Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council, Inc.

Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council, Inc., headquartered on the Lac Du Flambeau Reservation in Lac Du Flambeau, Wisconsin, is a Native American-owned, tax-exempt nonprofit organization serving 11 federally recognized tribes across Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, functioning as a prime recipient on federal grants focused on tribal health, economic development, education, and social services. The organization operates predominantly as a grant recipient (74% of awards) rather than a contractor, with a secondary role receiving federal pass-through funding as a sub-recipient (26% of awards).

The Corporation for National and Community Service awards the bulk of Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council's prime grant volume across the AmeriCorps Seniors portfolio—Foster Grandparent Program, Senior Companion Program, and Senior Demonstration Program awards fund intergenerational volunteer service, with recent examples including a $445,441 three-year project grant (CFDA 94.011) awarded July 1, 2026 for Foster Grandparent intergenerational mentoring and tutoring across Wisconsin tribal communities, a $333,485 three-year Senior Companion Program grant (CFDA 94.016) awarded July 1, 2026 to provide supportive services and companionship to vulnerable adults across Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan, and a $776,924 Senior Demonstration Program grant (CFDA 94.017) awarded September 6, 2024 to engage 18 AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers in teaching Oneida and Native American culture, history, traditions, and language on the Oneida Reservation and in Milwaukee. The Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Administration on Aging support the organization's epidemiology and dementia-care work. A $600,000 cooperative agreement (CFDA 93.470) awarded September 30, 2025 by the Administration on Aging funds the "Together Strong" Tribal Dementia Program, delivering dementia awareness, evidence-based caregiver training, and technical assistance across 34 federally recognized tribes and four urban Indian communities in the Bemidji area through September 29, 2028. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke funds the Great Lakes Native American Research Center for Health (GLNARCH), a $100,000 project grant awarded September 1, 2025 through July 31, 2030 (CFDA 93.853) supporting student career enhancement, research capacity building at tribal colleges and universities, and mentoring for Native American researchers across the region. Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council's Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Epidemiology Center (GLITEC), a departmental unit, receives cooperative agreements from the CDC's National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion for public health infrastructure (TECPHI, CFDA 93.078, $1.6 million cooperative agreement awarded September 30, 2022 through September 29, 2027) and Good Health and Wellness in Indian Country (GHWIC, CFDA 93.102, cooperative agreement awarded September 30, 2024 through September 29, 2029) focusing on chronic disease prevention, tobacco cessation, diabetes, hypertension, and overdose prevention across tribal communities. The Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration awards annual Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) planning grants ($153,000 awarded January 1, 2022, with follow-on awards in 2023 and 2024) to support economic development roadmaps for the 11-tribe service region.

Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council's federal footprint spans 33 customer agencies with concentrated activity among the Corporation for National and Community Service (19 AmeriCorps Seniors awards), the Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration (18 awards), the Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (14 combined awards), and the Department of Agriculture Rural Housing Service and Rural Business Cooperative Services (10 awards). The organization receives substantial pass-through funding from the State of Wisconsin Department of Health Services and Department of Children and Families (sub-awards for WIC, SNAP-Ed, maternal health innovation, family home visiting, and COVID prevention programs), the National Association of County and City Health Officials (Responding to Overdose with Data, Engagement, and Outreach sub-awards), and the University of Minnesota and University of Colorado (public health preparedness and epidemiology center sub-awards). The organization also operates the Tribal Personal Responsibility Education Program (TRIBAL PREP) under a cooperative agreement (CFDA 93.086) from the Administration on Children, Youth and Families, serving Native and non-Native youth aged 10-19 in five Wisconsin tribal communities through September 29, 2026.

Award activity has grown unevenly—four prime awards in 2022, rising to 19 in 2023, declining to 17 in 2024, 11 in 2025, and 5 in the first two weeks of 2026—driven by the three-year multi-award grant cycle typical of AmeriCorps and CDC cooperative agreements. Five awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, creating recompete exposure in AmeriCorps and economic development portfolios. Combined obligated dollars across all awards total $176.8 million, substantially exceeding the $2.4 million combined potential value in the award portfolio, indicating that many grants have completed their three-year performance periods and are now in closeout, with reported obligations reflecting cumulative spending across the organization's 30-year history beginning in 1996.