Native finance intermediary Oweesta Corporation won a national award for organizational growth as it pursues a goal of facilitating $500 million in lending across Indian Country by 2030.
The Longmont, Colo.-based organization is the first Native community development financial institution to receive Opportunity Finance Network’s Adina Abramowitz Impact Award for Organizational Growth and Change, according to an Oweesta statement. OFN presented the award Oct. 22 in New Orleans.
Oweesta held a $74.4 million loan portfolio as of June 30. It supplies capital, training and technical assistance to Native CDFIs that finance small businesses, housing and community development projects. More than 65 Native CDFIs operate across Indian Country, the organization said.
“Native CDFIs demonstrate what is possible when Native people lead with our own capital, our own institutions, and our own vision for economic sovereignty,” Oweesta President and CEO Chrystel Cornelius said in the statement.
Oweesta said the lenders and partners it supports have created more than 14,000 jobs and invested in nearly 5,000 Native-owned businesses, 1,200 homes and 2,400 Native agriculturalists.
The organization has worked with Native financial institutions for more than 26 years. Its capital partnerships span banks, philanthropy, impact investors and federal agencies.
The award is named for Abramowitz, a former OFN staff member and consultant who helped community lenders strengthen their operations. She died in December 2023. Oweesta is the award’s third recipient.
