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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Erin Bailey, Executive Director Center for Native American Youth The Aspen Institute 202-736-2521 erin.bailey@aspeninstitute.org |
Nike’s N7 Programs Announces Funding Opportunities
for Native Youth Through Generation Indigenous
Grants are now available to Native youth for sport and physical activity programs and initiatives.
Washington, DC, July 20, 2015 –– As a part of President Obama’s Generation Indigenous (Gen-I) initiative, Nike, Inc. and the N7 Fund has partnered with the Center for Native American Youth (CNAY) to extend grant opportunities as a resource for Native youth leaders promoting health and wellness through sport and physical activity in their community. Gen-I is an initiative to help improve the lives of Native youth and to cultivate the next generation of Native leaders. Gen-I includes new investments and policies to expand educational, employment, and health and social services for Native youth. CNAY, along with the Department of the Interior, have partnered to launch a National Native Youth Network. Through this Network, CNAY has engaged over 2,000 Native youth from across the country in 2015.
Sam McCracken, CNAY board member and General Manager of Nike’s N7 Programs, announced this new funding opportunity at the first-ever White House Tribal Youth Gathering on July 9. During the Gathering, which brought over 1,000 Native youth from across the country to Washington, DC, McCracken remarked, “N7 has allocated resources for Native youth as a part of N7’s commitment to Gen-I. We created this opportunity in partnership with the Center for Native American Youth to bring sport and all of its benefits to Gen-I and to create further opportunities for future generations.”
The National Native Youth Network, a part of Gen-I, is aimed at providing a sustainable platform to engage and educational, leadership, and funding opportunities to Native American youth across the United States. This partnership, between CNAY and Nike to provide youth an opportunity to secure funding for wellness and activity programs, is an example of how the Network is expanding opportunities for and bringing more resources to the 2.1 million Native American youth.
Native youth can now apply for up to $10,000 in funding for their programs and initiatives through the N7 Fund website. For more information and to apply, please visit http://n7fund.com/apply/.
“I am inspired by Sam McCracken’s leadership and passion for making a difference in the lives of Native children through sport,” said Erin Bailey, Executive Director of the Center for Native American Youth, a policy program at the Aspen Institute. “Nike N7 represents a positive outlet and brand to many and we are excited about their continued work to support Native youth through the Network.”
The N7 Fund provides access to cash only grants to Native American and Aboriginal communities in support of sports and physical activity programs for youth. Our goal is to help unleash a child’s potential through the power of sport. Nike is inspired by Native American wisdom of the Seven Generations: In every deliberation we must consider the impact of our decisions on the seventh generation. For more information, visit www.niken7.com.
Center for Native American Youth is dedicated to improving the health, safety and overall well-being of Native American youth through communication, policy development and advocacy. Founded by former US Senator Byron Dorgan in February 2011, the Center is a policy program within the Aspen Institute, headquartered in Washington, DC. The Center works to strengthen and create new connections as well as exchange resources and best practices that address the challenges facing Native youth. Visit the Center’s website for a comprehensive list of resources available to young Native Americans, tribes and the general public. For more information, visit www.cnay.org
The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC. Its mission is to foster leadership based on enduring values and to provide a nonpartisan venue for dealing with critical issues. The Institute is based in Washington, DC; Aspen, Colorado; and on the Wye River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. It also has offices in New York City and an international network of partners. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org.
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