Native360 Chosen to Receive Lending Capital and Grants

Native360 Loan Fund Inc., is one of 19 Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs)  to receive lending capital and grants from the Wells Fargo Works for Small Business Diverse Capital program.

Recipients were announced Dec. 6, 2018. Funds are used to deliver affordable financial products and technical assistance to diverse small businesses that  do not typically have access to conventional financing.

As part of its announcement, Wells Fargo said it wanted to be more inclusive of rural communities as well as their urban counterparts.

“Rural small businesses and their diverse owners have different challenges than their urban counterparts, and we want to be part of a solution that helps remove those obstacles to growth,” said Mike Rizer, director of community relations at Wells Fargo.

“The range of geographies served by these awardees demonstrates Wells Fargo’s commitment to supporting communities across the country, regardless of our retail presence’ he added. “Small business owners who would not otherwise have access to the resources needed to start or grow their businesses will now have resources through the CDFIs we are supporting.”

 

Pete Upton

Native360 Executive Director Pete Upton applauded Wells Fargo’s rural commitment. “Our service area includes Nebraska, Iowa and southeast South Dakota,” he said. “Access to affordable capital is just as vital in these areas as it is in more heavily populated areas. We very much appreciate our opportunity to participate in the Wells Fargo Works for Small Business Diverse Capital program.”

 

 

 

Upton Helps Lead Native CDFI Conference

Native360’s Pete Upton joined Native American leaders from across the country Nov. 28-29, 2018, for the Native CDFI Network’s Annual Conference in Washington, D.C.

Native Artist Professional Development Training

The training was held at the Ohiya Casino & Resort, Niobrara, NE on May 5th – 6th, 2018. Our two-day Native Artist training was in associate with First Peoples Fund.

This training was designed for emerging and seasoned artists alike. This training gave artists real-world tools and detailed resources to navigate the arts industry and become successful entrepreneurs. The curriculum provided the foundation for a Native Artist businesses.

Native American Entrepreneurial Empowerment Workshop

Our entrepreneurial workshop was held at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Sioux City on September 20th & 21st. The workshop was designed for start-ups or small business look to expand. The training provided comprehensive information indispensable to entrepreneurs and covered topics such as business models, planning, access to capital, marketing, basic bookkeeping, break-even analyses, and problem solving.

Financial Peace University

This is a nine lesson course based on simple money-management strategies. We discuss the basics of saving, budgeting, dumping debt, planning for the future and much more.

We conducted three financial peace university classes this past year. Our Omaha classes graduated November 13th, 2017 & March 5th, 2018 and our Norfolk Class October 30th, 2017.

Our course covered saving, relating with money, creating a cash flow plan, reducing debt, buyer beware, insurance, retirement and college planning & real estate.

Launch Box Native Small Business Workshop

This 5-Part Series was held at the Northern Ponca Housing in Norfolk, NE. Our entrepreneurial & small business series was developed for Native start-ups or existing business. Our team of professionals offered assistance in business plan preparation, accounting, taxes, legal, marketing, social media & employee training and development.

The series included Box of Chocolate Session – June 13th |Launch Box Session – July 12th |Shoe Box Session – July 25th Virtual Box Session – August 22nd |Treasurer Chest Session – September 19th