$4.8M in expenses

Food, garden, water and basic need:all children need to have access to healthy food, clean water, and safe homes to grow and thrive. Impoverished economic realities of rural and reservation life challenge many american indian communities to meet their children's basic needs. Running strong is dedicated to supporting native community leaders and family's efforts to ensure that their children have a healthy start. Running strong continued our support for critical needs with food and water connections, as well as with thousands of brand-new in-kind items to communities across the country.(see schedule o for continuation)food remains a running strong priority as we work hard to feed children who may otherwise go hungry. Running strong donated 17,339 dry and frozen food boxes to feed families on the pine ridge, standing rock, cheyenne river, cherokee, and crow reservations, along with 47,997.25 LBS of frozen holiday turkeys and 3,917.29 LBS of holiday hams. Each food box weighed approximately 20-30 LBS. And had enough nutritious food to feed a family of four or a week. After teachers told us students returned to school after weekends and school breaks listless and hungry, we started our weekend/school break backpack food program. On the menominee indian reservation we donate 13,500 bags filled with food to keshena primary school children over weekends and school breaks when they do not have access to free school lunches and breakfasts (420 students per week). We also support a backpack food program on the cheyenne river & standing rock reservations in south dakota, serving 6,240 "smartsacks and 3,600 "smartsacks" respectively. Kids were not only kept from being hungry, they became involved in building the food bags as a way to earn volunteer hours.after the school year ends, running strong serves a healthy sack lunch to cheyenne river kids in three communities so that these kids have something to eat during their summer vacation when they do not have access to a free school lunch and breakfast. This summer food program served 19,600 meals to children at 3 sites over 10 weeks, serving lunch and a take home meal safely to an average of 200 kids per day.running strong also supports organic gardening efforts as communities worked to grow their own food. In fy25, we continued to invest in the oyate teca medicine root gardening program, which is also the site of one of our field offices on the pine ridge indian reservation in south dakota. Running strong continues to provide foundational support for oyate teca's nine-month garden education classes which show how to grow, harvest, prepare and eat fresh produce on pine ridge. A big part of the class is hands-on instruction and the tools to plan & plant your own garden, and providing the tools, seedlings and fencing to plant 95 student gardens along with the extensive demonstration garden and greenhouses located by the oyate teca community center. In fy25, oyate teca's gardeners grew 25,000 LBS. Of fresh produce which was sold at local farmers markets, as well as gifted and composted. Garden students also sell their produce at the farmer's market, and sales of their own grown produce provided needed income and increased the quality of food offerings in the local community. The medicine root garden also continued to operate its mobile market program. Given the size of the pine ridge indian reservation, getting to where high-quality fresh produce is available can be very challenging, with the closest grocery story nearly 80 miles away, off the reservation. The mobile market, equipped with a generator, refrigeration, shelving, and air conditioning, travels out to harder to reach locations on the reservations three days a week, stopping at three locations on the reservation and traveling nearly 100 miles to reach residents. The mobile market offers the garden produce from the summer harvest and the surplus of produce from the community gardeners who go through the garden classes. We also continued our long-term support of slim buttes agricultural development program, tilling community gardens, distributing outdoor seedlings and seeds that yield indoor nutrition by the day, helping to meet the healthy and fresh food needs of families on the pine ridge indian reservation.running strong grants also supported the yuchi language project's traditional foods garden in sapulpa, ok and the brave heart society's gardens and medicinal plants at yankton in lake andes, SD.water is a critical need and there are still families living without access to safe running water on indian reservations. On the pine ridge indian reservation, oglala lakota families can live within yards of the mni wiconi (water is life) water line without funds to safely hook up to it. In fy25, running strong's pine ridge water project provided hydrants, water connections, plumbing repairs and septic systems to 2 families so that they did not have to continue to live without water. Some of these oglala families had lived without running water for 20+ years or had to haul it from up to 3 miles away.running strong is committed to providing safe environments for native families, including their own homes. Winters on the pine ridge indian reservation can be brutal with windchill temperatures as low as 40 degrees below zero. It's dangerous cold. To help stretch dollars during this critical time, running strong matches oglala families 1:4 for, or $400 matched by running strong to every $100 contributed by the family, towards filling their propane tanks or offsetting the cost of their heating bills. This filled each family's propane tank for 6 weeks during the winter. This year's emergency heat match on pine ridge provided heating assistance to 2,410 families.in addition to healthy food, clean water, and safe homes, in fy25, running strong also distributed the following brand-new items to native american communities:6,000 elementary backpacks and 3,000 JR. High school backpacks filled with age-appropriate school supplies, so native students have the tools they need to succeed in school.4,002 adult winter coats with hoods, 2,004 kids winter coats, 900 infant winter coats, 3,000 adult winter kits (hat, gloves, scarf, blanket), 3,000 kids winter kits, and 5,044 winter socks to stay safe and warm during harsh winter weather.5,004 pairs of athletic socks were distributed to native youth just in time for the summer months. Essential basics including 6,000 dental kits, 3,228 feminine hygiene kits, and 2,000 maternal care kits were donated for better maternal, feminine and oral health, which often suffers in impoverished communities. These brand-new items were donated to meet critical needs to 3 community partners in 14 states across the country. These youth program partners included direct distribution on pine ridge and cheyenne river reservations in SD, the cherokee nation in ok, and the crow nation in MT, biiluuke strong, the bridge foundation, and northern cheyenne boys & girls club in MT, brushy cherokee action association, rural communities initiative foundation, and muldrow cherokee community organization in ok, denver indian center in co, iowa tribe of KS & ne boys & girls club in KS, menominee school district and bowler school district in wi, nebo title vi indian education program and provo city schools in ut, interfaith action department of indian work and montessori american indian childcare center in MN, summit school district, the bebela project, brave heart society and sacred healing circle in SD, sacred healing circle in WY, through piscataway eyes in MD, walker river paiute tribe and indigenous council on biocolonialism in NV, ho'ola in hi, turtle funding foundation and wampum consulting in NY, xinewh:ding, san pasqual band of mission indians, koi nation, habematolel pomo of upper lake, greenville rancheria tribal health, greenville rancheria tribal health, dry creek rancheria, and blue lake rancheria in ca, and today we follow tomorrow we lead and pensar academy in az.

