Last week, NAFOA hosted a webinar with the Economic Development Administration (EDA) on their updated Tribal eligibility regulations as well as an overview of funding available through their recent programs.

Staff from the EDA explained the new rule extending Tribal eligibility to include for-profit Tribal corporations that are wholly owned by, and established for the benefit of, a Tribe. They also provided an overview of the $100 million in grant funding available under EDA’s Indigenous Communities program.

Webinar Recording – vimeo.com/632301265

Webinar Slide Deck – PDF

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Recognizing the current economic climate and the underrepresentation of Native researchers in the field of economics and economic development, American Indian Graduate Center established the Miller Indigenous Economic Development Fellowship.

Through the generous support of American Indian Graduate Center Alumnus Robert J. Miller, this fellowship is established to award research fellowships to doctoral candidates in their current data collection or analysis phase whose work centers on economics and economic development focusing on or influencing Native communities. These funds will support candidates in need of assistance with costs related to their data collection and data analysis processes.

The deadline for applying is November 19.

NAFOA is pleased to present Lifetime Achievement Awards at to two accomplished tribal leaders: Professor Tadd M. Johnson, Esq. (Bois Forte Band of Chippewa) and Chief Executive Melanie Benjamin (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Indians): https://t.co/PV6THuLFeb

— NAFOA (@nafoaorg) October 13, 2021

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By Jeff Wortley, Director of Trust and Investment Strategy, KeyBank Native American Financial Services

In managing your Tribe’s investments, you have always had to address the issue of how to optimize the potential for returns with the desire to manage risk. It’s a challenge in the most settled times, but today’s environment raises concerns to even higher levels and Tribal Leadership and Members are paying more attention and have opinions that need to be accounted for.

Today’s interest rate environment creates challenges for investors looking for adequate returns through bonds. Al-locations in a portfolio to fixed income still provide diversification benefits, but low rates reduce the yield derived from bonds. Further, high levels of fiscal and monetary stimulus such as those used to address the pandemic’s economic damage can lead to increasing inflationary pressures and falling bond prices, resulting in low or even negative returns for fixed income investments. While fixed income will continue to be an essential element of preservation within the context of a total portfolio, many investors today are emphasizing invest-ment-grade, credit-oriented sectors over Treasuries and government debt. They are also exploring alternatives to fixed income: As part of a diversified portfolio, an al-location to real assets -– real estate, TIPS, commodities, and infrastructure -– provides a reasonable opportunity. During times of higher inflation, real assets frequently increase relative to other asset classes such as stocks or bonds. In addition, when the Federal Reserve (Fed) returns to a more normalized monetary policy, it will eventually raise interest rates, which can be detrimental to stock and bond returns.

Read more on page 100-101 in the NAFOA Fall 2021 Navigator.

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Back by popular demand, First Nations Development Institute, with support from the FINRA Investor Education Foundation and the Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition, Inc. (ONAC), is pleased to announce a virtual Investing for the Future Train-the-Trainer Workshop.

This workshop is a three-day investor education certification workshop that offers in-depth instruction on the Investing for the Future curriculum, workbook, and related training materials. As part of the Building Native Communities curriculum series, Investing for the Future provides resources and tools for trainers to teach basic investing classes and workshops in an interactive virtual format. It’s also a cutting-edge approach for introducing Native communities to concepts like stocks and bonds, planning for retirement, as well as using caution when considering risky trends like crowd investing, cryptocurrencies, and meme stocks.

Space is limited, so reserve your spot now. For more information, please contact Shawn Spruce at agoyopi@gmail.com, or Christy Finsel, ONAC Executive Director, at cfinsel@oknativeassets.org. This training is available to trainers across the U.S.

What: Investing for the Future Train-the-Trainer
When: November 8th-10th, 2021
Time: 10 am to 2 pm (MST) Daily

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NAFOA is seeking proposals from qualified candidates for Grant Evaluator in accordance with the Scope of Work specified in this Request for Proposal (RFP). The external grant evaluator candidate will possess the skills, expertise, experience, and resources to assist NAFOA in designing and implementing an evaluation plan for a corporate foundation grant. The award total is $150,000.00 for a three-year grant period that ends on Oct. 31, 2024.

For more information, see the full RFP and visit nafoa.org/jobs.