First Nations-NUIFC Partnership Awards Third-Year Grants to Four Urban Native Centers

LONGMONT, Colorado, and SEATTLE, Washington (Nov. 9, 2015) – First Nations Development Institute (First Nations [ http://www.firstnations.org ]) and the National Urban Indian Family Coalition (NUIFC [ http://nuifc.org/ ]) today announced they have selected four organizations as third-year grantees under their joint urban initiative for Native Americans. Under the project, First Nations and NUIFC, as partners, are working to build the capacity and effectiveness of American Indian and/or Alaska Native nonprofit organizations by providing project funding, training and technical assistance.

The project is made possible through a grant made to First Nations by The Kresge Foundation [ http://kresge.org/ ]. It aims to help organizations that work with some of the estimated 78 percent of American Indians and Alaska Natives who live off reservations or away from tribal villages, and who reflect some of the most disproportionately low social and economic standards in the urban areas in which they reside. Urban Indian organizations are an important support to Native families and individuals, providing cultural linkages as well as a hub for accessing essential human services.

The four projects selected for the 2015-2016 period are:

American Indian Child Resource Center [ http://aicrc.org/ ], Oakland, California, $40,000, for the "Positive American Indian Directions" (PAID) program, which is an asset-building and self-sufficiency effort for urban Native youth. The target population is "disconnected" (out-of-school, out-of-work, and not served by any other agency) Native youth living in Oakland and surrounding areas, ages 14-21.

American Indian OIC [ http://aioic.org/ ], Minneapolis, Minnesota, $40,000, for the "Integrated Community Placement Project" that seeks to reduce unemployment for the Native community living in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area by training students for specific occupations such as web designer/developer, computer support specialist, and administrative professional, and providing related apprenticeships in the agency's own social enterprises.

Hawaiian Community Assets, Inc. [ http://www.hawaiiancommunity.net/ ], Honolulu, Hawaii, $40,000, for the "Building Stability in Housing" project. The goal of the Building Stability in Housing project is to establish an integrated asset-building system within five Native Hawaiian-controlled nonprofit organizations and Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) that will increase access to affordable housing for Native Hawaiians residing in urban trust lands.

Little Earth of United Tribes [ http://www.littleearth.org/ ], Minneapolis, Minnesota, $20,000, for a project to reform its corporate and governance structure in order to better support its mission through asset-based community development. By developing board and governance policies and improving its organizational structure, Little Earth intends to encourage the growth and expansion of the organization in a coordinated and integrated manner.

"We're proud to announce these third-year grantees, and we look forward to supporting the exceptional projects they have planned that will greatly benefit the urban American Indians and Native Hawaiians they serve," said Montoya Whiteman of First Nations and Janeen Comenote of NUIFC, who manage the program. "We had many worthy applicants but were unable to fund all of them, unfortunately."

About First Nations Development Institute

For 35 years, using a three-pronged strategy of educating grassroots practitioners, advocating for systemic change, and capitalizing Indian communities, First Nations has been working to restore Native American control and culturally-compatible stewardship of the assets they own – be they land, human potential, cultural heritage, or natural resources – and to establish new assets for ensuring the long-term vitality of Native American communities. First Nations serves Native American communities throughout the United States. For more information, visit http://www.firstnations.org [ http://www.firstnations.org ].

About the National Urban Indian Family Coalition

NUIFC advocates for American Indian families living in urban areas by creating partnerships with tribes, as well as other American Indian organizations, and by conducting research to better understand the barriers, issues and opportunities facing urban American Indian families. One of the primary intentions of creating the NUIFC is to ensure access to traditionally excluded organizations and families, and to focus attention on the needs of urban Indians. The National Urban Indian Family Coalition is dedicated to remaining an access point for the exchange of ideas and dialogue regarding Urban Indian America. For more information, visit http://nuifc.org/ [ http://nuifc.org/ ].