Native American Language Preservation and Maintenance-Esther Martinez Immersion | HHS 2025 ACF ANA NB 0115

Opportunity Information: Apply for HHS 2025 ACF ANA NB 0115

The Native American Language Preservation and Maintenance - Esther Martinez Immersion (EMI) grant is a discretionary funding opportunity from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), administered by the Administration for Native Americans (ANA). Its purpose is to strengthen and sustain Native languages by supporting community-based, immersion-focused education efforts that keep Native languages actively spoken and taught across generations. The program is rooted in the Esther Martinez Native American Languages Preservation Act and is aimed at projects that use full, consistent language immersion as the core strategy for language vitality.

Funded projects must operate as one of two legally defined immersion models: a Native American Language Nest or a Native American Survival School. A Language Nest is a site-based early childhood program that provides both instruction and child care primarily through a Native American language. To meet the definition, it must serve at least 5 children under age 7 and provide an average of at least 500 hours per year per student in the Native language environment. A Native American Survival School is a site-based program for school-age students and must provide an average of at least 500 hours of instruction through one or more Native American languages to at least 10 students, where the survival school is the students principal place of instruction. In other words, the program is not meant for occasional language activities; it is meant for sustained immersion where the Native language is the main medium of teaching and learning.

Eligibility is broad across Native-serving and Native-governed entities, reflecting the many ways Native communities are organized. Eligible applicants include federally recognized Indian tribes (as recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs), incorporated non-federally recognized and state-recognized tribes, tribal consortia, and incorporated nonprofit multipurpose community-based Indian organizations, including Urban Indian Organizations and Urban Indian Centers. The opportunity also includes Native Community Development Financial Institutions (Native CDFIs) and a wide range of Alaska Native entities, such as Alaska Native villages (as defined under ANCSA), nonprofit village consortia, village-specific nonprofit Native organizations, Alaska Native community entities, and tribal governing bodies such as IRA or Traditional Councils recognized by BIA. Additional eligible applicants include public and nonprofit private agencies serving Native Hawaiians, Native communities in Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, as well as national or regional incorporated nonprofit Native American organizations with community-specific objectives. Tribal Colleges and Universities and certain colleges and universities in Hawaii, Guam, and American Samoa or the CNMI that serve Native American Pacific Islanders are also eligible. Individuals (including sole proprietorships) and foreign entities cannot apply and will be disqualified from merit review. Faith-based and community organizations may apply if they otherwise meet eligibility rules, and ACF states it will not discriminate based on an organizations religious character, consistent with applicable federal protections and regulations.

Key funding details include an opportunity number of HHS-2025-ACF-ANA-NB-0115 and a CFDA number of 93.587. The application deadline is listed as April 14, 2025. The award ceiling is $900,000, and the agency anticipates making about 7 awards. The funding instrument is a grant, and the activity category is listed as Income Security and Social Services, which reflects ACFs broader portfolio even though the project focus here is clearly education-based language immersion and community language revitalization outcomes.

• The Administration for Children and Families - ANA in the income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Native American Language Preservation and Maintenance-Esther Martinez Immersion" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.587.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2025-01-14.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-04-14. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $900,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 7 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Others.

Apply for HHS 2025 ACF ANA NB 0115

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