REQUEST FOR LETTERS OF INTENT

Native Youth and Culture Fund

January 22, 2009

First Nations Development Institute (First Nations), a national Native nonprofit organization established in 1980 to work with Native peoples, including American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians, is a long-time catalyst for social and economic justice. Our mission is to assist Indigenous peoples to control and develop their assets and, through that control, build the capacity to direct their economic futures in ways that fit their cultures. First Nations funds Tribal programs and Native nonprofits located in or near Indian Country, including Hawaii and Alaska.

First Nations believes that Native youth represent the future of Native communities, and that their health and well being determines the future health and well being of a community, overall. By investing in youth and giving them a sense of place and tradition in the community, a community ensures that it will have bright and capable future leaders.

We are pleased to announce this 2009 request for Letters of Intent (LOIs) for projects that focus on youth, and incorporate culture and tradition to address social issues such as drug and alcohol abuse, teen pregnancy, mental health or other social issues. Specifically, we are seeking projects that focus on one or more of these four priority areas:

• Preserving, strengthening or renewing cultural and/or spiritual practices, beliefs and values.
• Engaging both youth and elders in activities that demonstrate methods for documenting traditional knowledge, practices, and/or beliefs, where culturally appropriate.
• Increasing youth leadership and their capacity to lead through integrated educational or mentoring programs.
• Increasing access to and sharing of cultural customs and beliefs through the use of appropriate technologies (traditional and/or modern), as a means of reviving or preserving tribal language, arts, history, or other culturally relevant topic.

First Nations expects to award approximately 20 grants. Some projects may have previously received funding through the Native Youth and Culture Fund (NYCF), and are seeking additional support to expand the original project, with a view toward sustainability. First Nations would prefer to review projects of no longer than one year in length, and with budgets between $5,000 and $20,000. Only in exceptional cases, will we consider projects that do not fit these guidelines.

Submission Requirements

Those interested in applying for this grant must send us a completed Cover Sheet (click here) and a Letter of Intent (LOI) by 5 p.m. Mountain Time on February 27, 2009.The LOI should not exceed 6 pages, double-spaced. The LOI should include 5 sections: 1) a brief history of the organization, its mission and primary programmatic focus; 2) a concise description of the project and who it will serve, 3) three to four specific and measurable objectives to be accomplished during the project year; 4) a discussion of how the project will be evaluated; 5) a summary of the anticipated project outcomes; and 6) a budget for the proposed project.

NOTE: Each applicant will be required to allocate and set aside $1,000 of its proposed requested funds for attendance at a mandatory technical assistance and training event to be hosted by First Nations. This amount must be included in the total amount requested and the total requested cannot exceed $20,000 as noted above. The monies will be utilized for travel, travel-related costs and lodging for this First Nations NYCF Training Summit. It is anticipated that the required (one staff person per grantee) NYCF Training Summit will be held in September 2009.

Selection Criteria

First Nations seeks projects that:

• are solid matches between the project purpose and one or more of the NYCF priorities.
• demonstrate innovative and comprehensive activities.
• have a clear focus on building healthier communities through preserving, strengthening, or renewing Native culture and cultural traditions among youth.
• demonstrate the ability and/or experience necessary to accomplish the project.
• have a clear plan of action, specific goals and objectives, and a process to periodically assess, document, and disseminate progress and lessons learned.
• are feasible, cost-effective, and sustainable.
• form partnerships and engage broad community participation and support.
• have the potential for application and replication in other Native communities.

Review and Notification

Letters of Intent that exceed the six page double-spaced limitation, are incomplete or received after the deadline, will NOT be considered.

Methods for Submitting Letters of Intent

Letters of Intent may be submitted in one of two ways, via electronic transmission (email) or via U.S. Postal Service or other courier. Faxed copies will be not accepted. Letters of Intent must be received by 5:00 p.m. Mountain Time on February 27, 2009. Applicants should consider the difference in time zones when preparing electronic submissions. Electronic submissions must be transmitted in Microsoft Word, Excel, Adobe Acrobat (pdf) or equivalent application(s).

For email submissions, please send to: grantmaking@firstnations.org. For regular mail or other courier service, please send to:

Native Youth and Culture Fund

First Nations Development Institute

703 3^rd Avenue, Suite B

Longmont, CO 80501

For additional information about this process, please contact Tina M. Farrenkopf at (303) 774-7836, ext. 19 or email her at tfarrenkopf@firstnations.org. You can also learn more about the NYCF program by visiting our website at http://www.firstnations.org/. Thank you for your time and good luck!