Nome Eskimo Community

Nome Eskimo Community, a federally recognized Indian tribe and tribal government based in Nome, Alaska, is a recipient of federal grants supporting tribal transportation infrastructure, child care services, environmental capacity-building, and community development programming. Operating as a prime grant recipient (99% of recent awards), the tribe does not hold federal contracts or sit on IDIQs, GWACs, or other procurement vehicles; its federal relationship is exclusively grant-based.

The tribe's grant portfolio spans 19 distinct federal agencies across the past five years, with obligations totaling $51.2 million. The top four funders account for 64% of recent awards: the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families (26, 19, and 15 awards across three funding lines), the Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration (16 awards), and the Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs and Indian Education (11 awards). HHS-ACF dominates both award count and dollar concentration, anchored by formula grants for child welfare services, promoting safe and stable families, and child care and development block grants. FHWA provides recurring formula and project grants under the Tribal Transportation Program and Highway Planning and Construction (CFDA 20.205) for tribal highway and transportation infrastructure; recent awards include $490,944.47 for FY2025 transportation program funding (April 2025) and $122,358.29 for FY2024 programming (July 2024). The tribe also holds grants from the Environmental Protection Agency (CFDA 66.926 Indian Environmental General Assistance Program, $134,000 for capacity-building in environmental management and harmful algal bloom monitoring through September 2027), the Federal Transit Administration (multiple formula grants supporting operating assistance and vehicle preventive maintenance for transit services), the Office of Child Care (CFDA 93.575 Child Care and Development Block Grant Discretionary, $115,299 for child care subsidies and workforce development through September 2028), and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (youth literacy programming at the Nome Eskimo Community Library).

Secondary grant activity includes awards from the Administration for Native Americans (Inupiaq language revitalization for grades 7–12), the Department of the Treasury Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund (broadband infrastructure deployment), and the Department of Housing and Urban Development Public and Indian Housing Office (Indian Community Development Block Grant). The tribe holds a tribal self-governance block grant from the Department of the Interior Office of Self Governance (CFDA 15.022) and functions as a subrecipient on an EPA Thriving Communities environmental justice subaward administered by Philanthropy Northwest (September 2025).

Recent activity has averaged 7–8 awards per year over the past three years. Ten awards reach ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, representing recompete opportunities across child care, transportation, and family services programming. The tribe's grant work centers on direct tribal administration of services and infrastructure — transportation systems, child care access, environmental stewardship, and cultural programming — rather than contracted service delivery or IT modernization.