Strengthening Native American Nonprofits
Through grant support, technical assistance and training, First Nations Development Institute provides Native communities with the tools and resources necessary to create new community-based nonprofit organizations and to strengthen the capacity of existing nonprofits. For more than 30 years, First Nations has supported hundreds of model projects that revitalize Native communities, while integrating social empowerment and economic strategies. An essential component of First Nations nonprofit capacity building strategy is our Leadership, Entrepreneurial, and Apprenticeship Development (LEAD) program that is identifying and training the next generation of Native nonprofit leaders.
Empowering Native American Youth
At First Nations Development Institute, we know that our Native youth represent the future success and well-being of our people and our communities. The Native Youth & Culture Fund makes grants annually to support Native youth and culture programs throughout Native American communities in the U.S. The fund is supported by the Kalliopeia Foundation, along with contributions from other foundation, tribal, corporate and individual supporters.
The Girl Who Married the Moon - A Project from the Alutiiq Community
The Girl Who Married the Moon is a newly released video produced in partnership with the Alutiiq Museum, Kodiak Island Borough School District and First Nations Development Institute. The Alutiiq Museum received a grant from First Nations' Native Youth and Culture Fund program in support of the museum's PatRiitat P'tasqat (Motion Pictures) project to produce a story on a traditional Alutiiq legend. Working with Alutiiq artist, Lena Amason-Berns, students from the Kodiak Island School District created artwork for a short animated film that teaches Alutiiq vocabulary based on The Girl Who Married the Moon story.
Strengthening Native American People One Community at Time
First Nations Development Institute was awarded a two-year grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) - the Strengthening Communities Fund (SCF). Through this project, First Nations is building the capacity of nonprofit organizations at targeted rural and reservation-based Native American communities in the United States to support economic development. The program targets 22 Native American communities located in Arizona, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Utah that have excessive poverty and low income statistics according to the U.S. Census.
Hasbidito - Strengthening the Navajo Nation
Hasbidito is a community derived, managed, and guided nonprofit organization that First Nations supported with a grant through our Strengthening Communities Fund (SCF) program. Hasbidito brings youth-centered programs and strategies together to create culturally, environmentally, and economically sustainable solutions to the eastern Navajo Nation communities of Counselor, Ojo Encino, and Torreon. With SCF funding, Hasbidito worked towards incorporation as a nonprofit organization, created a local volunteer base, and provided gardening classes to help with tribal efforts for sustainable agriculture.
Combating Domestic Violence in Native American Communities
Since 2007, First Nations Development Institute has partnered with the U.S. Department of Justice through its Office on Violence Against Women Tribal Affairs Unit to provide critically-needed technical assistance to build the capacity of the 21 Native American nonprofit tribal domestic violence and sexual assault coalitions in the United States. First Nations provides one-on-one tailored training and technical assistance through in-person site visits to the coalitions, as well as customized training Institutes that provide leadership development, organizational management, program development, and community engagement.
Minnesota Indian Women's Sexual Assault Coalition
The Minnesota Indian Women's Sexual Assault Coalition (MIWSAC) located in St. Paul, Minnesota is one of three state tribal domestic violence and sexual assault coalitions. MIWSAC hosts several programs in areas of education and training, membership and outreach, and public awareness that aim to educate the community on how to identify and stop violence against American Indian women and children. The Barrette Project at MIWSAC honors survivors of sexual violence in a display that anonymously recounts survivors' stories. The MIWSAC has created this platform where the stories of survivors can be heard in a safe way.
Training the Next Generation of Native American Leaders
First Nations Development Institute's LEAD project is an intensive, one-year program that brings Native nonprofit leaders together with young Native professionals identified as having the potential to become the next generation of Native nonprofit leaders. The LEAD program is in its sixth year and is organized by First Nations Development Institute, with funding by a consortium of private foundations and individual supporters.
LEAD Fellow (2010-2011 Oregon Cohort)
Eric Jordan (Grand Ronde)
Eric Jordan is the deputy director for ONABEN - a Native American business network based in Oregon. Previously, Eric was the economic development director for the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation. In this role, he worked on the Pathways to Prosperity Project - an initiative designed to address poverty issues for the urban Native American community in the Seattle area. He also served as the director of small businesses for Colville Tribal Enterprise Corporation, where he had full profit/loss responsibility of Roosevelt Recreational Enterprises, Rainbow Beach Resort, and three grocery stores that generated $10 million in combined gross revenues in 2006.
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