Development organization receives $92,000 in funding

A nonprofit community development organization established last January to enhance economic conditions on the Fort Belknap and Fort Peck reservations has received $92,000 in funding.

By JENNIFER PEREZ
Tribune Hi-Line Bureau

By early next year, Emerging Native American Business Lending Inc. plans to begin marketing and extending loans and technical support to existing and potential small businesses and tribal enterprises located on or near the two northern Montana reservations, said Andrea Main, a rural development and finance officer from Billings.

The revolving loan fund received $32,000 from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development to support operating expenditures and $60,000 from a Native American Technical Assistance program with the U.S. Department of Treasury for consulting and training, Main said.

The Catholic Campaign group, established in 1970 by the Catholic Bishops of the United States, has funded numerous organizations that have grown and extend great influence in their communities, said Main, a Fort Belknap tribal member and former vice president of the Fort Belknap Community College.

The lending organization is a joint effort with the Rural Development & Finance Corp., a nonprofit financial intermediary located in San Antonio, Texas, and the Independence Bank System of Northcentral Montana.

The nonprofit affiliate was developed to undertake activities conventional lenders aren’t able to because of regulatory limitations. It also will address the unique needs of Indian and tribal businesses, Main said.

The board of directors included three representatives from both the Fort Peck and Fort Belknap reservations and a business community representative.

For more information, call Main at (406) 247-5095.

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