TAHLEQUAH, Okla. (KFOR) – The Cherokee Nation announced a new $1.675 million grant program that will provide funds to numerous non-profit organizations affiliated with the tribe.
There are nearly 70 Cherokee-affiliated nonprofits across the reservation and the United States that will benefit from the Community Impact Grant program, according to Cherokee Nation officials.
Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. and Deputy Chief Bryan Warner announced the grant program at the 18th annual Conference of Community Leaders, which the tribe’s Community and Cultural Outreach (CCO) department presented virtually on Saturday.
“Our latest grant program for CCO-participating organizations has the potential to make the most impact,” said Chief Hoskin. “We cannot build Cherokee communities from the top down. We must build them from the grassroots up.”
The program will provide up to $25,000 for the following community impact areas:
- Community food security
- Community organization public outreach / membership drives
- Community needs survey
- Community organization overhead costs
- Support for volunteer in-kind assistance for community members in need
Each of the CCO-participating organizations will receive a Community Impact Grant application later this week.
Applications will be accepted from Aug. 15, 2022, to Dec. 31, 2022.
Grant funds must be spent by Sept. 30, 2024, officials said.
Only the nearly 70 on-reservation and at-large CCO participating community organizations are eligible to apply.
“We’ve been working with CCO for decades. CCO empowers Cherokee community organizations to serving the needs of local Cherokees and their families,” said Bill Davis, president of Native American Fellowship Inc., of South Coffeyville, Okla. “We will immediately begin making plans to put a Community Impact grant into action.”
Call (918) 207-4963 or visit the Cherokee Nation website for more information on CCO programs and services.