Grantees will be requested to collect and provide data related to the
- Amount and types of resources raised to meet the 1:1 match requirement to support this project/program from sources other than Potlatch Fund.
- Number of youth and community members served.
In addition, grantees will be requested to
- Briefly survey youth served to gather quantitative data on youths’ connections to their community, grounding in their Native culture and their development of inner resources that will help them to become healthy adults. (PDF of survey – to be completed by ALL participants at the beginning and end of the project.)
- Collect, and report back on, a self-determined quantitative method of assessing the success of the project/program.
- Tell the story (through videos, photos and/or written narrative) of how you helped Native youth in terms of strengthening cultural identity, and how links to traditional culture helped to develop leadership skills and promote positive and healthy lifestyle choices.
Preview the Final Report
- 2020 Healthy Pathways Final Report [Adobe PDF].
Please note, funding is limited to our service area: Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington.
Potlatch Fund is pleased to support projects and organizations that impart values, histories, and knowledge across generations to make Native communities stronger and healthier. Make a donation in support of this program today!
Read More
Securing the Sustainability of Tribal Journeys [pdf]
List of Grantees
Intertribal Canoe Journey 2005 ~ 2014
Healthy Pathways for Native Youth 2016 ~ 2019
Final Report Requirement
Preparing for the application
Potlatch Fund’s Online Grant Portal
Journey to Successful Fundraising