OVERVIEW: This funder supports poverty-fighting nonprofits in the Northwest states and 75 Native Nations of the region. It does not accept unsolicited proposals, but the staff welcomes email introductions from grant seekers.
IP TAKE: This is an excellent opportunity for Native-led nonprofits in the Northwest. NWAF employs impact investing to drive change through a justice lens. At least 40 percent of foundation funds support Native-led groups; however, it prioritizes work that also benefits communities of color, immigrants and refugees, and people in rural areas. This is also a good funder for infrastructure support, idea incubation and research. NWAF does not accept unsolicited applications, preferring a proactive approach to grantmaking, but it is approachable and open to contact.
Presented with several unique challenges in 2025, the NWAF has decided to double funding in an act of courage in the current political climate. The criteria for this increase in funding remains under construction, but several things are true: NWAF is a funder committed to deepening connections to the communities it serves, including “Native Americans, communities of color, refugees, immigrants, and people in rural areas.” The NWAF’s President and CEO believes that, “Foundations are not here to prioritize self-preservation. We are here to invest in a just future for thriving communities.” This funder is unafraid of taking risk and putting communities first.
PROFILE: The Northwest Area Foundation (NWAF) was founded by Louis W. Hill in 1934 as the Lexington Foundation. He had a career in the railroad industry, farmed in Montana, and was involved in banking, mining, the development of the 4-H program and art collecting. The foundation supports organizations that “work with their communities to reimagine and restructure unjust systems—to serve, support, and heal people and communities.” NWAF focuses on eight states and 75 Native nations in its target region. prioritizing Native nations, rural communities, communities of color and other underprivileged groups. Grantmaking and grantmaking approach prioritize priority communities in the Northwestern United States.
Grants for Racial Justice and Indigenous Rights
The Northwest Area Foundation names Native American and Communities of Color as main priorities of its grantmaking, and support for Indigenous peoples and communities of color comprise a significant portion of its funding. Given the foundation’s commitment to these priority communities, NWAF’s announcement of increased funding in 2025 may directly affect new and existing racial and indigenous rights grants.
- For instance, NWAF has supplied the Native CDFI Network (NCN) with numerous six-figure operating support grants in the last decade. In 2024, the foundation gave NCN a one-year total of $200,000 to support its goal of “financing climate and clean energy projects in [Native] communities.”
- However, in March of 2025, the EPA terminated $20 billion in clean energy funding agreements, including $1.5 billion earmarked for Native communities and $400,000 for NCN. In response, NWAF announced new grant terms for NCN, amounting to “$300,000 as a cost amendment” to the existing grant “to help sustain advocacy efforts and plan next steps” after the terminated government funding went into effect.
- Other recent grants supporting Native American groups went to North Dakota’s Native American Development Center, First Children’s Finance of Minneapolis, the South Dakota Native Homeownership Coalition and Nimmipuu Protecting the Environment of Pullman, Washington.
- Recent grantees in the area of racial justice include African Economic Development Solutions of St. Paul, the Association for Black Economic Power of Minneapolis, the Hmong American Farmer’s Association and St. Paul’s Comunidades Latinas Unidas en Servicio.
Grants for Work, Economic Opportunity and Community Development
NWAF has demonstrated a strong commitment to initiatives for economic opportunity and community development through its recent grantmaking, although the foundation does not outline specific goals for its funding in these areas.
- A recent grant went to Micro Enterprise Services of Oregon, an organization that supports “historically excluded entrepreneurs” by providing training, education and fair access to capital.
- Another recent grant supported the People’s Partners for Community Development of Lame Deer, Montana, which works in the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation to improve the communities’ economies while “maintaining strong connections to our land, our traditional values and our cultural history.”
- NWAF, at times, supports career development and economic opportunity specifically for youth populations of priority communities, with a recent grant to the Cheyenne River Youth Project of Butte, South Dakota for a youth workforce training program.
- Other recent grants have gone to the Center for Worker Justice of Eastern Iowa, the White Earth Investment Initiative in Minnesota and Montana’s Plenty Doors Community Development Corporation.
Grants for Immigrants and Refugees
The Northwest Area Foundation supports organizations working to “dismantle obstacles” faced by immigrants and refugees in transitioning to life in the United States and American Northwest. While NWAF does not share a specific grantmaking strategy for these communities on its website, grants tend to support workforce development opportunities and legal assistance regarding deportations and the criminal justice system.
- Grantmaking for immigrants and refugees makes up a smaller portion of NWAF’s grantmaking, but still receive attention as a priority community.
- Recent grantees include the Immigrant Development Center, Coalition of Asian American Leaders and the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization.
Grants for Rural Communities
The Northwest Area Foundation’s support for rural populations in its service area overlaps with other areas of giving, but generally seeks to improve quality of life and access to critical and life-affirming care outside of populous cities.
- NWAF gives to multiple nonprofits in support of LGBTQ communities in rural areas, including the Seattle-based Pride Foundation and Minneapolis-based Philanthrofund Foundation.
- Other grants include Sharing Our Roots and Trabajadores Unidos, both of which assist emerging and immigrant farmers in rural regions.
Important Grant Details:
This funder made $17.3 million in grants in a recent year, with grants ranging from $10,000 to $500,000, although larger grants are made on occasion. Total giving in 2025 may double, although how this funder’s giving strategy projects in the future is unclear.
- NWAF supports projects, research and organizations in the Northwest only. However, large organizations with projects national in scope can also receive operating support.
- This funder supports organizations of all sizes, but most grantees tend to be medium- to large groups with “a track record of success” in the communities they serve. For additional information about past grants, see the foundation’s searchable grants database or its news and insights page.
- Unfortunately for grant seekers, the Northwest Area Foundation does not accept unsolicited letters of inquiry or proposals. Grant proposals are accepted by invitation only. However, grant seekers can email a two-page summary of their organization’s work to inform the staff about their cause.
- NAF provides direct service support to grassroots foundations and regranting funds to intermediary organizations. It is increasingly interested in joining funder collaboratives.
General questions can be directed to the staff at grantseekers@nwaf.org, by phone at (651) 224-9635 or via an online form.
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