Copyright 2014 Northwest Area Foundation and First Nations Development Institute.
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January 1, 2014

Building Assets and Building Lives: Financial Capability Programs in Native Communities

Author: Sarah Dewees

Publishers: First Nations Development Institute, Northwest Area Foundation

Funder: Northwest Area Foundation

This report will provide an overview of a range of programs serving reservation-based Native communities in the Northwest Area Foundation region. The report will start by presenting a conceptual framework for understanding financial capability in Native communities, and a review of the literature on Native financial capability. The report will then discuss promising strategies and methods for increasing financial capability, and provide an environmental scan of successful programs serving Native communities in the eight-state Northwest Area Foundation region. The impact of these programs on financial empowerment and financial inclusion will be discussed. This paper will conclude with recommendations on how to support financial capability programs, and suggestions for how to most effectively promote these strategies in the region.