Native American Grants Programs

Seva Foundation provides grants to Native American led organizations working to devise solutions to the challenges that face their communities.

Seva's seed grants have really grown! Since 1990, Seva has supported more than 320 community projects, with grants totaling more than $800,000. 

We place special emphasis on providing grants to small, grassroots organizations and projects often overlooked by other foundations.  Grants range from $2,000 to $5,000, with the average being $3,500.  We focus our support on projects in six priority areas: Spiritual and Cultural Renewal Indigenous Youth Economic Development Health and Wellness Educational Development Protecting Mother Earth

Examples of the variety of projects we have funded include:

• $2,500 to the Tolowa Indians to transliterate the Tolowa language to the modern alphabet to preserve it for educational projects in the community.
• $2,500 to the Black Mesa Water Coalition to produce a three-day leadership training summit for 130 youth from tribes throughout the Southwest.
• $10,000 to Dineh Bidziil Coalition for organizational support, which helped them co-produce the first Indigenous World Uranium Summit in 2006, where hundreds of international delegates called for a global ban on uranium mining.
• $5,000 to Wounded Knee Community Council to help fund construction of a cob house as a model of sustainable and affordable home-building for Native communities on reservations.

Many Native projects that have received seed funding from Seva have grown to make an impact on their community far beyond the scope of the original grant.

Seva relies on a network of Native American community leaders and activists to provide support and guidance for our grantmaking work. Their understanding of the diversity of Native peoples and cultures and their expertise in addressing the issues affecting the Native community are essential resources in developing our strategies and plans.


Grant Application Information

While we work to develop our Program for the long-term, we are currently not accepting unsolicted invitations for grants. Read about our Native American Program Review process.