$2.1 million will support MPHS victims, responders

By Diana Hefley, The Herald

 

 

MARYSVILLE — The federal government announced Friday it will provide $2.1 million dollars to support victims, witnesses and first responders affected by last year’s shootings at Marysville Pilchuck High School.

The grant will pay for mental health and victim services, additional school counselors, suicide prevention efforts and other programs at the high school and throughout the district.

“We’re excited about this and what we’ll be able to do,” said Marge Fairweather, the executive director of Victim Support Services.

The nonprofit provides two trauma therapists who mainly work with students at Marysville Pilchuck. Fairweather plans to hire a case manager and third therapist to reach more students in other schools.

On Oct. 24, 2014, a high school freshman shot his friends. Four students were killed and a fifth was seriously wounded. Shooter Jaylen Fryberg, 15, then killed himself.

The school district, Marysville, the Tulalip Tribes, Victim Support Services and Volunteers of America initially applied for $4.2 million. The amount was refined to meet the guidelines established by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime.

After the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, Congress authorized the office to set aside $50 million a year to provide grants to victims and first responders after acts of terrorism or mass violence. The money comes from bond forfeitures and fines paid by white-collar criminals.

The federal office provided a $7.1 million grant for recovery efforts after a gunman in 2012 killed 20 students and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

USDA Announces $5.7 Million in Training Grants and other New Resources to Help Schools Serve Healthier Meals and Snacks

Source: USDA

WASHINGTON, August 21, 2014 – Agriculture Under Secretary Kevin Concannon today announced additional tools to help schools serve healthier meals and snacks as students return for the new school year.

The announcement includes $5.7 million in Team Nutrition grants to state agencies administering the National School Lunch and Child and Adult Care Food Programs. The grants will help states expand and enhance training programs that help schools encourage kids to make healthy choices. Several states will use the grants to increase the number of schools implementing Smarter Lunchroom strategies, which are methods for encouraging kids to choose healthy foods that were developed by child nutrition experts. Research has shown these strategies successfully lead to healthier choices among students. USDA is also funding 2,500 toolkits to provide school districts with the resources they need to take advantage of research on Smarter Lunchroom strategies.

In addition, USDA is re-launching the HealthierUS School Challenge, a voluntary program which provides financial awards to schools that choose to take steps to encourage kids to make healthy choices and be more physically active. All schools participating in the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program have the option to participate in HUSSC. Schools earning HUSSC designation receive a financial award, ranging from $500 to $2,000, based on the level of achievement.

“We’re committed to supporting schools who want to ensure students head back to a healthier school environment this fall,” said Concannon. “Parents, teachers, and school nutrition professionals want the best for their children, and want to provide them with proper nutrition so that they can learn and grow into healthy adults. USDA is proud to support the Smarter Lunchroom movement that provides schools with practical, evidence-based tools that they can use to help their students have a healthier school day.”

Smarter Lunchrooms, developed by the Cornell Center for Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition Programs (BEN) Center and funded in part by the USDA, is a set of best practices that have been shown to help encourage kids to make healthy choices. By using environmental cues such as better product placement and using creative names for healthier foods, these practical, research-based techniques increase student selection of healthier items and reduce plate waste. By changing the display and placement of fruit, for example, the researchers saw a doubling of sales. Similarly, creative naming and display of vegetables increased selection by 40 to 70 percent. Concannon said the Smarter Lunchroom strategies are also being incorporated into the criteria for HealthierUS School Challenge.

The new support for schools announced today builds on a number of resources that USDA has provided to help schools provide students with healthier food options, including technical assistance, resource materials, and $522 million in grants and additional reimbursements. More than 90 percent of schools report that they are successfully meeting those nutrition standards, which were based on recommendations from pediatricians and other child health experts at the Institute of Medicine. Research has shown that a majority of students like the healthier meals and that the standards have successfully increased consumption of fruits and vegetables. New Smart Snacks in School nutrition standards implemented this school year will offer students more whole grains, fruits and vegetables, leaner protein, lower-fat dairy – while decreasing foods with excessive amounts of added sugar, solid fats, and sodium.

USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service administers 15 nutrition assistance programs. In addition to NSLP and SBP, these programs include the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the Summer Food Service Program, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) which together comprise America’s nutrition safety net. For more information, visit www.fns.usda.gov.

Assistant Secretary Washburn Announces Solicitation of Grant Proposals to Assess and Develop Tribal Energy and Mineral Resources

$11 million available in 2014 for federally recognized tribal communities

Source: Office of the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today announced that the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development (IEED)  is soliciting grant proposals from federally recognized tribes for projects that promote the assessment and development of energy and mineral resources on Indian trust lands.  IEED has $11 million available in FY 2014 for grants, which is a historic level of investment that will support tribes seeking to put their energy and mineral assets to work for their communities.

“The IEED Energy and Mineral Development Program is another example of how Indian Affairs is working to assist tribes in realizing and maximizing the potential of their energy and mineral resources,” Assistant Secretary Washburn said.  “This solicitation will provide tribal communities owning energy and mineral resources the opportunity and financial support to conduct projects that will evaluate, find and document their energy and mineral assets, and bring those assets to market.”

Energy and mineral development on Indian trust lands plays a critical role in creating jobs and generating income throughout Indian Country while also contributing to the national economy.  All natural resources produced on Indian trust lands had an estimated economic impact of $12.08 billion, with over 85 percent of this impact derived from energy and mineral development on tribal lands, according to the Department of the Interiors Economic Contributions report issued in July 2012.  The report also noted that out of an estimated 126,000 natural resources-related jobs on tribal lands in Fiscal Year 2011, 88.7 percent were directly associated with energy and mineral development. Energy and mineral resources generated more than $970 million in royalty revenue paid to Indian mineral owners in 2013. Income from energy and minerals is by far the largest source of revenue generated from Indian trust lands.

IEED’s Division of Energy and Mineral Development, through its Energy and Mineral Development Program (EMDP), annually solicits proposals from federally recognized tribes for energy and mineral development projects that assess, locate and inventory energy and mineral resources, or perform feasibility or market studies which are used to promote the use and development of  energy and mineral resources on Indian lands.

Energy and mineral resources may include either conventional such as oil, natural gas or coal, or renewable energy resources such as biomass, geothermal or hydroelectric.  Mineral resources include industrial minerals such as sand and gravel; precious minerals such as gold, silver and platinum; base minerals including lead, copper and zinc; and ferrous metal minerals such as iron, tungsten and chromium.

The EMDP is mandated under the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (25 USC 3501 et seq.) which requires the Secretary of the Interior to “establish and implement an Indian energy resource development program to assist consenting Indian tribes and tribal energy resource development organizations…[and]…provide grants…for use in carrying out projects to promote the integration of energy resources, and to process, use, or develop those energy resources, on Indian land….”

EMDP is funded under the non-recurring appropriation of the Bureau of Indian Affairs budget and is based on available funds.  It is an annual program, and uses a competitive evaluation process to select several proposed projects to receive an award.  Since 1982, the EMDP has invested about $90 million in developing energy and mineral resource information on Indian lands. These funds have defined more than $800 billion of potential energy and mineral resources. 

The Department published a solicitation on the Grants.gov website on June 9, 2014.  Proposals must be submitted no later than 75 calendar days from the announcement date.  The Grants.gov website posting contains all of the guidelines for writing a proposal and instructions for submitting a completed proposal to the DEMD office.

The Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs oversees the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development, which implements the Indian Energy Resource Development Program under Title V of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.  IEED’s mission is to foster stronger American Indian and Alaska Native communities by helping federally recognized tribes with employment and workforce training programs; developing their renewable and non-renewable energy and mineral resources; and increasing access to capital for tribal and individual American Indian- and Alaska Native-owned businesses.  For more information about IEED programs and services, visit the Indian Affairs website at http://www.indianaffairs.gov/WhoWeAre/AS-IA/IEED/index.htm.

 

 

Grant advances Kasaan longhouse repairs

The roof of Kasaan’s Chief Son-i-Hat House, also known as the Whale House, is covered by a tarp during repair work. (Organized Village of Kasaan.)
The roof of Kasaan’s Chief Son-i-Hat House, also known as the Whale House, is covered by a tarp during repair work. (Organized Village of Kasaan.)

