Federal Funding Opportunities for Missing or Murdered American Indians and Alaska Native Projects
There are many federal funding opportunities that tribes and other organizations may be able to use to address missing or murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives in their areas.
Please check Grants.Gov on a regular basis for current funding opportunities from the three Departments and across the federal government. You can also register on Grants.gov to create an account and receive email notifications when there are changes to your chosen funding opportunities.
Department of Justice | Department of Health and Human Services | Department of Interior
Department of Justice
The Department of Justice created this directory of grant resources to support the President’s charge, in Executive Order 14053 (“Improving Public Safety and Criminal Justice for Native Americans and Addressing the Crisis of Missing or Murdered Indigenous People”), to make “grantmaking more equitable for Tribal applicants seeking support for law enforcement purposes and for the provision of services to victims and survivors.” Administered by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, the Office of Justice Programs, and the Office on Violence Against Women, the initiatives described below include discretionary and formula grant programs for which tribes are eligible. They support a range of effective criminal justice, prevention, intervention, reentry, and victim services activities. Funding opportunities can be found on grants.gov and are announced as they become available on the OJP, OVW, and COPS Office websites.
Department of Health and Human Services
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is the U.S. government's principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves. The mission of HHS is to enhance the health and well-being of Americans by providing for effective health and human services and by fostering sound, sustained advances in the sciences underlying medicine, public health and social services. Find HHS grants.
Administration for Children & Families
- Social & Economic Development Strategies (SEDS): The Administration for Native Americans promotes social and economic self-sufficiency in communities through SEDS grants. These competitive financial assistance grants support locally determined projects designed to reduce or eliminate community problems and achieve community goals. Bonus points will be given to projects with a main focus of addressing MMIW. Federally recognized Tribes, state-recognized Tribes, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders and/or Native nonprofits are eligible.
- Demonstration Grants to Strengthen the Response to Victims of Human Trafficking in Native Communities (VHT-NC) Program: The goal of the VHT-NC Program is to fund organizations that will build, expand and sustain organizational and community capacity to deliver services to Native victims of severe forms of human trafficking as defined by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 through the provision of direct services, assistance and referrals. The VHT-NC Program is informed by a whole-family approach that focuses on services and opportunities for clients and their immediate family members living within their households. American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and/or Pacific Islanders are eligible.
- The Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA): The Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) is the primary federal funding source dedicated to providing immediate shelter and supportive services for victims of family violence, domestic violence or dating violence and their dependents. Federally recognized Tribes and Tribal consortia are eligible.
Indian Health Service (IHS)
- Domestic Violence Prevention Program (DVP): DVP grant/awardee community projects increase access to culturally appropriate domestic and sexual violence prevention strategies, including health care provider and community education, client advocacy, crisis intervention, forensic health exams and behavioral health services for AI/AN victims and their families. Federally recognized Indian Tribes/governments/communities are eligible.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
- For most of SAMHSA’s discretionary grant programs, Tribes, Tribal organizations and urban Indian organizations are eligible to apply. Visit SAMHSA’s Tribal Affairs page for program information and its grant page for open funding opportunities.
- Circles of Care (COC) Program: This program provides Tribal and urban Indian communities with tools and resources to plan and design a holistic, evidence and community-based, coordinated system of care to support mental health for children, youth and families. Federally recognized Indian Tribes/governments/communities are eligible.
Department of Interior
Indian Affairs provides services directly or through contracts, grants or compacts to 574 federally recognized tribes with a service population of about 1.9 million American Indian and Alaska Natives. Each component supports federally recognized AI/AN tribal government by directly administering (direct service) or funding tribally administered IA, BIA and BIE programs. Find Department of Interior grants.
Indian Affairs, Division of Self-Determination Services
- Public Law 93-638: In 1975, the U.S. Congress enacted the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, Public Law 93-638. The Act allowed for Indian Tribes to assume the responsibility for programs and services administered to them on behalf of the Secretary of the Interior through contractual agreements. The Act assured that Indian Tribes had paramount involvement in the direction of services provided by the federal government in an attempt to target the delivery of such services to the needs and desires of the local communities. Federally recognized Indian Tribes are eligible.
Indian Affairs, Office of Self Governance
- Tribal Self Governance Act of 1994: The Tribal Self Governance Act of 1994 includes annual funding agreements with eligible Tribes and consortia. The Department of Interior works with Tribal governments to protect and support tribal sovereignty within a government-to-government partnership and to advocate for the transfer of federal programmatic authorities and resources to Tribal governments in accordance with tribal self-governance statutes and policies. Federally recognized Indian Tribes are eligible to apply.