November 28-29, 2018 | Holiday Inn Capitol | Washington, D.C. Our annual conference serves as a platform to unite our Native voice as we advocate for access to capital and economic opportunity in our communities. This premier event brings together community development financial institutions, traditional lenders, nonprofit organizations, federal agencies, and policy makers to engage […]
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May
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 […]
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May
May
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 […]
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 […]
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May
May
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 […]
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May
May
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 […]
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May
May
Here’s how she did it: 2 financial education courses, 2 small dollar consumer loans, and 2 debt consolidation loans. Taylor has been working with Four Bands Community Fund since 2012 in order to build her personal financial management knowledge and gain experience with the responsible use of credit. She is on her way to her […]
A desperate mother of four applied for a loan from Citizen Potawatomi Community Development Corporation to fix her washing machine and lawn mower. She didn’t know it was a step that would change her financial future. She says, “They helped me put a plan together to get above water and out of debt within a […]
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May
May
Denise Red Owl is making the investment in future generations. Denise Red Owl enrolled her son and grandson in Lakota Funds’ Child Development Account Program. Presley and Shaun, even at ages 6 and 7, are in a position to learn more, save more, and earn more than their parents and grandparents.
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May
May
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 […]