Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation awards $13.7 million to 173 nonprofits in its 2026 grant cycle
The tribe near Highland, Calif., announced the grants on Oct. 1. Organizations serving Indian Country make up 43 percent of the recipients and receive 57 percent of the money.
Highland. Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation, a federally recognized tribe whose reservation lies near Highland, Calif., said on Oct. 1 that it had awarded $13.7 million in grants to 173 nonprofit organizations in its 2026 grant cycle.
The grants come from San Manuel Cares, the tribe's annual giving program, and go to work in California and in Indian Country. Of the 173 recipients, 43 percent serve Indian Country, and together they account for 57 percent of the money awarded, according to the tribe's announcement.
Who received grants
The tribe gives under four headings, which it calls its giving pillars: education, empowering lives, healthy and resilient communities, and preserving cultural traditions and empowering Indian Country.
The announcement names four recipients and does not give the amount of any single grant. The Indian Law Resource Center, based in Helena, Mont., provides legal advocacy for Indigenous peoples, including through its Safe Women, Strong Nations campaign. St. Mary Medical Center in Apple Valley will run a round the clock sexual assault program serving the High Desert. 4Corners K9 Search and Rescue, an all volunteer group, helps find missing and lost people on tribal lands. The San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools, a public agency, will expand apprenticeship pathways for students in the region.
“Our ancestors experienced Yawa' through acts of compassion, generosity and mutual support during times of hardship.”
Yawa' is a Serrano value that the tribe translates as "to act on one's beliefs."
Last year's cycle
In September 2025 the tribe announced more than $13.5 million for 200 charities, which it then called the largest amount it had awarded in a single grant cycle. It said at the time that it had given more than $425 million since the early 2000s; it now puts that total at nearly $500 million.
The tribe, formerly known as the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, took back its ancestral name, Yuhaaviatam, which means "People of the Pines." This year's announcement says nothing about when the next grant cycle will open to applications.
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