BGCA Native Services is grateful to our program partners, who provide critical support so that we may provide youth development programming to thousands of Native youth each year.
American Indian College Fund
The American Indian College Fund, through its commitment with BGCA, has opened up scholarships exclusively for qualified Boys & Girls Club members to attend Tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) in the immediate proximity of their Club. Students must apply and be accepted into a TCU to be considered. Upon acceptance, the scholarships are renewable annually as long as students meet the college’s eligibility requirements.
AmeriCorps VISTA
Through BGCA Native Services’ partnership with AmeriCorps VISTA, the VISTA project seeks to strengthen communities by aligning with the traditional Native practice of investing in young people. This project recruits young adults from Native communities to serve as VISTAs, including young adult alumni of Native Clubs. The priorities of Native Clubs’ outcomes align with the strategic plan of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) AmeriCorps VISTA initiative, which focuses specifically in the areas of addressing the impact of poverty on communities and advancing racial equity. Through the engagement of local Club alumni and other community members as VISTAs, this program creates opportunities for career readiness and educational attainment for Native youth.
Bezos Family Foundation
To empower Native youth and expand the reach of BGCA Native Services in underserved Native communities, the Bezos Family Foundation is supporting the expansion and implementation of the Think, Learn, Create Change (TLC) + GROW project in Native Clubs. This partnership aims to enhance youth advocacy and leadership, while expanding access to out-of-school programs for Native youth.
Boeing
Through BGCA Native Services’ partnership with Boeing, Boeing will provide sponsorship for the 2024 Native Summit. In addition to they will provide program support and capacity building for both new and existing Native Clubs, as well as providing employee community engagement in coordination with Boeing Native American Network (BNAN) employee leaders.
Bureau of Indian Education
A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between BGCA and its local affiliates in Indian Country and the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) will allow collaboration to enrich the lives of Native youth by supporting programs that discourage violence and drug abuse, while encouraging good citizenship and educational accomplishments. The goal of this partnership is to use the strengths and expertise of both organizations to improve and enhance the educational well-being of American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) youth attending BIE funded schools and dormitories.
The California Endowment
The partnership with The California Endowment has supported Native Boys & Girls Clubs in California to attend trauma-informed trainings and increase access to experiences that can help achieve equity for Native youth. Through this partnership, BGCA Native Services and The California Endowment are prioritizing creating stronger Native Club organizations, providing increased Club program quality, effective advocacy and an expanded reach to Native youth.
Gary Wendt
Through the investment from Boys & Girls Clubs in Indian Country Board Member, Gary Wendt, his gift supports the academic success pillar of BGCA’s mission. This funding provides consultative support to Native Clubs and ensures the high-quality implementation of academic success programming, as well as Board and staff development and organizational planning. In 2023, Gary served as the premier sponsor for BGCA’s regional Native Learning Events, which provided opportunities for Club youth development professionals to network with others in their region and to learn strategies and techniques to better serve youth in their communities.
Indian Health Service (IHS)
IHS provides funding for the Type 2 diabetes prevention program On the T.R.A.I.L. to Diabetes Prevention. T.R.A.I.L. is an innovative combination of educational, physical and nutritional activities that provides youth with a comprehensive understanding of healthy lifestyles with the long-term goal of preventing and/or reducing the onset of Type 2 diabetes. Woven throughout the 12 week program are self-esteem and prevention activities utilized by BGCA, including contributions from national evidence-based programs such as SMART Moves. Club members draw from Native traditions and history to learn about nutrition, food choices, media influences and the impact of Type 2 diabetes.
Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies
BGCA Native Services’ partnership with Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies supports the identification of aquatic safety challenges within Native communities and recommend high-quality, sustainable solutions to address safe swimming inequities among Native youth. This partnership provides Native Clubs with the opportunity to enhance their knowledge and skills in youth aquatic safety and drowning prevention.
Nike N7
Through the support of Nike N7, together we promote the “Power of Sports” and closing the opportunity gap for Native young people. BGCA Native Services and local Clubs ensure success in school, work and life while reinforcing each community’s cultural values and traditional ways. Together, we can equip Native Clubs to deliver transformational impact in their communities through the “Power of Sports”.
Northwest Area Foundation
This partnership aims to expand the number of Native Clubs delivering workforce development programming to Native youth and ensure that Native Clubs can deliver the highest-quality Club Experience by providing an assessment tool that sets Clubs up for continuous improvement. Our goals are to increase Clubs capacity to provide high-quality Workforce Development programs, guiding Native youth to develop 21st century skills and a clear vision of their future career goals. The project meets the Foundation’s funding priority for increasing good jobs though development and training that helps to prepare individuals with low incomes for successful futures.
NoVo Foundation
Novo Foundation’s initiative seeks to help restore and strengthen indigenous knowledge and life-ways as potentially transformative in addressing some of the world’s—and similarly, some of Indigenous communities’—most pressing problems. Through this partnership, Novo and BGCA Native Services will work together to improve the ability of our Native organizations to build and sustain strategic partnerships and key stakeholders through culturally relevant services, youth development programs adapted for Native youth that are driven by outcomes and leadership trainings for Club staff and Board Members.
OJJDP
The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP)’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) supports BGCA through grants that allow us to strengthen, expand, and implement youth mentoring activities and youth development programming.
Polaris
BGCA Native Services, in partnership with Polaris and others, work together to promote science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to Native youth. This opportunity will ignite passion and motivate young people attending Boys & Girls Clubs on Native Lands. Learn more about our partnership here.
Red Nose Day
The aim of Red Nose Day is to bring about real and lasting change by tackling the root causes of childhood poverty and social injustice through the power of entertainment. BGCA Native Services has received proceeds from Red Nose Day, which will be used to build capacity and support increases in average daily attendance in Native Clubs.
San Manuel Band of Mission Indians
BGCA Native Services’ partnership with the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians creates pathways to a better future through education for Native young people. The Tribe’s investment supports 14 local Native Boys & Girls Clubs statewide in California, providing 1,400 youth with evidence-informed educational programming created from Native youths’ unique cultural, social, environmental, emotional, intellectual and physical dimensions.
Starbucks
BGCA Native Services and Starbucks have teamed up to support the Trauma-Informed Network (Pathways to Healing) through a two-year partnership, to provide trauma-informed training to Native Boys & Girls Clubs and network-wide access to online trauma-informed curriculum to better serve Native youth.
The Walmart Foundation
The Walmart Foundation has provided funding to support Healthy Habits, BGCA’s outcome-driven nutrition education program for Native youth. This program addresses the fact that Native youth face much higher rates of diabetes than their non-Native peers by providing access to nutritional education. Healthy Habits is focused on basic cooking techniques, smart food shopping, working around resource constraints and using resources from the local community to create healthy meals.
Yale University
The initial partnership between Native Boys & Girls Clubs and Yale University came through the 2019 Charles Carl Fellowship Award which enabled Chief Executive Officers from various Boys & Girls Clubs on Native Lands to attend a three-day conference at the Child Study Center in the Yale School of Medicine. The event reflects a budding partnership between Yale Child Study faculty and Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Native Services team which continues to evolve such as serving as subject matter experts for the Native Trauma-Informed Network (Pathways to Healing).
