Four Bands Community Fund - Reports and Media

Tanya Fiddler Testifies at Hearing on Job Creation in Native Communities
Tanya Fiddler, Four Bands Executive Director, testified on behalf of Native communities at a Senate Banking Committee hearing to discuss the opportunities and challenges faced by Native American communities around the country. The Committee discussed obstacles holding back job creation such as lack of access to capital, as well as work being done to address the problem. Read the press release. Read Tanya Fiddler's testimony.

Four Bands Featured in "Innovative Native Nations in Rural America" Report
This paper was funded by the National Rural Assembly and prepared by the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) to start a dialogue about the important partnership opportunities between rural communities, tribal nations, and their neighbors in urban communities. Four Bands' economic development strategies and results are highlighted on page 7. Download the report.

Tanya Fiddler is the Voice for Rural and Native America at the Clinton Global Initiative America Meeting
Tanya Fiddler, Executive Director, shared the Four Bands story on a panel titled, "American Success Stories," at the Clinton Global Initiative America meeting on June 30, 2011. Watch the video. Read the article in Indian Country Today.

Tanya Fiddler, Executive Director of Four Bands Community Fund and Co-Chair of the Native CDFI Network (NCN) testified before an interagency hearing in Los Angeles, California on August 17, 2010 to recommend that modernizations be made to the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). Fiddler, who testified on behalf of Four Bands and NCN, spoke to regulators about developing strategies to ensure that the CRA effectively promotes financial services to serve Native communities. See the full story including Tanya's recommendations here. Read the full testimony here.

Four Bands was featured in the August 2009 Issue of the Aspen Institute's FIELD Funder Guide. Read here to learn about the challenges and solutions for building credit worthiness and find out how we are helping our customers.

Read our latest report: Business Opportunities in the Cheyenne Reservation Market
Full Report | Highlights

Four Bands invites members of the media to learn more about our story of small business development on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation. Check out our archived annual reports and newsletters, or read our customer success stories to find out how we are fostering growth and making a positive impact in our area. Contact us to request a media kit or to set up an interview.

In the first 10 years of operations, Four Bands provided technical assistance and training services to 1,844 adults and 526 youth. Throughout five Reservation schools, 1,525 youth had financial literacy and entrepreneurship education integrated into their curriculums. Our comprehensive business development class was completed by 245 people. Loans totalling $2,252,440 helped create and expand 90 Native-owned businesses affecting more than 150 jobs. We have 86 active loans and 154 loans have been paid in full. We've made successive loans to 44 individuals; 62 of these loans totaling $130,500 were awarded to help individuals repair their credit histories. Our IDA savings program has committed more than $244,900 in savings match to 52 adults and 77 youth for asset-building goals - money to purchase or renovate a home, start or expand a business, or pursue further education. Using money from their IDA savings accounts, 28 families have gone on to buy or renovate homes, 28 are financing further education opportunities, and 7 have used the funds to open or grow their businesses. Within the communities of Dupree, Eagle Butte, Isabel, and Timber Lake, 18 businesses have participated in our renovation program resulting in building upgrades and marketing assistance.

REPORTS AND MEDIA