Yes, organizations who registered and are published at NativeWays.org/NativeNonprofitList will need to register in the MightyCause system using the form above.

Registering here will allow your organization to include more detailed information about your work and to update your profiles at any time. Plus, we have added more focus areas that will provide viewers with a deeper look at the impact your organization makes. By registering and claiming your profile, you will also have access to fundraising tools, including adding matching gifts and peer-to-peer tools that give your supporters the opportunity to create fundraisers for your work.

Additionally, we will be fully transitioning to the new platform and closing the list at NativeWays.org/NativeNonprofitList on Wednesday, April 30, 2025.

The focus areas describe the diverse work conducted by Native nonprofits. Because organizations often make an impact beyond their direct work or service, they are invited to select up to seven areas that best describe their work’s primary focus. We have not provided strict definitions for these focus areas, so please feel free to browse areas that most resonate.

For example, an organization may be focused on serving Youth (Youth Development and Empowerment) by teaching video editing and graphic design (Media and Journalism), which in the long term provides job skills and prospects (Workforce Development, Economic Development, Community Development).

Geography & Community Served are where the nonprofit provides services or makes an impact. Organizations are invited to select as many that are relevant to their work. We have not provided strict definitions for these geographic and service areas; however, these may be understood as follows:

Reservation: Works with Native people on an American Indian Reservation

Off-Reservation: Works with Native people or communities not located on a reservation

Urban: Works with Native people or communities who live in a city or urban area

Tribal: Works with Native people who are citizens or descendants of a specific Tribe

Local: Works with Native people of a small geography, not necessarily bound by a reservation or specific Tribe

Regional: Works with Native people across a larger geography that could include multiple reservations, off-reservation areas, urban areas, counties, or states

National: Works with Native people and communities across most or all of the colonially imposed U.S.A. state borders

International: Works with Native or Indigenous people and communities across colonially imposed international borders.

We acknowledge and honor Tribal sovereignty and recognize the conflict in using colonially imposed state geography to describe the location of Native and Tribal organizations and we hope to improve this element ongoing.

Funders and donors will be able to search for organizations by their registered city, state, or zip code, but that does not necessarily reflect the geographic impact of the organization's work. We hear from funders and donors who are seeking information about organizations within specific geographies, such as state or region, and this will help those groups to find organizations that match their interests who may have headquarters elsewhere.

Nonprofits include a variety of categories that the IRS and U.S. government have determined are not paying out profits to shareholders or stakeholders, including but not limited to 501(c)3s, 501(c)4s, 501(c)5s, 7871s, and fiscally sponsored organizations. Not all nonprofits can receive tax-deductible donations. Learn more at the National Council of Nonprofits.

The Native Nonprofit List only includes organizations that can receive tax-deductible donations, including 501(c)3s, 7871 Tribal nonprofits, and fiscally sponsored organizations.

501(c)3s are organizations that apply for and qualify as public charities or private foundations under the Internal Revenue Code 501(c)(3) and are exempt from corporate income tax. Individuals or companies can provide tax-deductible, charitable contributions to organizations with 501(c)3 status.

7871s are Tribal Nonprofits. Section 7871 treats Indian Tribes like states for most federal tax purposes, including determining whether and in what amount a contribution to a Tribal government is deductible as a charitable contribution.

Fiscally Sponsored Organizations have not yet received or applied for 501(c)3 status from the IRS. They have a formal relationship with a 501(c)3 (their fiscal sponsor) who accepts tax-deductible contributions on behalf of the sponsored organization. The fiscal sponsor may also provide infrastructural and administrative support. It is common for the fiscal sponsor to charge an administrative fee for its services. Learn more at the National Council of Nonprofits.

Yes and No. Organizations who do not meet all four criteria for the list, including having at least 51 percent Native board and leadership team representation, are not eligible to be published.

However, all organizations can (and should!) participate in our giving campaigns (#GiveNative and Native Nonprofit Day) by uplifting and supporting Native-led organizations! Organizations can become part of this great network of Native-led nonprofits by increasing Native leadership opportunities at their organization.

No, we asked participating organizations to share the number of board members and leadership team who identify as Native. We do not require proof of identity, descendance, citizenship, or enrollment in a state or federally recognized Tribe.

While we recognize that U.S. boundaries were not created by Indigenous communities, and are often in conflict with how we identify, at this time we are only including organizations located within the U.S. and registered under the IRS (501c3s or fiscally sponsored) or Federally Recognized Tribes (7871 Tribal Nonprofits).

Please contact the organization directly if you have questions about their work or how to best support them.

All questions can be sent to the MightyCause team at support@mightycause.com. They can answer most question about the platform and will reach out to our team if other questions arise.

If you have a question or concern about an organization’s inclusion on the list, you are also welcome to contact Native Ways Federation directly by emailing info@nativeways.org 

There are No Fees to Join the Native Nonprofit List and use the tools year round. Thanks to our grant partners, donors, and founders, our annual fee for the platform is covered.

There are Fees Per Donation when donors contribute to nonprofits. However, the MightyCause platform sees that most donors choose to cover these fees, which means 100% of their intended donation makes it to the nonprofit.

• If a donor opts-out of covering the fee, the nonprofit will receive the full donation, less a platform fee of 3.5% and credit card processing fee of 2.9% and $0.30.
• For donors that give via their bank account, credit card processing fees will be replaced by a 1% transaction fee, plus a $1.50 fixed fee per transaction (total ACH processing fees will be capped at $5.00). ACH option will be available for donation amounts $50 or more. 

All donations are final and cannot be refunded. All donations through the Native Nonprofit List are made to the Mightycause Foundation, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization that permits donors to advise a regranting of their donations to qualified charitable organizations.