$4.5M in expenses

Youth, language and culture:running strong wholeheartedly advocates for native youth prosperity and academic success. In fy25, we supported today we follow tomorrow we lead's youth summer camp on the navajo nation in arizona, ho'ola's summer camp programming in native hawaiian communities, rock hill school district's catawba youth council for middle school and high school students, oceti wakan's youth programs on pine ridge indian reservation, the students at haskell university amidst federal funding cuts to critical programming, and the kansas university endowment association's summertime native storytelling workshop for native youth in lawrence, kansas, and surrounding areas.(see schedule o for continuation)to help native children enjoy the holidays like any other child, along with donating 3,399 brand new toys to families on pine ridge, running strong supported holiday parties and activities for sacred healing circle, through piscataway eyes, brushy cherokee action association, today we follow tomorrow we lead, and indian youth of america.in fy25, running strong operated our oyate ta kola ku community center that we built on the pine ridge indian reservation. This 21,000 square foot youth center operates all the youth programming conducted through our partner and newest field office, oyate teca project. In fy25 1,060 native youth participated in youth recreation activities in a brand-new gym, food preservation and preparation classes in our classrooms and commercial kitchen, garden classes in center and on the grounds in the medicine root garden, art, and culture classes such as beading, sewing, and regalia making. We have expanded our afterschool and summer programs for youth and community members, as well as our garden and food programs that serve the reservation.running strong continues to support culture and language revitalization efforts. We supported the afraid of bear/american horse tiospaye: rites of passage program where lakota elder master teachers brough together young women and girls to teach the art of making sacred foods, the prayers and ceremony behind this sacred art, as well as documenting other cultural teachings that are foundational to the oglala lakota peoples of the pine ridge reservation. We continued to support the hupa language immersion nest, a language revitalization program in northern california, and its year-long hupa language immersion school for young children and toddlers. We also supported oglala lakota sacred foods preparation through sacred healing circle, the cultural revitalization programming of through piscataway eyes in maryland and round valley unified school district in california, the healing youth outreach work of she carries her house productions' film remaining native, and yuchi language preservation efforts through our 25-year partnership with the yuchi language project in sapulpa, oklahoma.since 1994, running strong has supported the brave heart society's efforts in the yankton, oglala, sicangu, hunkpapa, hunkpati, kul wicasa, santee, sisseton, mdewanktonwan, spirit lake, cheyenne river and sioux valley nations. In fy25, brave heart society continued its work including the continuation of its mni wizipan wakan project to map out tribal water rights, garden tilling and planting for food sovereignty, social activism and isnati/coming of age coming of age ceremony for adolescent girls. Running strong also owns the brave heart lodge and leases it to the brave hearts for $1/year.we supported the powwows of native american council of tribes and oyate teca project, as well as the virginia tribal sovereignty conference of the rapahhannock tribe and flagstaff pride in az.

