- Details
- By Tribal Business News Staff
- Economic Development
This week, we drop some financial opportunity and knowledge resources for Native American startups and small businesses. Plus, we've got an assortment of new funding opportunities, event listing, job posts, people on the move, and federal contracting awards.
MONEY
NOFO: The Justice Department last week listed the Strengthening Tribal Advocacy Responses Track (START) grant funding for tribal governments. The START grants assist tribal governments, and authorized designees of tribal governments, to respond to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, sex trafficking, and stalking in tribal communities. The estimated total funding for the program grants is $52 million; the award floor is $500,000 and the award ceiling is $1.2 million. Pre-application information sessions will be held every Wednesday, starting Feb. 7 from 5:30pm-6:30pm ET. Registration is required. The deadline for applications is April 24.
GRANT: The deadline is coming up for TD Bank’s $7 million 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.
RFA: The USDA released a request for applications for its Supporting the Use of Traditional Indigenous Foods in the Child Nutrition Programs Cooperative Agreement on Grants.gov. They’ll award $2 million in total funding to up to four organizations to provide regionally focused training and TA to school-nutrition professionals on procurement, preparation, and crediting of traditional Indigenous foods, including the use of cooperator and FNS-developed resources and tools. There are webinars on Feb. 8 and Feb. 13 for anyone interested in learning more. Deadline for applications is March 18, 2024 with an expected announcement in April 2024.
STARTUP/SMALLBIZ RESOURCES
MIT Solve, a program aimed at supporting technology-based solutions for community problems, has opened applications for its 2024 Indigenous Communities Fellowship. Applicants are invited to share ideas for solutions they’re putting into practice that leverage technology to solve issues facing Indian Country. Selected Fellows will receive a 9-month program of support, including funding, a comprehensive needs assessment, technical and business mentorship, and networking opportunities. Interested applicants can read more about the program and apply here.
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), is looking for submissions for its 2024 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition, offering prize awards ranging from $50,000 to $200,000. The competition encourages a diverse range of organizations with a shared vision for nurturing a national ecosystem for equitable access to entrepreneurship to submit their proposals. The application portal for Stage One of the competition is open now and closes on Friday, Feb. 16. More information and application access is here.
The National Congress of American Indians recently wrapped up a four-part webinar series on "Why Native Small Businesses Matter and How to Grow Them." No worries if you missed them live — you can catch them on NCAI’s Youtube channel. The first episode is here and will lead you to the other episodes.
ChangeLabs, a nonprofit organization on the Navajo and Hopi Nations that’s working to grow the next generation of Native American entrepreneurs, has also been stocking up its Youtube channel of late. Check here for Change Labs’ workshop series on small business topics ranging from networking and bookkeeping to storytelling and building your brand.
JOBS
Project Manager (Reforestation) - The nonprofit Indian Land Tenure Foundation, which helps tribes own and manage their land, is looking for a project manager to lead the charge in designing and implementing carbon offset projects.
Director of Environmental - The Pechanga Tribe is hiring a director responsible for environmental protection and resources management of its reservation and tribally owned lands, including identifying necessary federal regulations for compliance and implementing environmental protection programs for Air, Water, Solid Waste and Natural Resources.
Realty Specialist - The Department of the Interior is seeking to fill multiple realty specialist positions within the Office of Trust Services and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The listing is an open continuous announcement; applicant reviews started on Jan. 3 and occur every two weeks after.
EVENTS
The Interior’s Office of Indian Economic Development is hosting a webinar on Indian business incubators on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. The webinar will feature industry experts discussing best practices and strategies for Tribal business development, entrepreneurship, as well as incubation planning and preparation, according to a flier on the OIED website. Register here.
The Indigenous Cannabis Industry Association’s summit brings together cannabis advocates, tribal nations, entrepreneurs, and policy experts. Attendees can expect sessions on the effects of new federal laws and Wisconsin's proposed medicinal cannabis bill, as well as discussions on tribal nation growth, fundraising, and industry opportunities in hemp and cannabis.
