Native American communities have sustainably managed their lands for thousands of years, cultivating, adapting, and transferring traditional ecological knowledge over many generations. This expansive reservoir of knowledge and deep connection to land keep Native communities strong and encourage the land to be productive. Such relationships benefit the natural world that we depend on, and acknowledge the importance of being in harmony with and having true connection with places. First Nations recognizes Native communities’ ability to steward their land to ensure their sustainable, economic, spiritual and cultural well-being. In response, First Nations created its Stewarding Native Lands program to provide financial and technical assistance to support Native ecological stewardship and improve Native control of and access to ancestral lands and resources.
In the past 20 years, green jobs have been brought to the forefront of the climate change dialogue as a potential path toward climate change mitigation and economic development. They are broadly defined as jobs that produce goods or services that benefit the environment. While public attention of this area is relatively recent, making investments toward green jobs in Native communities represents a continuation of a millennia of both culture and economy.
First Nations is now accepting applications under our Stewarding Native Lands (SNL) program for Native communities that are in the early stages of developing and/or expanding programs that support green job development in response to climate change. First Nations expects to award 10 grants averaging $100,000 each to eligible organizations. Organizations that have not been formalized as a nonprofit are encouraged to apply through a fiscal sponsor.
Grant support is made possible through funding from the Bezos Earth Fund.
Grant Period
The grant period for this funding opportunity is June 1, 2022, to May 31, 2023.
Grant Award Ceilings
Total requests for project budgets within this funding opportunity should not exceed $100,000.
Grant Submission Deadlines
All applicants must complete the First Nations online grant application, including submission of necessary attachments.
Full applications will be due April 20, 2022, at 5pm MDT.
First Nations cannot make any emergency exceptions to application deadlines. Partial applications, incomplete applications due to user error, or faxed/emailed/mailed applications will not be considered unless they have received prior approval.
Please allow yourself enough time to submit a complete application before the deadline, as the system will shut down automatically at 5 pm Mountain Daylight Time on April 20, 2022, and no data may be entered thereafter. We do not accept partial, faxed, emailed or mailed applications. Applications that are not received on time due to user error will not be considered.
