Helping Native Americans Prosper

Kali, a participant in the Four Bands Fund Youth Entrepreneurship Program.By Michelle Sauve, Intergovernmental Affairs Specialist, Administration for Native Americans

This week is American Saves Week , a week where individuals are encouraged to take stock of their financial goals and make a plan to save.  Whether the goal is big or small, there is a way to save for it. The challenge of saving is harder for some, especially when they are living paycheck to paycheck or have trouble meeting their monthly bills. However, the ability to purchase a home, pay for education, start a business, or other goals are part of the American dream that should not be denied to hard working families.

Kali dreamed of pursuing a college education, but growing up in one of America’s poorest counties, located in South Dakota, she didn’t know how she would make this dream a reality.  Fortunately for her, the Four Bands Fund, a local Community Development Financial Institute , an ANA grantee was considering how to support youth like her.  What they developed was the Youth Entrepreneur Internship program, a paid internship and financial education program that offers a matched savings program.  When Kali completed this program, and an additional savings program, she was able to save $6300 toward her education, obtained useful personal finance skills to help her budget, and is looking forward to graduating from a state college in 2018. You can read about Kali’s amazing accomplishment at the Four Band’s website  (PDF).

On the Pine Ridge Reservation, the Lakota Funds is currently offering a suite of online learning courses called the Building Native Industries Institute , created to assist Oglala Sioux Tribe members that were unable to make it in person to regular business classes.  They have partnered with the Oglala Lakota College campuses, with sites in all 9 districts of the Tribe, to enable those without internet access participate in the courses at the campus sites.  The training is accessible from anywhere and open to everyone made possible with a grant from ANA.

ANA, in collaboration with the Office of Community Services Assets for Independence program, is currently supporting a funding opportunity to bring these types of programs to more Native American communities through the Native Asset Building Initiative .  The NABI offers funding from both ANA and AFI to help offset some of the high program administration costs related to operating a full service Individual Development Account (IDA) program. If you want to find out more about IDAs and NABI, you can find resources at: http://www.idaresources.acf.hhs.gov/ , but hurry because the funding announcement closes March 25.