Who is the Tiwahe Foundation
Tiwahe means family in Dakota, symbolizing our interconnectedness and responsibility to protect and care for family, community, and environment. Our mission is to strengthen Indigenous leadership and cultural identity.
AIFEP
For over 30 years, our American Indian Family Empowerment Program (AIFEP) has invested in Native change-makers through micro-grants funded by a community-built endowment. We use 100% of our annual endowment capacity for AIFEP micro-grants and actively fundraise for all program activities and operations.
Our American Indian Family Empowerment Program will be awarding the following investments to support community members during this grant round, each applicant will need to choose one level of investment that you will be applying for.
50 investments of up to $2,500
2 investments of $5,000
3 youth investments of $1,000
Please visit our website to see the requirements and learn more about our 4 impact areas.
https://tiwahefoundation.org/aifep/
Important Application Information
It is important that the information in the application is complete and accurate.
· We need you to provide your Legal name.
· Please don’t forget your apartment number in your address if you have one.
· If you choose to have a check mailed to you, it’s important to let us know if you have moved since you submitted your application so we can update your address.
· Please record, save, and keep your Submittable login information. If you are awarded a AIFEP grant, you will need this information over the course of the next year.
· We encourage you to work on our application on a word document and cut and paste into the application. This way you will have two copies of your application, this can ack as a safeguard in the situation where our submittable application does not save or gets lost.
· Incomplete applications will not be considered for review. We suggest submitting your application before March 9th, in case you have troubles uploading documents or letters of reference or submitting your application, you will have time to resolve problems before the deadline.
Selection & Notification
Application deadline for submission and postmark date is March 15th, 2026, by midnight. No late submissions will be accepted.
By March 18th you will receive an email to verify your submission was received. If you think you submitted a submission but do not receive a confirmation email by 3/17, please reach out to tony at Tony@tiwahefoundation.org
Application support
The Tiwahe Foundation will be hosting an AIFEP grant application workshop on February 5th. More information will be shared soon. Space is limited to 50 participants, so to reserve your spot, please register using our Eventbrite link below.https://www.eventbrite.com/e/aifep-application-workshop-february-26-tickets-1979112216917?aff=oddtdtcreator
If you have any questions about how to apply, eligibility, or anything else please feel free to contact Anthony Drews at tony@tiwahefoundation.org
*Please note: From March 1–15, our capacity to field questions will be limited. We encourage you to reach out as early as possible.
We recommend submitting at least one week before the deadline. Please note we can’t accept late applications for any reason.