By Ed Schoenfeld, CoastAlaska News

A nearly-half-million-dollar grant will speed restoration of Alaska’s oldest Haida longhouse. The structure was first built 130 years ago.

Haida Chief Son-i-Hat built the original longhouse in the 1880s at the village of Kasaan. It’s on the eastern side of Southeast’s Prince of Wales Island, about 30 miles northwest of Ketchikan.

It was called Naay I’waans, The Great House. Many know it as The Whale House, for some of the carvings inside.

It deteriorated, as wooden buildings in the rain forest do. The Civilian Conservation Corps, a depression-era employment program, rebuilt it in the late 1930s.

Now, the house badly needs repair again.

An insect-infested house post is prepared for heat treatment to kill carpenter ants. (Organized Village of Kasaan)
An insect-infested house post is prepared for heat treatment to kill carpenter ants. (Organized Village of Kasaan)

“It’s a matter of our cultural revitalization, showing that we’re still here and part of these lands,” says Richard Peterson, president of the Tribal Council for the Organized Village of Kasaan.

The tribal government is partnering with the Native village corporation Kavilco, and its cultural arm, the Kasaan Haida Heritage Foundation.

“A lot of the building is still in really good condition. Some of the supports are what’s failing. I think we’re fortunate enough that we don’t need a total reconstruction, so we want to maintain as much as we can,” Peterson says.

Read more about the effort.

An analysis by Juneau-based MRV Architects estimated full repairs would cost more than $2 million. A scaled-back plan totaled about $1.4 million. It listed several phases to be completed as funds came in.

And they have. In late November, the Anchorage-based Rasmuson Foundation awarded the project $450,000. Peterson says that, plus funds from the tribal government and its partners, is about enough to complete the work.

“So right now, we’re milling up the logs and they’re going to hand-adz all of the timbers. And we’re just going in and starting to secure up some of the corners that are dropping down. It’s been a really exciting project,” Peterson says.

The effort to stabilize the longhouse has been underway for around two years. But it picked up speed last summer.

Eric Hammer (front) and Harley Bell-Holter work in Kasaan’s carving shed. (Courtesy Organized Village of Kasaan)
Eric Hammer (front) and Harley Bell-Holter work in Kasaan’s carving shed. (Courtesy Organized Village of Kasaan)

The lead carver is Stormy Hamar, who is working with apprentices Eric Hamar, his son, and Harley Bell-Holter. Others volunteer.

Peterson says it’s an all-ages effort.“The great part is these young kids that are getting involved. And it’s across the lines. Native, non-Native, it doesn’t matter. There’s been a real interest by the youth there,” Peterson says.

Work continues through the winter. Peterson says the focus now is repairing or replacing structural elements so the longhouse doesn’t collapse.

The Whale House is already attracting attention. Independent travelers drive the 17-mile dirt road that starts near Thorne Bay. And Sitka-based Alaska Dream Cruises also stops in Kasaan, where the house is on the list of sights to see.

“Because it’s off-site, you’re not going to see any modern technology. There’s no cars driving by. You can really see how our people lived 200 years ago and experience that and look at those totems in a natural setting,” Peterson says. “It wasn’t put there for a park. This is how it was. And I think people really appreciate that.”

Without too many surprises, Peterson hopes work can be completed in around two years.

Then, he says, the tribe will host a celebration like the one Wrangell leaders put on last year when they finished the Chief Shakes Tribal House.

Scaffolding allows repairs to the Kasaan Whale House smokehole, which was damaged by rot. (Organized Village of Kasaan.)
Scaffolding allows repairs to the Kasaan Whale House smokehole, which was damaged by rot. (Organized Village of Kasaan.)

United Way of Snohomish County offering $51,000 in grants to support financial education; application deadline is Jan. 17

 

(Everett, WA) – United Way of Snohomish County is offering $51,000 to support financial education and financial coaching serving low- or moderate-income individuals and families. Grants may be used to support classroom instruction, one-on-one counseling or a combination.

