About Us

The Tribal Funding Registry is the trusted home for funding discovery in Indian Country. We are a Native-led platform that centralizes grant opportunities for Tribal Nations and Indigenous-led organizations.

  • Tribal Nations have always known how to resource and care for their communities. We built TFR to match that care — a trusted space where funding discovery reflects the values and priorities of the communities it serves.

    TFR is a program of the Hozhonigo Institute, a Native American-led nonprofit organization established in 2022.

  • We walk alongside, not in front. TFR brings knowledge without creating dependency and helps communities find their own path forward.

    Our work is grounded in four commitments:

    • Sovereignty first. Tribal Nations are governments, not nonprofits. Our language, tools, and processes reflect that at every level.

    • Access, not scarcity. The funding exists. The gap is in access. TFR closes that gap with curated, searchable, guided funding discovery.

    • Relationship over transaction. We are a trusted partner, not a service provider. Every interaction is built on consistency, cultural grounding, and transparency.

    • Community-centered design. TFR was built for Native communities by Native leaders. Our platform reflects the realities of Tribal governance, not nonprofit logic.

    • Tribal Nations and councils seeking funding for community priorities

    • Native-led nonprofits navigating federal, state, and foundation grants

    • Tribal grant staff who need a trusted resource and peer community

    • Foundations and funders seeking to engage Indian Country with integrity

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An exhibition booth with a white table and green swag
Annotated notes depicting a sesion about Money on a Mission
An exhibition booth with green swag materials and a man visiting.

What We Bring

The Registry

A centralized, searchable funding tool built for Indian Country. Federal, state, corporate, foundation, and Tribal opportunities with guided support from staff who understand Tribal context.

Grantmatching Workshops

Monthly live sessions where participants work through real funding searches together, share what they are learning, and leave with leads that fit their actual work.

Open Hours

Drop in any time we are open. No appointment, no agenda required. Bring a question or just need a second opinion. Our staff shows up as people, not as gatekeepers.

Resource Library

Guides, templates, recorded walkthroughs, and funding lists built for Tribal realities. No generic nonprofit content with an Indigenous name attached.

Meet Our Founder

A headshot of a woman, Onawa Haynes, in grey against a grey background

Onawa L. Haynes, Esq. (Diné/Mescalero Apache), was born and raised on the border of the Navajo Nation in Gamerco, NM. She has dedicated the entirety of her educational and professional career to developing solutions for some of Indian Country’s most pressing issues.

She attended the University of New Mexico where she received her Bachelor’s degrees in Native American Studies and English/Pre-law as well as her Juris Doctor from UNM School of Law focusing on Federal Indian Law and Tribal-State Relations. As a licensed attorney, Onawa’s professional journey took her from the courtroom as a Public Defender for the 11th Judicial District of New Mexico (McKinley County) to advocating for tribal communities by curating grant proposals to fund critical programming for tribes in New Mexico.

Onawa founded her for-profit grant writing firm, Hozhonigo Consulting LLC to provide grant support services exclusively for Tribes and Native-led nonprofits in 2022. To date, Onawa and her team have secured over $200M for critical programs and infrastructure projects in Indian Country and the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi.

Recognizing the systemic barriers Tribal Nations face in accessing funding, Onawa created the Tribal Funding Registry to build the infrastructure that Indian Country needs to discover, pursue, and secure the resources that they deserve.