During the 2014 tax season Jesse Carlson, a young entrepreneur and 2013 graduate from Dupree High School, staffed the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) site hosted by Four Bands Community Fund in Eagle Butte, South Dakota. She and another Four Bands staff member prepared 431 tax returns, resulting in $1.1 million being refunded to residents…
Last tax season, members of the Great Plains Native Asset Building Coalition, a group of organizations and institutions that work to expand asset development strategies in low-income Native American communities, announced the collective impact of their free tax preparation sites, also known as Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites. The Cheyenne River, Crow Creek, and…
White Earth Investment Initiative’s Opportunity Auto low-income vehicle ownership program helped tribal member Rachael. Rachael had bad credit due to the expenses related to the illness and death of her small child, for which she was not financially prepared. Rachael needed a reliable vehicle to maintain her two jobs and was interested in the Opportunity…
The Lakota Federal Credit Union conducted a survey of its members last summer and found that there has been an increased uptake in use of financial tools by the people of the Pine Ridge Reservation. 31% of people surveyed say they now have a savings account for the first time ever. In addition, about a…
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As part of our campaign for National Financial Literacy Month, we have an inspirational story to share with your about a Pokagon Band citizen that was able to build an emergency savings fund, open a savings account, and pay down $7,000 in credit card debt – all in five months – with the help of…
As part of our campaign for National Financial Literacy Month, we have an amazing story to share with your about a Crow Creek tribal member that made her homeownership dream a reality by working with one of our Network members, Hunkpati Investments. Airryn Big Eagle says that before working with Hunkpati Investments, she didn’t…
In 2015, the Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Housing & Community Development Corporation trained 174 community members through their Financial Assets & Training Program. As a result, community members improved their skills in the topic areas of budgeting, banking, credit, insurance, home buying, home ownership, and accounting. In addition, KBOHCDC provided tax preparation through their VITA program,…
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Abigail Haas, a student at Red Cloud School in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, opened a savings account through Lakota Funds’ Child Development Account Program, a unique matched savings program that focuses on building the family core. She and the rest of her family attend quarterly meetings where they participate in financial literacy and family building…
Does your credit score really matter? Yes! Take it from Aaron Runs After, a client of Four Bands Community Fund on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation. He used his Credit Builder Loan as a stepping stone to homeownership. As a father of five, Aaron wished to make a permanent home that his children would enjoy,…
The small town of Whiteclay, Nebraska lies just outside of the boundaries of the Pine Ridge Reservation in southwestern South Dakota. It is infamous for its liquor stores and some of the highest rates of alcohol sales per capita in the nation. With a population of 14 and average sales of 13,000 cans of beer…