Every two years, the Department of Energy’s Office of Indian Energy along with other DOE offices convenes Tribal Leaders and energy stakeholders to exchange ideas promoting energy infrastructure development for Tribes and Tribal communities. Tribal Leaders and their subject matter experts—together with the DOE, the administration, federal agency partners, state governments, private industry, utilities, and academia—attend to build networks, exchange ideas, explore cross-cutting and cost-effective solutions to national energy interests, and support Tribal sovereignty. Registration info is here.
Fourth annual cybersecurity summit presented by TribalHub. Learn about the critical role and responsibilities of tribal executives, tribal regulators and tribal technology resources in protecting and preparing your tribe or tribal enterprise. Build and gain insight into the necessary and critical investments required for cybersecurity. Learn about what costly information security mistakes to avoid in order to minimize the risk of your tribe or enterprise being a victim or target. Registration here.
PEOPLE
Muscogee (Creek) Nation tribal member and Native American law expert R. Daniel Carter, principal for law firm Foster Garvey’s Tribal Governments and Enterprises practice group, will head up the firm’s new Tulsa, Oklahoma-based office. Carter will help expand Foster Garvey’s long standing work with Indian Country in the area, as well as offer a wider range of legal services to Oklahoma businesses.
Alaska Native nonprofit First Alaskans Institute has announced its first new CEO and President in 12 years. The group appointed Apagzuk/Apagruk Roy Agloinga, a member of the Iñupiaq. Agloinga comes to the Institute with a background in nonprofit management, philanthropy, rural health, government policy and Iñupiaq language preservation. Prior to his time with FAI, Agloinga served as an external affairs and program officer for Alaskan philanthropy organization the Rasmuson Foundation.
Did you miss last week's Rundown? Get it here.
Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation promoted Mike Hundleyto president of theUICGS / Bowhead Family of Companies. Hundley joined Bowhead in 2009, and has served as senior vice presient of operations for the company since 2019. Over the last 13 years, he served in multiple progressive leadership and management positions, including senior VP of operations, VP of engineering and information technology, VP of program management and operations, director of operations, and business development director.
Aleut Federal, LLC appointed Nick Trzcinski as its new president, following an extensive search process. Trzcinski served as interim president since September 2023, steering the company through a comprehensive reorganization, implementing large-scale process changes, and fostering a shift in the company’s culture. He brings over 20 years of government services experience in the defense and civilian agency markets.
FEDERAL CONTRACTING
Here are some of the notable federal contract awards won by tribal entities from last week.
Beltsville, Md.-based ASCR Federal Facilities Logistics LLC (AFFL) was awarded a $150 million contract to support the Navy Fleet Readiness Centers at Cherry Point, N.C., Jacksonville, Fla. and San Diego. This was a competitive acquisition with a base period of three years, two two-year option periods and one three-year option period for a total potential contract period of ten years. AFFL is a unit of the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation.
Norman, Okla.-based RedTown Technical Services, LLC was awarded a $46.9 million contract to provide weather observation and forecasting services to the Navy’s fleet logistics center in Norfolk, Va. The company is a federal contracting firm owned by Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town, which is a federally recognized American Indian Tribe.
S&K Federal Services was awarded an $8.1 million contract on Jan. 30 to provide operations support services for the Office of Science and organizations within the Department of Energy. The firm is a federal contracting company owned by the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribe.
Cayuse Federal Services LLC was awarded a $16.1 million contract last month that was posted on Jan. 30. The contract calls for the firm, which is owned by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR), to provide personnel recovery mission software (PRMS) support to warfighters, as well as specialized IT services, training and system testing at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Michigan and Hurlburt Field in Florida.
Olgoonik Logistics LLC has been awarded a maximum $26.5 million contract for warehousing and operations support services in Guam, according to a Department of Defense news release. This contract, which was a competitive acquisition with seven responses received, calls for a five-year base period with one five-year option period. Olgoonik Logistics is owned by the Olgoonik Corporation, an Alaska Native-owned village corporation headquartered in Wainwright along the coast of the Chukchi Sea.
If you have news, jobs, events, or other opportunities to share, email us at [email protected].
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