ANNOUNCEMENT: NACF’s NEW HOME

We are pleased to announce that NACF took ownership of the historic Yale Union building in Southeast Portland, Oregon, on February 26, 2021. The building will become the new headquarters for NACF and be renamed the Center for Native Arts and Cultures (CNAC). We are deeply grateful to YU’s board, staff, and late Executive Director Yoko Ott for their vision, courage, and this transformative opportunity afforded to NACF.

We are also pleased to announce that NACF has been offered a three-year, $750,000 challenge grant from the National Endowment of the Humanities (NEH) to launch its capital campaign for renovating the Center for Native Arts & Cultures! NACF was one of the only 29 organizations chosen to receive the funding, out of 146 applications nationally. NEH Challenge Grant funding will match donations and non-federal grant funding we raise for the renovations at the CNAC.

The purpose of the NEH Challenge Grants program is to strengthen the institutional base of the humanities by enabling infrastructure development and capacity building. Awards aim to help institutions secure long-term support for their core activities and expand efforts to preserve and create access to outstanding humanities materials.

We have also received a three-year, $500,000 challenge grant award from the Sunderland Foundation to support the renovation and retrofit at the CNAC. This challenge grant, like the NEH Challenge Grant, will require that NACF raise 75% of the project budget from other sources over the three-year project period.

The Sunderland Foundation was established in 1945 by Lester T. Sunderland, who served as President of the Ash Grove Cement Company for 33 years as a highly respected leader in the cement industry. Since its inception, the Foundation, which continues to be led by Lester T. Sunderland’s descendants, has focused on supporting construction projects in the Kansas City region and other markets traditionally served by the Ash Grove Cement Company.

Learn more about the transfer of ownership of the Yale Union building to NACF and our vision for the new Center for Native Arts and Cultures!


Thank you to the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Sunderland Foundation for their early support of our goal to renovate and retrofit the CNAC for use by Native artists!