The Native Arts + Cultures Foundation’s (NACF) SHIFT – Transformative Change and Indigenous Arts program empowers artists, curators, and community collaborators to address social change issues through a Native lens.
Donor Name: Native Arts + Cultures Foundation
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 05/15/2025
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: 2 Years
Details:
The NACF supports Native artists in the United States whose innovative and multifaceted approaches to literature, dance, visual arts, film, storytelling, music, and traditional arts:
- Strengthen culture
- Foster creativity and economic opportunity
- Impact issues of social progress, environmental sustainability, and cultural equity.
The program supports innovative community-driven projects created in partnership with an organization that uplift Native communities, promote self-determination, and drive transformative change, paving the way for a resilient and thriving Indigenous future.
Funding Information
A two-year award totaling $100,000, with $50,000 earmarked for the lead artist’s or curator’s compensation and the remaining funds for project production.
Grant Period
October 1, 2025 – September 30, 2027.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for the SHIFT program, applicants must:
- Lead Artist or Curator Applicant:
- Must be at least 18 years of age.
- Must be a US-based resident.
- Must be an enrolled member or citizen of a US federally-recognized or state-recognized American Indian tribe or Alaska Native corporation, or of Native Hawaiian ancestry. Applicants will be asked to provide documentation of their Native citizenship or ancestry in the application.
- Must be a Native artist (individual or part of a collective) or curator working in dance/choreography, fiction/poetry writing, film/video, multi-disciplinary arts, music, performance art, theater and screenplay writing, traditional arts, or 2D + 3D visual arts.
- Cannot be a student or enrolled in a university or higher education institution during the award period (October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2027).
- Partner Organization/Co-Applicant:
- U.S.-based non-profit organizations, for-profit businesses, or tribal agencies may apply with the lead applicant as a partner organization. These do not need to be arts-related (e.g., social service organizations, for-profit galleries, or academic institutions).
- The partner organization cannot be the fiscal sponsor alone—it must be actively engaged in the project.
- Additional Eligibility Information:
- Lead artist or curator must select an eligible organization to partner with on their project, or the organization must select an eligible artist or curator to partner with on their project.
- Lead artist or curator cannot be a board member, paid consultant, employee, owner, or founder of their chosen partner organization.
- Lead artist or curator cannot partner with an organization of which their immediate family member is a founder, owner, paid consultant, or employee.
- Previous NACF awardees who received support before 2023 are eligible and encouraged to apply. However, former SHIFT awardees are not eligible to receive the SHIFT award again.
- Project Requirements:
- Projects must address social change issues through a Native lens.
- For curator-led projects, eligible projects may include group exhibitions, solo artist retrospectives, or community-engaged installations and performances that feature Indigenous artists and explore social change themes.
- Proposals must be for new projects. NACF does not accept proposals for annual, ongoing, or already established projects.
- Projects must include clear strategies to engage the community and publicly present the work.
- Please note that NACF recognizes that project plans may evolve and will work with awardees to accommodate necessary adjustments.
Program Services
- Professional Development: Awardees will participate in workshops and training sessions to enhance skills in areas such as financial management, legacy planning, project development, and community engagement.
- Evaluation: NACF will help define project deliverables, track progress, and complete internal and external grant reports. Project leadership will participate in regular check-ins and provide project documentation, a mid-year report, and a final report detailing the project’s development and outcomes.
- Communications and Marketing Support: NACF will amplify the project’s visibility through social media and e-communications. Additionally, they will help document the project through photography and videography when possible and appropriate.
- Advocacy: NACF will assist awardees in presenting their work at relevant conferences and public events, to provide a platform for conversation around the impacts of their projects and Native voices to effect change around vital issues.
For more information, visit NACF.
