The agenda is live and registration is open for NAFOA’s 2021 Fall Finance & Tribal Economies Conference being held September 27-28, 2021 at the Grand Hyatt San Antonio.

The conference will offer two full days of high-quality, educational breakout sessions, and general sessions focused on discussing important issues facing Indian Country. We can’t wait to welcome everyone back in person in San Antonio. Can’t join us in TX? We have a virtual attendee option available and the sessions will be accessible to all attendees to view after the conference.

Register for the Conference

Congress needs to hear that #IndianCountry supports the current #InfrastructureBill funding levels. NAFOA urges tribes to contact your Members of Congress to ensure critical programs are not cut from the final version: https://t.co/aEZKs9ZC1d

— NAFOA (@nafoaorg) August 6, 2021

The Senate has spent this past week working on a $1+ trillion dollar bipartisan infrastructure package, amending H.R.3684, with a final Senate vote likely to happen very soon. Overall, the infrastructure package calls for $550 billion in new spending over five years above projected federal levels for a nearly $1 trillion expenditure—what could be one of the more substantial investments in the nation’s roads, bridges, waterworks, broadband, and the electric grid in years.

As currently drafted, the legislation provides funding for a wide array of programs from traditional infrastructure projects to broadband. NAFOA has prepared a breakdown of the bill currently being worked on in the Senate.

Congress needs to hear that tribes support the current legislation funding levels. However, even with expected passage in the Senate the fight for funding is far from over.

NAFOA urges tribes to call or write your Member of Congress and let them know your tribe supports the bill’s current language and funding to ensure that critical programs are not cut from the final version.

The Economic Development Administration (EDA) was allocated $3 billion in supplemental funding to assist communities nationwide in their efforts to build back better by accelerating the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and building local economies that will be resilient to future economic shocks. To help provide information on funding opportunities, the EDA will be hosting a series of webinars over the coming weeks, with the full schedule information and RSVP found at eda.gov/ARPA.

Through the Indigenous Communities program, EDA is allocating $100 million in American Rescue Plan funding specifically for Indigenous communities, which were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.

This program is designed to support the needs of Tribal Governments and Indigenous communities. EDA will support these important partners to develop and execute economic development projects that they need to recover from the pandemic and build economies for the future.

Indigenous Communities Webinar – Tuesday, August 10th at 2:00pm EDT Registration link: primetime.bluejeans.com/a2m/register/rucheatz

The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) announced a recent availability of funding for socially disadvantaged and veteran farmers and ranchers. Non profits, higher education institutions, and tribal entities are able to apply to compete for this grant.

The goal of this program is to “encourage and assist socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, veteran farmers and ranchers, and beginning farmers and ranchers with owning and operating farms and ranches and in participating equitably in the full range of agricultural, forestry, and related programs offered by United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). In partnership with the Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement (OPPE), eligible entities may compete for funding on projects that provide education and training in agriculture, agribusiness, forestry, agriculturally related services, and USDA programs, and to conduct outreach initiatives designed to accomplish those goals”.

The OPPE is also holding a webinar on August 10, 2021, at 2:00 PM EDT to answer questions and clarify any requirements. Only one proposal can be submitted per entity. The deadline to submit these proposals is on August 25, 2021.

Position Overview: Incumbent will establish goals, objectives, policies, procedures and priorities related to activities of finance and budget; develop annual budget, establish internal financial controls, ensures all financial activities adhere to governmental regulations, Tribal policy and generally accepted accounting principles; perform financial research, analysis and recommendation functions for the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska.

For more information, visit nafoa.org/jobs.