Dena Jo Squyres, like a typical 16 year-old girl, enjoys hanging out with her friends, shopping and playing softball. But Dena — a student at the Cherokee Nation’s Sequoyah High School in Oklahoma — can add entrepreneur, saver and spokeswoman to her list of after-school activities.

Read full story >
Read all stories >

Donate to CFED >

EXPANDING NATIVE OPPORTUNITY: NATIVE IDA INITIATIVE
First Nations Development Institute, First Nations Oweesta Corporation, and CFED are pleased to offer Expanding Native Opportunity: Native IDA Initiative, a comprehensive training and technical assistance program to help Native communities design and implement Individual Development Accounts (IDAs). This project is fully funded by the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

In 2005-2007, the Native IDA Initiative offered regional training institutes across the country, from Florida to Alaska, to help Native organizations start-up, implement, and sustain IDAs in their communities. There are no more institutes scheduled for 2007 but we plan to offer them again in 2008. Please contact Kim Pate at kpate@cfed.org if your CDFI, tribe, or Native group is interested in being on the mailing list for the Native IDA Initiative, to learn about future training opporunities.

• Overview of the initiative
• Background information about IDAs

Participants in the institute receive three days of expert training and also will have access to free, customized follow-up technical assistance to help implement IDAs in their communities.  The cost for the trainings is only $25.00 per participant. Participants are responsible for their own travel and lodging costs. Preference will be given to CDFIs, tribes, or groups in the region where the training is being held, to promote networking and collaboration. For further information about the Native IDA Initiative, please contact Kim Pate at CFED, 202.408.9788 ext 134.

Expanding Native Opportunty: Native IDA Initiative is an initiative of the CDFI Fund to expand the Native CDFI field. The Native IDA Initiative is fully funded by the CDFI Fund. The training and technical assistance is being offered through a partnership among First Nations Development Institute, First Nations Oweesta Corporation, and CFED through a contract with the CDFI Fund. For general questions regarding other activities of the CDFI Fund's Native Initiatives, please contact the CDFI Fund at cdfihelp@cdfi.treas.gov.