Yéigo Action Grants

First Peoples Fund Overview 

Founded in 1995, First Peoples Fund is guided by our belief in Collective Spirit. Collective Spirit is a commitment to nurture our shared humanity and honor our connection to one another, the lands around us, those who came before us, and the spirit of all things. The Collective Spirit moves each of us to stand up and make a difference, pass on ancestral knowledge, and extend a hand of generosity. The Collective Spirit is essential to sustaining the cultural fabric of Native communities and our ability to thrive.

  Our mission is to honor and support the Collective Spirit of First Peoples artists and culture bearers. Our work recognizes the power of art and culture to bring about positive change in Native communities, beginning with individual artists and their families.
 

About the Yéigo Action Grant (YAG) 

The Yéigo Action Grant provides support for the growing landscape of Native artists and culture bearers who need financial assistance with a professional development opportunity or towards a hardship that is hindering their creative practice. 

This program offers grants between $100 and $5,000 for individual Native artists and culture bearers. First Peoples Fund (FPF) finds it essential to support artists in their times of need, especially when their work is impacted by sudden hardship. This grant’s name incorporates the Diné word yéigo, which is often used as a phrase of encouragement that can mean “keep going” or “don’t give up.” 

While some requests related to a current artistic project may be eligible, please note that Yéigo Action Grants are not intended to assist with funding new artist projects or to provide general support for an existing project. 

Funding Usage Guidelines

Funds may be used for: 

• Assistance with signing up for an art opportunity (market entry fees, workshop fees,  etc.)
• Support for an artist attending a residency, seminar, or any other professional development opportunity (travel, lodging, meals, etc). 
• Emergency disaster relief (fire, hurricanes, earthquakes, etc).
• Unanticipated transportation needs for work or professional travel (vehicle repair, car rental, bus pass, uber, etc.)
• Unanticipated medical expenses that impact an artist’s ability to work and create.
• Sudden, unexpected expenses for a current project (such as replacing damaged supplies, needing to find a new venue, etc). 

Ineligible Funding Requests:

• Reimbursement for funds already spent by the applicant. 
• General operating support for organizations and nonprofits.
• Tuition and/or class supplies related to a degree program at a college or university.
• Credit payments or student loans.

 Applicant Eligibility

• Must be at least 18 years of age at the time of application.
• Applicants must be an enrolled member of, or provide proof of lineal descendancy from, a U.S. federally-recognized or U.S. state-recognized tribe, or be able to provide proof of ancestry as an Alaska Native or Native Hawaiian.
• Applicant must be a practicing artist.
• The total amount that any individual may receive from the Yéigo Action Grant program is $5,000. Previous awardees may apply for this grant again as long as they are requesting an amount they are eligible for, and have completed all requirements of previous FPF funding they have received. (Example: Cory applied for and received a Yéigo Action Grant of $1,000. They completed their followup testimonial from this award and are now still eligible to apply for up to $4,000 of funding through this program.)

Application Guidelines 

• We use Submittable to accept and review applications. If you do not already have a Submittable account, you may be required to create one in order to submit your application.
• All questions marked with an asterisk require a response.
• Please use your legal first and last name when filling out the application.
• You will be asked to upload proof of your tribal affiliation. 
• When selecting the art medium(s) you work in, please only choose up to three of your primary mediums to help us better understand where you spend most of your time when creating artwork.
• You may share an artist website, social media page, or other type of link to help us verify that you are a practicing artist. Doing so is optional and will not affect how your application is scored. We recognize that not everyone maintains an online presence.
• You will be asked to upload three recent examples of your artwork and enter a brief description of each one. These are used to help verify that you are a practicing artist.   
• Funding requests should be for a minimum of $100, up to a maximum of $5,000. 
• You may indicate a website that you would like to share with the review panel in support of  your request. This is optional; leaving this section blank will not negatively affect your score. (Examples: A link to a site for an event, workshop, class, or conference that you are hoping to attend; a link to a news article about an event or natural disaster that has affected you.) 
• You may upload a document that you would like to share with the review panel in support of your request. This is optional; leaving this section blank will not negatively affect your score. (Examples: Invoice for an event, workshop, class, or conference that you want to attend; price quote for repairs, materials, or travel costs, budget document you have created if your request is more complex.)      
  
   

Review Process 

Applications are reviewed by First Peoples Fund Staff and Leadership on a monthly basis. Grants will be awarded based on available funds. 

Applications will be scored based on the following criteria:

• Amount of funding requested is in line with intended use. 
• Any supporting document or website link is relevant to the request if included with the application. (Supporting documentation is optional.)  
• Applicant expresses a clear need for funding and the proposed grant request will help them in a meaningful way. 
• Applicant is able to describe how their grant request will have a positive impact on their art practice and/or business in the short and long term. 

Important Dates

Applications are reviewed and grants awarded monthly based on available funds. 

• Deadline to apply is on the 10th of every month.
• Applicants will be notified of their status by the last day of the month. 
• Approved grant requests should expect to receive funds around 6-8 weeks after the monthly application due date, subject to completion of required paperwork. 
• First Peoples Fund (FPF) will follow up within six months of grant funding to collect a brief testimonial from awardees about how the grant impacted them.   

Grant Timeline Example:

• Bobby submits an application by a March 10th deadline seeking funding  to attend and sell their work at an art market taking place in June. 
• They are notified on March 31st that their request has been approved for funding. 
• Over the next two weeks they receive and complete the required paperwork. Their grant funds are direct-deposited to their bank account on April 21st. 
• In July, after they had attended the art market, Bobby was contacted by an FPF Program Manager. They schedule time the following week on July 29th to have a phone conversation about Bobby’s grant experience.