Learn about our funding areas, eligibility, and apply for a grant today.

We meet our grantees where they are and help them grow from there. As a partner and a resource, our goal is to help our grantees build capacity where they say it’s most needed.

JULY
Grant Cycle
Opens

MID-AUGUST
Application
Due

EARLY-SEPTEMBER
Application
Review

OCTOBER
Board Approval
of Grant Awards

EARLY NOVEMBER
Grant Award
Announcement

LATE NOVEMBER
Grant Agreements Signed & Awards Disbursed

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Our Four Priority Areas We Fund

Culture

Culture is the heart of Native identity and belonging, and cultural preservation is essential for future generations. We support initiatives rooted in Colorado Plateau Native cultures that reinforce the intergenerational transmission of language, traditional arts, and preservation, as well as efforts to acquire and maintain access to sacred places.

Environmental Stewardship

Environmental stewardship is the responsibility to care for land, water, plants, and animals as living relatives and to sustain nature’s balance, which has been made vulnerable by climate change. We support initiatives that meet this responsibility through hands-on, on-the-ground work that elevates tribal voices and safeguards the Colorado Plateau for generations to come.

Community Foodways

Community foodways center on the needs of both food producers and consumers to create sustainable regional (Colorado Plateau) food systems that ensure healthy, secure food for Plateau communities. We support sustainable community-based agriculture and Native food system knowledge holders, all of whom provide healthy foods that contribute to community food sovereignty.

Leadership Innovation

Empowered leadership enhances organizational frameworks and enriches community potential. We support Native-led organizations that cultivate Native leadership at the organizational and community levels on the Colorado Plateau through mentorship and knowledge-sharing to develop and retain future community leaders.

Eligibility

Does your organization or project qualify for a Capacity Building Grant from CPF?

Who We Fund

CPF supports Native-majority-led organizations in which Native people hold 51% majority of governance and staffing roles. We support non-profit 501(C)(3) organizations, Tribal Governments with IRC 7871 designation, and organizations with a 501(c)3 fiscal sponsor.

Where We Fund

We support Native-led work that serves tribal communities within the Colorado Plateau region and in our priority areas. We also support Native-led organizations serving tribal communities with demonstrated cultural, historical, or ancestral ties to the Colorado Plateau, even when those communities are located outside the Plateau region.

What We Do Not Fund

  • Hosted fundraising events
  • Individuals (we fund organizations only)
  • Non-Native majority-led organizations
  • For-profit businesses, including LLCs and sole proprietorships

CPF Provides Three Types of Grant Opportunities

  1. One-year capacity-building grants of $1,000 to $25,000 to build organizational capacity within CPF’s four priority areas: Culture, Environmental Stewardship, Community Foodways, and Leadership Innovation. This grant cycle opens in August.
  2. One-year general operating grants of up to $50,000 of unrestricted support that strengthen the long-term resilience of organizations serving Plateau communities in our four priority areas. General operating grants are limited to returning CPF grantees, are not guaranteed, and funding amounts are at CPF’s discretion. This grant cycle opens in August.
  3. Year-round rapid-response grants provide up to $10,000 for a critical, urgent, and unforeseen need requiring action within weeks rather than months.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. Capacity-building grants can support early-stage work that helps organizations test ideas, plan new initiatives, or strengthen their organizations for future growth. If your organization is piloting a project or developing a new strategy, your proposal should clearly describe the steps you will take and the outcomes you hope to achieve.

Capacity building includes pilot initiatives or emerging ideas, particularly for organizations that are fiscally sponsored, newly established nonprofits, or organizations that intend to remain small. These grants help organizations test new program strategies, launch targeted community efforts, or conduct planning to advance defined work that benefits the community, builds partnerships, and builds internal capacity to deliver programming.

General operating grants provide unrestricted support to meet an organization’s mission rather than to a particular project. General operating grants are offered to organizations that have demonstrated consistent community benefits and partnership with CPF over time. General operating grants are not guaranteed, and funding decisions and award amounts remain at CPF’s discretion.

RAPID RESPONSE GRANTS

Colorado Plateau Foundation’s rapid response grants support Native-led organizations responding to critical and urgent needs and unforeseen opportunities in the Colorado Plateau region. The grants provide up to $10,000, can be applied for at any time, and are separate from CPF’s annual grant cycle.

Meet Our Grantees

2026-02-09T23:21:37+00:00

Toohnii Binaneest’ą’ Ałtaas’éí Alliance (Fiscal Sponsor Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico)

Toohnii Binaneest’ą’ Ałtaas’éí Alliance (Fiscal Sponsor Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico)

About: Toohnii Binaneest’ą’ Ałtaas’éí ’began meeting as farmers with common concerns in the winter of 2019 and saw the scope of our collective concerns needed a concerted effort to seek solutions. [...]

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