Our Supporters

Why You Should Invest in Indian Country

First Nations Oweesta Corporation was created by First Nations Development Institute to address the lack of capital and financial infrastructure in Native American communities. First Nations Oweesta Corporation’s priority is to provide investment capital into Native CDFIs and communities they serve. First Nations Oweesta Corporation is a national organization that works with Indigenous peoples living in some of the most rural locations in the United States, including American Indian reservations, traditional Native lands, Hawaiian homelands, and in Alaska Native villages. First Nations Oweesta Corporation has worked with hundreds of Native communities and organizations, from Alaska to Louisiana and Maine to Hawaii. The 59 Native CDFIs and more than 60 emerging Native CDFIs with whom First Nations Oweesta Corporation works, span 34 states. First Nations Oweesta Corporation is the only existing Native CDFI intermediary offering financial products and development services exclusively to Native CDFIs and Native communities. The organization offers loan products to Native CDFIs that meet our underwriting criteria, and this investment in Native communities has leveraged amazing results.

Oweesta is aware that acquisition of capital for operating and/or lending stands as a barrier to the success of many emerging Native CDFIs. Therefore, Oweesta affords NCDFIs the opportunity to go one-step further by offering qualified institutional applicants with loan/investment capital, which is then reinvested in the communities by the Native CDFI in the form of housing, consumer or small business loans, or leveraged to attract additional capital.

As a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation, Oweesta relies on its own outside investors to achieve this goal. A benefit to investing in Oweesta as opposed to directly at the grassroots level is that we are able to offer training and technical assistance to our clients, thus overcoming any barriers to repayment that may arise. We receive investments from a number of Socially Responsible Investors (SRI) including religious charities, foundations, individuals, corporations and other business entities. For more information on investing in Oweesta please review our Investment Prospectus and Annual Report. To make an investment in Oweesta or if you have any questions, please contact Mark Patterson, Lending and Capitalization Manager, at mark@oweesta.org.

Donate Now

Before 2000, only five certified Native CDFIs existed in the country. Today, there are 35 U.S. Treasury-certified NCDFIs and an even larger number of start-up and emerging organizations. As the only Native CDFI intermediary in the country, it is Oweesta’s responsibility to do all we can to make sure these particularly fragile organizations thrive. Our development services and investments are critical to their success, and in the coming years, we anticipate investing over $10 million in Native CDFIs to help capitalize their programs. Without question, Native CDFIs are making a difference in the economy of every community where they are present, and the social impact is only just beginning.

As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, Oweesta relies on assistance from foundations, individuals, federal agencies, corporations and others to continue this innovative work in Native communities.

Donate by Check

Donate Online

If you would like to support Oweesta, please click on the printable Donation Form, fill it out and send it along with your check made out to First Nations Oweesta Corporation to:

Stephanie Fishinghawk
First Nations Oweesta Corporation
351 Coffman St. Suite 200
Longmont, CO 80501

Or, you can make a donation online
through the Network for Good.

Our Current Investors

Adrian Dominican Sisters

Bank of America

Brasilian Tathers of Toranto

Donna K. Altschuler

Karen Brandow

Karuna Trust

Larry Dansinger and Karent Marysdaughter

Mercy Investment Program, Inc.

Peter and Sharon Moller

Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament

Sisters of Charity of Incarnate

Sisters of Loretto

Sisters of Mercy of the Americas NE Community

Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia

Susan Goldman Trust

Suzanne LeFerta Trust

Sylvia Granader Trust

The Ford Foundation

Supporters

Our warmest thanks go out to the following organizations and individuals for their assistance through grants, investments and donations to Oweesta over the years, including the early days as a fledgling program of FNDI. We have come a long way and your support has made that happen. For more information on supporting Oweesta in its Native development efforts, go back to the main support page.

Support in 2006
Annie E. Casey Foundation
F.B. Heron Foundation
Fannie Mae Foundation

Support in 2005
Annie E. Casey Foundation
CDFI Fund
Citigroup Foundation
Enterprise
F.B. Heron Foundation
Grant D. Abert
Indian Walk-In Center
James Adams Babson
Mercy Investment Program, Inc.
Merrill Lynch
Peter B. & Adeline W. Ruffin Foundation
Rural Community Assistance Corporation
Sherry & Ron Black
Sisters of St. Elizabeth
The Ford Foundation
US Deptartment of Agriculture
W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Washington Mutual Foundation
Wells Fargo Foundation