“Financial stability is the cornerstone of a healthy community,” said Dennis G. Smith, president and CEO of United Way of Snohomish County. “These grants will help provide families in our community much needed access to financial education and counseling.”

Programs could include money management, savings, budgeting, avoiding fraud, credit management or other financial topics relevant to low-and-moderate-income families. Funds may be used to support or expand financial asset building services or to develop a new financial education offering.

The maximum award for a grant is $15,000. Organizations currently receiving United Way multi-year program grants are eligible for funding, including programs presently funded. For programs currently receiving a multi-year program grant, funds must be used to either expand or enhance impact.

The grant application and instructions can be found on United Way’s website at http://www.uwsc.org/financialeducationgrants.php.

For more information, please contact Lark Kesterke at lark.kesterke@uwsc.org or 425.374.5506.

Two years ago, eight groups received a total of $40,000 in financial education grants from United Way. Both that round of funding and this one were made possible through a grant from The Boeing Company to United Way.

Free tax preparation, encouraging people to purchase U.S. Savings Bonds and other financial education programs, in addition to these grants, are part of United Way’s overall effort to help Snohomish County families achieve and maintain financial stability.

Feds Award $90 Million to Enhance Native Law Enforcement Programs

Source: Native News Network

CELILO VILLAGE, OREGON – The Department of Justice Wednesday announced the awarding of 192 grants to 110 American Indian tribes, Alaska Native villages, tribal consortia and tribal designated non-profits.

The grants will provide more than $90 million to enhance law enforcement practices and sustain crime prevention and intervention efforts in nine purpose areas including public safety and community policing; justice systems planning; alcohol and substance abuse; corrections and correctional alternatives; violence against women; juvenile justice; and tribal youth programs. The awards are made through the department’s Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation, a single application for tribal-specific grant programs.

Associate Attorney General Tony West and Office of Justice Programs Assistant Attorney General Karol Mason made the announcement during a meeting of northwest tribal leaders with the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee’s Native American Issues Subcommittee (NAIS) in Celilo Village, Oregon.

“These programs take a community based and comprehensive approach to the root causes and consequences of crime, as well as target areas of possible intervention and treatment,”

said Associate Attorney General West.

“The CTAS programs are critical tools to help reverse unacceptably high rates of crime in Indian country, and they are a product of the shared commitment by the Department of Justice and tribal nations to strengthen and sustain healthy communities today and for future generations.”

“The Department of Justice has a responsibility to make sure its resources are not only available but accessible to tribes in a manner that they have defined and envisioned to meet the needs of their communities,”

said Assistant Attorney General Mason.

“As we have shown over the last four years, the Department of Justice takes this responsibility very seriously.”

The department developed CTAS through its Office of Community Oriented Policing, Office of Justice Programs and Office on Violence against Women, and administered the first round of consolidated grants in September 2010.

Over the past four years, it has awarded 989 grants totaling more than $437 million. Information about the consolidated solicitation is available at www.Justice.gov.

A fact sheet on CTAS is available here.

Thirty US Attorneys from districts that include Indian country or one or more federally recognized tribes serve on the NAIS. The NAIS focuses exclusively on Indian country issues, both criminal and civil, and is responsible for making policy recommendations to the Attorney General regarding public safety and legal issues.

Next month, the Justice Department will hold its annual consultation on violence against native women on October 31, in Bismarck, North Dakota. In addition, an Interdepartmental Tribal Justice, Safety and Wellness Session will be held in Bismarck on October 29-30. It will include an important listening session with tribal leaders to obtain their views on the Department grants, as well as valuable training and technical assistance.

Today’s announcement is part of the Justice Department’s ongoing initiative to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in tribal communities.

