- Details
- By Tribal Business News Staff
- Economic Development
Here is this week’s rundown, a quick read with funding opportunities, events, jobs, people on the move and federal contracting awards.
MONEY
On Sunday, while we were watching football, the USDA sent out a news release saying that it would extend the deadline for the Discrimination Financial Assistance Program. USDA said it would now accept applications through this Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024 due to severe winter weather that may have prevented some applicants from reaching local program offices, as well as a brief outage of the e-filing platform on Saturday evening. In the six months that the application period has been open, “tens of thousands of applications” have been received, according to the USDA release.
The USDA also began taking applications for its Continuous Conservation Reserve Program last Friday, Jan. 12. The Continuous CRP program allows landowners and agricultural producers to partner with the Farm Service Agency (FSA) to implement conservation practices in exchange for rent payments on the affected land. Reporter Chez Oxendine put together a quick story on it with some of the key details.
The charitable foundation of TD Bank launched its 18th annual Housing for Everyone grant competition, focusing this year on funding non-profit organizations that are providing services that support independent living for marginalized community members. These services include rapid re-housing, permanent supportive housing or transitional housing. The TD Bank Foundation plans to award $7 million to non-profit organizations within the bank’s Maine-to-Florida footprint as well as Michigan. Applications are open until Feb. 13, and winners will be announced in May 2024.
JOBS
Strategic Financial Analyst: Diné Development Corp., the economic development arm of the Navajo Nation, is seeking a strategic financial analyst to lay the foundation for data analytics, forecasting, trending, program finance control, and auditing.
Investment Strategies Analyst: The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians is recruiting an analyst to work under the direction of its chief investment officer to develop, recommend and implement investment board-approved plans.
CFO: Forest County Potawatomi Tribe in southeastern Wisconsin is looking for a tribal government chief financial officer.
Assistant Director: Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire is seeking an assistant director of the Native American Program.
Accountant: Puyallup Tribal Enterprises, Inc., the economic development arm of one of the largest Indian tribes in the Pacific Northwest, is seeking an accountant.
Loan Compliance/Portfolio Manager: Spruce Root, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community development financial institution is seeking a loan compliance and portfolio manager.
Executive Director: The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation is seeking an executive director of business operation and development to work under the direction of the tribal council.
EVENTS
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will host its first-ever consultation for tribal leaders aimed at protecting tribal cultural resources, such as genetic resources, cultural expressions, and traditional knowledge. The consultation webinar for federally recognized Tribal Nations and their proxies will be held on Tuesday, January 16, 2024, from 3 to 5 p.m. ET and Wednesday, January 17, 2024 from 3 to 5 p.m. ET. The webinar for state recognized Tribes and other Tribal members, Native Hawaiians and their representatives, and inter-tribal organizations, will be held on Friday, January 19, 2024, from 3 to 5 p.m. ET and Tuesday, January 23, 2024, from 3 to 5 p.m. ET. You must register in advance to participate in one of these webinars at: https://cvent.me/bZRP3L.
The Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy presents a webinar series covering essential topics including tribal clean energy project financing options, tribal utility formation considerations, and insights in the innovative independent Power Producer model. Two banks will bring insight into renewable energy project finance from a lending and capital stack perspective. Register for episode one here.
The National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development’s Native Edge series for tribal enterprises and Native-owned small businesses visits Seattle for an all-day session that will cover federal contracting, unlocking export potential, access to capital, and contracting with Boeing. There’s more information here.
PEOPLE
Michael Burnstein joined RavenTek, a veteran- and Native-owned tech firm as its new chief growth officer. Burnstein will be responsible for all aspects of growth strategy at RavenTek, which provides digital transformation and cybersecurity solutions to mission critical organizations worldwide.
Cody Mayer (Sault Ste. Marie Tribe) joined Talon Industries on Jan. 2 in a newly created role as Community & Tribal Engagement Liaison. A graduate of Northern Michigan University and former banker at Flagstar, Mayer's primary focus will be on Talon’s project activities in Michigan, but also supporting operations in Minnesota and North Dakota.
FEDERAL CONTRACTING
The Dept. of Defense announced on Friday that Catoosa, Okla.-based Cherokee Nation Management and Consulting LLC was awarded a $23.6 million contract for logistics services to manage, support, and operate the Marine Corps Consolidated Storage Program warehouse network.
Native Hawaiian Organization-owned Pololei Solutions LLC was awarded an $8.5 million contract to provide operations, administrative and programmatic support for the Marine Corps, according to a DOD announcement last Friday. The contract was procured as a direct sole-source award under the SBA’s 8(a) program.
Alaska Native Corporation-owned ASRC Federal Facilities Logistics LLC was awarded a $90 million contract for facilities maintenance, repair and operations supplies, according to a DOD announcement last Thursday.
Bowhead Base Solutions, a unit of the Alaska Native Corporation-owned Bowhead Family of Companies unit, was awarded a $2.4 million contract last Thursday for telecommunications system services at McConnell Air Force Base, according to federal contracting research and intelligence firm HigherGov. The sole-source contract was awarded under the SBA’s 8(a) program.
STG Pacific was awarded a $2.5 million contract last Wednesday by the Western Federal Lands Highway Division of the Department of Transportation, according to HigherGov. STG Pacific is a subsidiary of Anchorage-based Calista Corporation, an Alaska Native Corporation.
Atmore, Ala.-based Fortis Native Group was awarded a $3.9 million contract for janitorial and maintenance services last Tuesday by the Department of Transportation’s Southwest region, according to HigherGov. Fortis Native Group is owned by the federally recognized Poarch Band of Creek Indians.
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