Rooted Pathways: A Program by First Peoples Fund 2025

Rooted within the cultural knowledge and creativity of Indigenous communities, Rooted Pathways is a funding initiative by First Peoples Fund that gives unrestricted normal working help to Native-led arts and cultural organizations, collectives, and artistic companies. The program honors the sovereignty and imaginative and prescient of Native communities by providing versatile assets to assist them flourish on their very own phrases.

Rooted Pathways isn’t just a grant—it’s a motion towards resilience, sustainability, and self-determined well-being for Native artists and organizations that function cultural pillars of their communities.

Program Overview

The Rooted Pathways program is part of the Wallace Foundation’s $36 million, multi-year initiative—Advancing Well-Being within the Arts, a nationwide effort geared toward investing in community-rooted arts ecosystems. Rooted Pathways affords Native organizations extra than simply monetary help. It supplies:

• $55,000 in unrestricted normal working help

• A supportive studying cohort for skilled development and peer collaboration

• Community-centered reporting and reflection, not simply compliance

• Opportunities for strategic alignment, mission readability, and long-term affect

The aim is to strengthen the ecosystem of Indigenous arts by supporting organizations which might be deeply embedded of their cultural and neighborhood practices.

Why Rooted Pathways Matters

For too lengthy, Indigenous organizations have been underfunded, neglected, or topic to restrictive grants that don’t honor the cultural rhythms of their work. Rooted Pathways adjustments that by:

• Trusting Native organizations to know what’s greatest for their very own communities

• Providing versatile funding that can be utilized the place it’s wanted most—salaries, area, packages, or capacity-building

• Creating area for reflection, mutual help, and collective resilience

• Nurturing cultural continuity, sovereignty, and intergenerational data switch

This program is constructed on the idea that when Native communities thrive culturally and creatively, they thrive holistically.

Key Program Information

Grant Amount: $55,000 (Unrestricted General Operating Support)
Grant Period: August 1, 2025 – July 31, 2026
Application Opens: June 2, 2025 at 8:00 AM Mountain Time
Application Deadline: June 20, 2025 at 8:00 PM Mountain Time
Number of Awards: 9 organizations will probably be chosen

Reporting Requirements:

This shouldn’t be a undertaking grant. It’s designed to offer Native organizations the respiratory area and backing they should thrive for the long run.

Eligibility Criteria

To apply for the Rooted Pathways program, candidates should meet the next standards:

• Be a Native-led arts and tradition group, collective, or artistic enterprise

• Be based mostly within the United States or U.S. territories

• Have verifiable tribal affiliation or enrollment (see Tribal Enrollment Guidelines)

• Be capable of display a transparent dedication to advancing Indigenous arts, tradition, or heritage

• Align with First Peoples Fund’s values: neighborhood, cultural integrity, generosity, and creativity

The program welcomes each rising and established organizations that function stewards of Indigenous tradition and expression.

How to Apply

Step 1: Review All Application Materials

Step 2: Prepare Your Submission

• Applications should be accomplished on-line between June 2 – June 20, 2025

• Submissions are due by 8:00 PM Mountain Time on the deadline

• No late purposes will probably be accepted

Step 3: Submit Online

• Submit your full application by means of the official portal (linked right here when reside)

• If you want technical help, electronic mail bridget@firstpeoplesfund.org

Selection Process

Applications will probably be reviewed by a panel of Native arts professionals, tradition bearers, and neighborhood leaders. Selection relies on:

• Mission alignment and cultural affect

• Organizational imaginative and prescient and management

• Potential for development and sustainability

• Community engagement and repair

Finalists will probably be notified by July 2025. The funding interval will start on August 1, 2025.

The application deadline for the Rooted Pathways program is June 20, 2025, at 6:00 PM Mountain Time (MT)

For extra such alternatives go to – opportunitiesforyouth.org