Award List by State

Alaska

Akiachak Native Community
$299,447

Aleut Community of St. Paul Island
$600,000

Bristol Bay Native Association, Inc
$582,054

Iliamna Village Council
$149,561

Kenaitze Indian Tribe
$534,304

Maniilaq Association
$958,252

Native Village of Barrow
$2,940,730

Native Village of Kwinhagak
$149,163

Native Village of Old Harbor
$578,154

Nome Eskimo Community
$697,595

Qagan Tayagungin Tribe
$61,762

Southcentral Foundation
$850,000

Sun’ ‘aq Tribe of Kodiak
$384,657

Traditional Council of Togiak
$442,320

Arizona

Hualapai Detention and Rehabilitation Center
$764,298

Navajo Division of Public Safety
$673,348

Pascua Yaqui Tribe
$605,494

Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community
$1,027,981

SanCarlos Apache Tribe
$223,314

Tohono O’odham Nation
$645,725

California

Bishop Indian Tribal Council
$300,000

Cahto Tribe of the Laytonville Rancheria
$299,966

Hoopa Valley Tribe
$1,379,961

Hopland Band of Pomo Indians
$300,000

Round Valley Indian Tribes
$300,000

Shingle Springs Rancheria
$465,906

Two Feathers Native American Family Services
$399,525

Yurok Tribe
$924,999

Colorado

Southern Ute Indian Tribe
$417,554

Florida

Seminole Tribe of Florida
$320,298

Idaho

Coeur D’Alene Tribe
$1,356,626

Nez Perce Tribe
$1,262,805

Kansas

Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation
$777,096

Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri
$222,799

Louisiana

Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana
$725,224

Maine

Aroostook Band of Micmacs
$499,696

Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians
$899,954

Penobscot Nation
$281,099

Michigan

Bay Mills Indian Community
$282,657

Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians
$862,037

Hannahville Indian Community
$305,475

Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians
$295,742

Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians
$138,353

Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan
$1,112,111

Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians
$478,356

Minnesota

Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
$727,056

Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe
$4,994,283

Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
$751,379

Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians
$1,293,218

The Prairie Island Indian Community
$66,411

White Earth Reservation Tribal Council
$278,000

Mississippi

Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians
$691,000

Montana

Chippewa Cree Tribe
$1,094,574

Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes
$721,266

North Carolina

Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
$891,216

North Dakota

Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians
$854,084

Nebraska

Omaha Tribe of Nebraska
$803,339

Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska
$1,279,108

New Mexico

Eight Northern Indian Pueblos Council, Inc. PeaceKeepers
$1,300,000

Mescalero Apache Tribe
$450,000

Pueblo of Acoma
$1,324,996

Pueblo of Isleta
$753,858

Pueblo of Jemez
$671,194

Pueblo of Laguna
$401,348

Santa Clara Pueblo
$748,203

Zuni Tribe
$1,416,266

Nevada

Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe
$1,129,000

Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California
$684,200

New York

Oneida Indian Nation
$223,769

St. Regis Mohawk Tribe
$515,000

Oklahoma

Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma
$1,357,873

Apache Tribe of Oklahoma
$765,000

Cherokee Nation
$845,664

Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
$628,227

Citizen Potawatomi Nation
$1,265,758

Kaw Nation
$1,100,571

Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma
$848,234

Miami Tribe of Oklahoma
$296,104

Muscogee (Creek) Nation
$3,734,853

Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma
$1,049,844

Seminole Nation of Oklahoma
$1,489,068

The Chickasaw Nation
$1,734,022

Tonkawa Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma
$295,342

Wyandotte Nation
$867,061

Oregon

Burns Paiute Tribe
$350,494

Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians
$298,017

Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon
$695,466

Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
$1,150,000

Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation
$1,671,142

South Carolina

Catawba Indian Nation
$499,639

South Dakota

Lower Brule Sioux Tribe
$262,977

Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse Reservation
$156,003

Wiconi Wawokiya Inc
$1,354,000

Washington

Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation
$496,488

ConfederatedTribes of the Chehalis Reservation
$1,125,991

Cowlitz Indian Tribe Total $711,000

Kalispel Tribe of Indians Total $981,540

Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe
$1,032,932

Puyallup Tribal Council
$2,586,479

Quileute Tribe
$784,446

Spokane Tribe of Indians
$1,060,999

Squaxin Island Tribe
$824,445

Swinomish Indian Tribal Community
$1,049,379

Tulalip Tribes of Washington
$2,068,058

Wisconsin

Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission
$348,095

Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
$1,076,105

Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians
$591,049

Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin
$269,000

Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
$251,006

St. Croix Chippewa Housing Authority
$571,030

Grand Total
$90,382,567

$300k Northwest Area Foundation Grant to Help Launch Native-Owned Businesses

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

Native Americans would learn skills to launch employee-owned businesses under a pilot program the Northwest Area Foundation is funding. A $300,000 grant to the Democracy Collaborative Foundation Inc. (DCF) of Cleveland will provide six Native American organizations with deep, hands-on learning in the Evergreen Cooperatives model of worker-owned enterprises. The grant to DCF is one of 48 worth $4.9 million the Foundation announced in the first quarter of 2013 aimed at building assets and wealth through job creation, small business development, and personal financial education.

“Employee-owned cooperatives have shown great success in moving low-income workers to living wage careers. We believe that such community wealth-building strategies offer great potential for prosperity in Native American communities,” said Kevin Walker, president and CEO of the Northwest Area Foundation. “The portfolio of grants we’ve announced include many innovative approaches to creating new jobs and financial opportunities to reduce poverty in Latino, refugee, minority, immigrant, and low-income communities within our region.”

The Foundation has committed a minimum of 40 percent of its grant portfolio in 2013 to Native American programs and Native-operated nonprofit organizations working to build community and individual financial know-how, access to capital, and entrepreneurial skills. A copy.5 million grant to the Seventh Generation Fund for Indian Development Inc. is aimed at strengthening the influence of a nonprofit network of Native American organizations in Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota. This pilot program will offer small grants, project training, advocacy, and peer-centered learning.

Additional grants to support asset building in Native American communities include:

Economic Policy Institute of Washington, D.C., received copy00,000 for policy research that will call attention to unemployment rates and the need for job creation for Native Americans.

Makoce Wasté Development Corporation of Rapid City, S.D., received copy00,000 through its fiscal sponsor United Tribes Technical College to create jobs, fund economic development, and purchase lands in the Black Hills for the Lakota-Dakota-Nakota people.

Minnesota American Indian Chamber of Commerce of Minneapolis received copy00,000 over two years to develop a comprehensive Minnesota American Indian Business Directory and to create a “Buy Indian Policy.”

Grants to build assets and wealth in other communities include:

Amos Institute of Public Life of Des Moines, Iowa, received $200,000 over two years to expand the Project IOWA program that helps low-income workers move to living wage jobs.

Craft3 of Ilwaco, Wash., received $350,000 to strengthen the leadership and organizational ability. Funding will also increase financial services, including business and consumer loans, provided to rural and Native American communities.

Hacienda Community Development Corporation of Portland, Ore., received $200,000 over two years to build assets of low-income Latinos through micro-enterprise, home ownership, savings, and strong credit scores.

Mountain States Group Inc. of Boise, Idaho, received copy80,000 over two years for the Micro Enterprise Training and Assistance (META) program which provides business training and assistance to low-income and refugees entrepreneurs in the green energy industry.

Nexus Community Partners of St. Paul, Minn., received $500,000 over two years for an initiative to create living-wage jobs and build the financial abilities of low-income workers on St. Paul’s East Side.

OneAmerica of Seattle received $200,000 over two years to launch a pilot program that combines financial literacy training for low- and moderate-income immigrants pursuing citizenship, with the goal of improving prospects for economic opportunity and full integration for this growing community, including eventual access to business training, loans and partnerships with financial institutions.

Stairstep Foundation of Minneapolis received copy00,000 over two years to recruit, support, and advocate for low-income people of color to work in living-wage construction industry jobs.

Grants to support leadership and organizational ability include:

Headwaters Foundation for Justice of Minneapolis received $500,000 for collaborative planning, leadership development, community problem-solving and collective action among five regional networks of African American Leadership Forums in five cities: Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.; Seattle; Tacoma, Wash.; Portland, Ore.; and Des Moines, Iowa.

For a full list of the 48 grants the Northwest Area Foundation announced in the first of 2013 quarter, visit www.nwaf.org/content/firstqgrants13.

Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/04/19/300k-northwest-area-foundation-grant-help-launch-native-owned-businesses-148903