$472K in expenses

Dreamstarter program dreamstarter, dreamstarter teacher, dreamstarter creative, dreamstarter scholarship, keep the dream alive, dreamstarter gold. In his travels throughout the nation, our spokesperson billy mills has witnessed what he calls a "poverty of dreams," wherein native youth do not dare to dream. Dreamstarter aims to support native youth in pursuit of their dreams through a combination of financial support, hands-on mentorship, communications training, and networking. Running strong recognizes that today's native youth are our future leaders and despite the many challenges that native youth face, we can help them follow their dreams. Each year, 10 native youth are selected and through mentorship, networking, and financial assistance, helps them realize their dreams for their communities(see schedule o for continuation)each receiving a dreamstarter grant of $20,000, the 2025 dreamstarters ranged from age 16 to 30 and represented 9 diverse tribal communities: catawba indian nation, shinnecock nation, tlingit & haida, ute indian tribe, navajo nation, chickasaw nation, lumbee tribe, otoe-missouria, and northern arapaho. 2025 mentor organizations included indigenous health and wellness connections in ut, tlingit and haida washington chapter, wampum consulting and turtle funding foundation in NY, triangle native american society in NC, lindy waters iii foundation in ok, nation ford land trust in SC, the raices collab in ca, wind river family & community healthcare in WY, and vision maker media in ne. This year's dreamstarter theme was seventh generation and dreams ranged from community pottery workshops to traditional plant restoration, from increasing educational opportunities for youth to film and media workshops. Each dreamstarter is also eligible to apply for a "keep the dream alive" grant once their grant year is complete. These outstanding native youth are building a network of community change which will strengthen indian country for generations to come. For more information, visit WWW.indianyouth.org/dreamstarter.additionally, we awarded the 2024 dreamstarters with the second half of their dreamstarter grants. 2024 dreamstarter organizations included local environmental action demanded agency, indigenous journalists association and remember the removal legacy in ok, university of wisconsin stevens point in wi, northern arizona university in az, tribal adaptive organization in NM, underscore news in or, alpine school district in ut, ho'ola in hi, the bridge foundation in MT, and amerinda in NY.we announced the second class of dreamstarter gold grant recipients, a program designed to foster native excellence and support the expanding dreams of our dreamstarters through $50,000 grants and continued mentorship to five native youth over a three-year period. Dreamstarter gold grants were issued to northern arizona university in az to launch an indigenous trans, queer, and two spirit research center, to sacred healing circle in SD to create an environmentally sustainable solar panel, to through piscataway eyes for tribal data sovereignty, to nebo school district to increase native student represenation in nursing schools through workshops and educational programs, and to the earth law center for first ever indigenous youth led rights of nature tribal for ocean justice.in 2017, running strong launched dreamstarter teacher, a new grant that gives native teachers and teachers who teach native children the opportunity to make a dream come true in their classroom. In fy25, 12 teachers were selected with dreams ranging from supporting after school enrichment programs to cultivating school gardens. Each teacher and their school received $5,000. Schools awarded were montessori american indian childcare center in MN, nebo school district in ut, pensar academy and maricopa christian village in az, temalpakh farm corporation in az, tahlequah public schools and shawnee public schools in ok, round valley unified school district in ca, mineral county school district in NV, cherokee central schools in NC, and the school district of bowler in wi.in fall of 2021, we launched a new dreamstarter companion program: dreamstarter creative. Dreamstarter creative supports the artistic and cultural endeavors of native youth by awarding $2,500 grants to 10 youth each so they can create, connect, and celebrate their culture. In fy25, 10 more native artists representing 7 tribal communities received this grant. We were able to award $29,507.09 in scholarships to 2 dreamstarters through our dreamstarter scholarship program, designed to help dreamstarters pay for tuition or student loans for undergraduate or graduate school. This past year, we operated the third year of our dreamstarter incubator program, a microenterprise development initiative. By working directly with running strong to operate new running strong programs created in collaboration with dreamstarters, dreamstarter incubator provides dreamstarters the infrastructure to pursue their dreams on a larger scale. The microenterprise development program, created by running strong and a 2019 dreamstarter, awards small $5,000 no-interest business loans to native entrepreneurs and small businesses. Additionally, we provide business development and marketing workshops throughout their grant year. In fy25, we administered 16 $5,000 no-interest microloans to native american small businesses: 4 loans in oklahoma, 6 loans in montana, and 6 loans in south dakota.more information about all of our programs can be found at WWW.indianyouth.org, where you can read updates, join our email list or follow us on social media as we work to build a strong generation of native youth.