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Native Arts and Cultures Foundation
Founded in 2008, the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation (NACF) grew from a coalition led by Joy Harjo (Mvskoke), the first Native U.S. Poet Laureate, with...
Native Arts and Cultures Foundation
Founded in 2008, the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation (NACF) grew from a coalition led by Joy Harjo (Mvskoke), the first Native U.S. Poet Laureate, with initial grants from the Ford Foundation and the Rumsey Band of Wintun Indians. It is a Native-led, 501(c)(3) nonprofit headquartered in Portland, Oregon, with a mandate to support American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian artists across the nation. NACF deploys capital through two core fellowship programs, LIFT and SHIFT, alongside project-specific grants. LIFT targets early-career Native artists with unrestricted awards, supporting practitioners like D.C. Allen (Crow Tribe of Montana), who expanded his community-engaged contemporary art project 'Faces of Our Land,' and Ursala Hudson (Tlingit), who deepened her Chilkat and Ravenstail weaving practice and participated in international runway shows. SHIFT funds artists and collectives who drive social change through a Native lens, promoting cultural self-determination and environmental sustainability. The foundation also operates The Magazine, whose second issue focused on Indigenous fashion, and the SONIC Sovereignty playlist, curating music from NACF grantees and collaborators on Apple Music. Beyond grants, NACF holds a physical campus. In 2021, the arts organization Yale Union transferred ownership of the historic Yale Union Laundry Building in Southeast Portland to the foundation, creating the Center for Native Arts and Cultures (CNAC) at 800 SE 10th Avenue. The site now anchors NACF’s exhibition and programming operations. The foundation’s board includes Camilla Rockefeller, who also sits on the David Rockefeller Fund. In spring 2025, NACF announced a new cohort of LIFT and SHIFT awardees, continuing its annual cycle of direct artist support. What structurally differentiates NACF is its hybrid model of a grantmaking foundation that also directly operates a physical arts center. Most philanthropies either write checks or run spaces — NACF does both, and it does so under a Native-majority board and leadership at a national scale, a rare arrangement in the U.S. cultural funding landscape.
General information
Firm type
Endowment / Foundation
Year founded
2008
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Portland
Corporate office
800 SE 10th Avenue, Portland, OR 97214
Principals
Joy Harjo
Founding Board Member and Honored Past Board Chair
Altss tracks 2 additional named team members for this firm — including direct investment leads, IR, and operating principals not listed on the public website.
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Frequently asked questions
Is the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation a grantmaking body, an operating foundation, or both?
NACF is a 501(c)(3) private foundation structured as both a grantmaker and an operating entity. It runs national fellowship programs like LIFT and SHIFT that make direct grants to artists, while also owning and operating the Center for Native Arts and Cultures (CNAC), a physical exhibition and programming space in Portland. This dual model is uncommon among cultural funders.
Who runs investment decisions at the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation?
NACF does not publicly disclose details of its endowment investment management structure. The foundation is governed by a board that includes Camilla Rockefeller of the David Rockefeller Fund. As a foundation, its primary deployment mechanism is direct programmatic grantmaking rather than for-profit investing.
How does NACF source the artists and organizations it funds?
NACF funds American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian artists through a national, open application process for its fellowships. Its LIFT program supports early-career artists, and SHIFT backs artist-led projects at the intersection of art and social change. The foundation also makes targeted grants to Native-led arts organizations and occasionally commissions works, such as its SONIC Sovereignty music playlist and The Magazine.
Where does the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation's underlying wealth come from?
The foundation was initially capitalized with a $10 million grant from the Ford Foundation and a $1.5 million commitment from the Rumsey Band of Wintun Indians. It has since sustained its operations and endowment through additional fundraising from Native nations, tribes, foundations, businesses, and individual donors.
What is the Center for Native Arts and Cultures, and how is it related to the foundation?
The Center for Native Arts and Cultures (CNAC) is NACF's physical headquarters and exhibition space, located at 800 SE 10th Avenue in Portland, Oregon. The building, a former laundry facility, was transferred to NACF by the arts organization Yale Union in 2021. NACF uses CNAC to host curated art exhibitions, community programs, and partnerships.
Does NACF limit its funding to specific artistic disciplines or regions?
NACF funds across disciplines — including visual arts, performance, music, and literary arts — and has a nationwide mandate covering American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian artists. Its recent grantees include weavers, painters, musicians, and cross-disciplinary artists working in communities from Alaska to New York.
How is the foundation’s management structured, and who are its key leaders?
Day-to-day operations are led by President and CEO Shyla Spicer. The board is chaired by Founding Board Member and Honored Past Board Chair Joy Harjo (U.S. Poet Laureate), and includes members such as Camilla Rockefeller of the David Rockefeller Fund. NACF discloses no additional executive investment staff, consistent with its profile as a programmatically focused foundation.
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