TACTIX: Free Online Training Program for Native Entrepreneurs! Apply Today!
Register by Wednesday, August 17 for the Next TACTIX Training Cohort
The Sequoyah Fund is proud to announce that their fifth TACTIX cohort will begin in September. TACTIX is a virtual course which provides Native entrepreneurs with tools to enhance their digital marketing, including social media and website performance. Click here to view more about TACTIX!
This free online sales accelerator training runs from September 7, 2022 through January 18, 2023. Live weekly sessions will be held on Wednesdays from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. ET, where participants can connect with digital marketing experts. These recorded sessions will then be available for viewing anytime.
Participants will be grouped by ZIP code, and Native CDFIs will get a list of any participants in their service area so they can directly with them. These courses are taught by a national team of experts and provide participants everything they need to enhance their digital marketing presence for their businesses.
Click here to view the TACTIX course curriculum.
CDFI Fund Equitable Recovery Program Deadline Is September 22, 2022
The deadline for online submission of the CDFI ERP application through the CDFI Fund’s AMIS is September 22, 2022 at 11:59 PM ET. Please view the CDFI ERP Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) for more detailed information.
The CDFI Fund hosted two live webinars to answer applicant questions about CDFI ERP. Webinar recordings and presentation materials are available on the CDFI ERP page.
All of the guidance, application materials, reference documents, and webinar information for the FY 2022 CDFI ERP application round are available on the CDFI ERP page. The following materials have been added or updated on the CDFI Fund’s website since the application release on June 24, 2022:
- Amend FY 2022 CDFI Equitable Recovery Program NOFA
- FY 2022 CDFI Equitable Recovery Program Application Instructions
- FY 2022 Equitable Recovery Program Application Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- CDFI Equitable Recovery Program Application Overview
- FY 2022 CDFI Equitable Recovery Program AMIS Training Manual
- CDFI ERP AMIS Application Demonstration Webinar
The CDFI Fund will be answering questions about the FY 2022 CDFI ERP application until 5:00 p.m. ET on September 20, 2022. Contact the CDFI Fund with questions by submitting a Service Request through your AMIS account, by e-mail to [email protected], or by phone to (202) 653-0421 (please note this is not a toll free number).
NCN “Difference Makers” Interview Series:
Alana Peterson and Jeff Tickle
Last week, the Native CDFI Network released its latest edition of “Native CDFIs: Difference Makers for Indian Country,” an interview with Alana Peterson, who serves as Executive Director of Spruce Root, Inc., which serves 23 predominantly Native communities across southeast Alaska. A federally certified Native CDFI, Spruce Root provides local entrepreneurs with access to business development and financial resources in the form of loan capital, business coaching, workshops, and competitions. To read the interview, please click here.
Coming this Thursday: “Difference Makers” sits down with Jeff Tickle, who serves as General Manager of Cook Inlet Lending Center, Inc. (CILC) in Anchorage, Alaska. Formerly known as NaQenq’a, CILC is a federally certified Native CDFI that was created in 2001 as a social enterprise of the Cook Inlet Housing Authority to address the need for affordable home financing and development services in the Cook Inlet Region of Alaska. It has since grown to offer small business loan products to Native entrepreneurs.
To read the other interviews in NCN’s “Difference Makers” series, please click here.
Tribal Business News Publishes Article on Proposed Legislation for Federal “Re-lending” Programs to Native CDFIs
Today, Tribal Business News published an article detailing how the federal government seeks to outsource some of its lending programs to Native CDFIs. These programs include the Rural Development Section 502 Direct Loan of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Native American Direct Loan (NADL) for veterans run by the Department of Veteran Affairs.
According to the article, “This ‘re-lending’ would allow Native CDFIs to bolster volumes for American Indian lending programs that are technically active but rarely used.”
Click here to view the full article.
NCN Welcomes New Communications Director
NCN welcomes our new Communications Director, Shauntel Hogan. Hogan will advise and advance the development and implementation of NCN’s strategic communication initiatives. She will also create and coordinate NCN’s branding and storytelling processes that will support advocacy efforts on behalf of Native CDFIs.
Hogan graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a degree in Finance and minor in Native American studies. Her background in the banking and housing industries will serve as a complement to NCN’s mission and strategic objectives. Her email is [email protected].