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 30 years, our American Indian Family Empowerment Program (AIFEP) has invested in Native changemakers through microgrants funded by a community-built endowment. We use 100% of our annual endowment capacity for AIFEP microgrants and actively fundraise for all program activities and operations. 

Our American Indian Family Empowerment Program will be awarding 50 grants of $2,500, 2 grants of $5,000, and 3 youth grants of $1,000 to support community members during this grant round.

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 September 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 September 15th, 2025, by midnight.

·  By September 17th 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 9/17, please reach out to tony at Tony@tiwahefoundation.org

Application support

The Tiwahe Foundation will be hosting an AIFEP grant application workshop on August 12th. There will be more information to come. We will have a capacity for 50 spots, please email Tony at tony@tiwahefountation.org to get your spot reserved. 

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 September 1st through the 15th, my capacity to Field questions is limited.

Tiwahe Foundation