Foundation and Impact 

NAAF invests in opportunities for Native farmers and ranchers through grant funding that supports access to capital, agricultural education, business assistance, technical support, and advocacy services. Since NAAF’s founding in 2018, the organization has deployed nearly $86 million across 590 programs supporting more than 105,000 individual producers, farmers, harvesters, fishers, and youth. NAAF will continue its grantmaking efforts through 2038, investing in grants that are making significant, long-lasting positive impacts.  

2026 Funding and Eligibility 

For the 2026 funding cycle, NAAF seeks projects that support Native agricultural producers and strengthen food systems through practical, community-based solutions. Eligible activities include training and education programs, business development assistance, lending and financial services, technical support, youth engagement initiatives, and efforts that increase access to capital for Native farmers and ranchers.  

Eligible entities include: 

• 501c3s 

• Educational organizations 

• Native-serving Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) 

• Tribal governments and their instrumentalities  

NAAF also invites applications for youth programming grants that engage the next generation of agriculturalists.  Projects may include hands-on food production, youth agricultural leadership programs, and scholarships that connect Native youth with agricultural training or leadership opportunities.  

To support applicants through the grant process, NAAF will host a series of informational webinars that provide an overview of the application process followed by a live question-and-answer session. NAAF will record each webinar and post the recordings on its website. 

2026 RFA Webinar Schedule 

• Thursday, March 12 | 2–4 p.m. CT – General and Youth Programming Overview 

• Thursday, March 19 | 2–4 p.m. CT – Q&A Session 

• Thursday, April 2 | 2–4 p.m. CT – Q&A Session 

• Thursday, April 9 | 2–4 p.m. CT – Q&A Session  

The complete 2026 Request for Applications, eligibility requirements, webinar registration, and application instructions are available at: nativeamericanagriculturefund.org/2026-rfa/ 

Applicants with questions about the application process can contact grants@NativeAmericanAgricultureFund.org. 

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The Native American Agriculture Fund (NAAF) provides grants to eligible organizations for business assistance, agricultural education, technical support, and advocacy services to support Native farmers and ranchers. The charitable trust was created by the settlement of the landmark Keepseagle v. Vilsack class-action lawsuit. NAAF is the largest philanthropic organization devoted solely to serving the Native American farming and ranching community.

For media inquiries, please contact: 

Whitney Sawney 

Director of Communications and Policy – Native American Agriculture Fund 

media@nativeamericanagriculturefund.org