| Four Times Foundation (MT)
Location and Context
Native economic welfare, though steadily on the rise, still is the lowest
rated social group in the United States. The unemployment rate averages
50% on or near reservations and the poverty rate in 1990 was at 51%. Beyond
unemployment and poverty statistics, economic leakage from Reservation
capital inflows to bordering contiguous non-reservation economies is estimated
to be almost 90 percent. Therefore, despite modest gains in employment
and income, capital dollars are feeding non-reservation communities and
not supplanting reservation economies. Unfair lending practices, the difficulty
of collateralizing assets held in trust by the US government and low penetration
of banking facilities in Indian Country continue to limit the supply of
capital into Native America. The consequence of this dire situation is
lack of access to capital for reservation based, Native entrepreneurs
and low rates of Native owned small businesses within the reservation
boundaries.
Collaborative Structure and Strategy
Four Times Foundation currently is a consortium of five reservation-based
sites located in four states working together to cultivate reservation
based, Native entrepreneurship. The strategy employed is a Fellowship
program where recipients receive seed capital, access to technical assistance,
and a community of support, to enable them to start businesses on one
of the reservation-based sites. Local partners help recruit, prepare and
evaluate reservation-based Indian entrepreneurs as applicants for the
fellowships and develop local strategies to strengthen the climate for
entrepreneurship. The national Four Times community oversees the collective
selection process and oversees the fellows, once selected. This includes
connecting them to mentors, providing technical assistance, monitoring
the progress of their business, and providing one-on-one counseling. Together,
local coordinators, representing each of the sites, Four Times' staff,
and national advisors exchange best practices, share access to resources,
and help evaluate and re-design the Fellowship Program. Four Times Foundation
is expanding their work to include new Indian Nations within the consortium,
while developing new programs to diversify outreach to micro and later
stage Native entrepreneurs.
Leverage and Impact
Long term goals of this effort include cultivating successful, reservation-based
entrepreneurs (This is measured by growth of assets, capacity to leverage
debt, ability of business to sustain entrepreneurs and their families);
improving tribal economies (We track increase in employment and use of
local vendors [i.e. how dollars circulate as result of business.]); fostering
community minded, Indian business leaders (We track the methods entrepreneurs
use to give back. Historically this has included mentoring other business
people, giving time to local business association, and starting a scholarship
fund.); enhancing local capacity to support Indian entrepreneurship (Strategies
have included increasing the number and diversity of volunteers involved
in efforts, starting an Indian Chamber of Commerce, starting an Indian
Business Association, starting "Entrepreneurs' Fair". Success is evident
by increase in caliber of local business plans submitted, number of fellows
selected by site, and number of applicants per site.) To date, Four Times
Foundation has maintained a success rate of 67% compared to a national
average of 50 % even though they are working in the poorest conditions
in the nation. Fellows on average increase their assets by $20,000 within
the first year of the fellowship and have leveraged a 1 to 1 ratio of
debt to the equity grants invested. With additional investment, Four Times
would expand this opportunity to additional Nations and develop new programs
to outreach to micro and later stage Native entrepreneurs.
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