Wolankeyutomone Kisi Apaciyewik Fund

The Wolankeyutomone Kisi Apaciyewik ( Let's take good care of what has returned) Fund is a Wabanaki-led participatory-grantmaking that provides unrestricted, general operating support to Wabanaki tribal government, Wabanaki NGOs, and Wabanaki citizens. Grants from the fund are flexible 1-2 year awards based on the needs of the grantee. The Fund seeks to repair, rebuild, and sustain Wabanaki relationship, kinship, and access to place by directly helping Wabanaki people and institutions to fulfill their care-taking responsibilities of lands and waters across Wabanaki Traditional Territory in what is now known as Maine.

The 2025 RFP for the Wolankeyutomone Kisi Apeciyewik fund can be downloaded here! 

The application period for 2025 is currently open!

Application Deadline 

Friday, March 14, 2025 at 11:59 PM EST.

Award Notifications

By the end of April

Eligibility

  • Wabanaki Tribal Governments: any of the five federally recognized tribal governments in what is currently known as Maine 

  • Wabanaki NGO: a non-governmental organization or non-profit organization with a majority (50% or more) of Wabanaki citizens or descendants that make up the board of directors, staff leadership, and community organizers

  • Wabanaki Individual: a citizen of one of the five federally recognized tribal governments in what is currently known as Maine 

Funding Levels

  • Wabanaki Tribal Governments: $75K

  • Wabanaki NGO: $50K

  • Wabanaki Individual: $25K

Focus Areas

The Commission is committed to funding people and organizations who do the following: 

  • Build involvement around land and culture, and bring elders and community members together around traditional uses of land and stewardship 
  • Create opportunities around cultural healing and Wabanaki connections to land 
  • Support Wabanaki access to places using appropriate access-building strategies (e.g. policy work, knowledge sharing, education about current opportunities) 
  • Help Wabanaki people who want to make their livelihoods through relationship with land (such as through guiding, canoeing, harvesting, hunting, etc.) 
  • Incorporate tribal language education in land stewardship activities 
  • Recognize the importance of our spiritual relations with one another, places connected to our ancestors and their activities, and our non-human relations 

Submission Guidelines and Support

Applications may be submitted in the following ways: 

  1. Email. Complete the PDF application within the RFP linked here and send to apply@dawnlandreturn.org
  2. Online. Online applications can be submitted via Google Forms by clicking here.
  3. By video. Schedule a Zoom call with the collaborative fund manager using the contact information below and record your responses for your submission. Refer to the PDF application for questions that will be asked during your call.

Please note, if submitting the application using the Google Form, application progress can only be saved if you are logged into a Google account. If you do not have an account, it is recommended you use the “Working Doc” linked here to write your application, then paste them into the google form for submission.

Support: If you have questions or need support, contact the collaborative fund manager below: