Grant and Funding Programs Offered by Seventh Generation Fund for Indian Development (SGF)

Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples is an Indigenous-led foundation founded in 1977 to advance Indigenous Peoples’ self-determination and the sovereignty of Native nations. Emerging from grassroots communities during the cultural and political renaissance of the 1960s and 1970s, the organization focuses on cultural revitalization, leadership development, tribal sovereignty, and culturally grounded economic development. Its work is rooted in the Haudenosaunee principle of considering the impact of decisions on the seventh generation yet to come.

SGF operates as a grantmaker and fiscal sponsor for Indigenous community-based initiatives across the United States and worldwide. Through its grantmaking portfolio, including programs such as the Good Ancestor Program, the Flicker Fund, and Thriving Women, it channels financial resources to projects that strengthen relationships to land and water, protect languages and traditional lifeways, promote gender and social justice, and respond to climate and other emergencies. The Flicker Fund, for example, mobilizes rapid-response support for crisis-impacted Indigenous communities facing fires, floods, droughts, pandemics, and related disasters.

Beyond direct grants, SGF’s Affiliate Program serves emerging and smaller Indigenous organizations that may lack their own 501(c)(3) status. As fiscal sponsor, SGF manages grant funds and donations, and provides administration, financial management, program oversight, and organizational development so affiliates can concentrate on their community work.

Seventh Generation Fund’s support model combines small grants with technical assistance and training. The organization offers program-related training, peer learning opportunities, and leadership development to increase the assets, skills, and knowledge of Indigenous-led projects. Workshops and conferences—such as the Keeping the Homefires Burning gatherings, Heart of Her Nation convenings, and Voices Around the Circle virtual series—provide spaces for Indigenous organizers, culture bearers, and youth to share strategies, receive technical assistance, and build networks.

Over more than 46 years, SGF has partnered with thousands of Indigenous community-based organizations across six continents. Its funding and services prioritize grassroots, community-rooted initiatives, including women- and Two-Spirit-led projects, youth and elders, language and cultural revitalization groups, and movements defending Mother Earth. By combining grantmaking, rapid-response funding, fiscal sponsorship, and capacity-building, Seventh Generation Fund plays a central role in strengthening Indigenous-led solutions and expanding access to philanthropic resources for Indigenous communities worldwide.