Community Development
The NNDF has worked with multiple partners and borrowers to help create a more economically diverse and vibrant community. Projects ranging from:
Working with a local Tribe to help fund new office space on the Colville Indian Reservation.
A small business hospitality provider who is working to develop tourism in the Big Hole Valley in Montana.
A small batch, handcrafted salmon processing company. Who works with Native fishermen along the Columbia River in Portland Oregon.
Providing NEW HOMES! The NNDF has actually built and will build our own homes to put into the local market.
A young man who after working for a local autobody repair shop in Electric City Washington for many years was able to purchase the business from the owners. Saving a local business that had been in the community for over 50 years.
The Bunkhouse Hotel,
Jackson Montana
Rick Harwood first came to the NNDF back in 2016. He had a vision to purchase, rehab and develop an old building on Mainstreet in Jackson Montana. This was a town that had one small lodging facility at a local hot spring. The existing business was always full. So Rick found the opportunity to catch spill-over traffic. However, in short order Mr. Harwood was able to create a boutique destination property of his own. Catering to long distance bicyclists in the summer, fishermen in the spring, hunters in the fall and skiers in the winter. Rick began to grow and expand what he provided in his facility. This brought in more traffic to this small town to help feed another local restaurant. His Bunkhouse Hotel also became home to the town’s Post Office to help create a gathering place and a new sense of “space.”
In 2019 Rick came back to the NNDF. It turns out that the rest of the world was beginning to discover the beauty of the Big Hole Valley in Montana. Mr. Harwood had the opportunity to develop a street corner in the neighboring town of Wisdom Montana (14 miles up the road). This vacation property, located within walking distance of the town’s character driven downtown, would help his hospitality business grow and aid the continued revitalization of Wisdom’s business community.
Birds Autobody,
Electric City Washington
In 2020 Jared Holt, a local Colville Tribal descendant had been working for Birds Autobody since he was in high school. He had been working there for almost ten years when the current owners let the community know they were going to retire and likely close down the business.
Jared, knew cars. He knew autobody. It had been his life since a child. His wife understood finance as she was once employed at a local Credit Union. Together they believed that they could successfully operate this business. However, the big obstacle was that no traditional financing institution would provide financing for a young man with little to no assets even though he had a huge amount of experience and even though the business was a community icon for over 50 years.
Jared approached the NNDF and staff went to work. The previous owner was gracious in providing historical financial information, current market information, and staffing levels. NNDF staff ran the analysis and Mr. Holt began assessing what assets he did have.
In the end, the story told by the financial history said that this was a great business opportunity. For someone who had experience. The Northwest Native Development Fund put together a “Star Quilt” of a financing deal that saved local jobs and a local cornerstone business AND helped a young Colville descendant begin his journey growing his personal assets. Jared Holt has, in a short period of time since the spring of 2020, become a leader in his community.
We Build Homes For Our People
The NNDF sees that one of the biggest needs in our communities is the lack of housing stock. Much of the housing inventory on and around Indian Reservations is extremely old and many times unsafe.
So the NNDF has taken it as part of our vision to see that new (or newer rehabbed) homes are added to the market. In the fall of 2019 the NNDF built our first new, three bedroom, two bath, 1,500 square foot home. This home was put on the market with the idea that we only needed to cover our costs and roll the sale into the next home.
Due to the effects of the COVID Pandemic the sale scheduled for the summer of 2020 was put on hold and then in the spring of 2021 our first home was sold to a young family so that they were able to obtain their first home!
We look forward to building more and financing private individuals to rehab other homes in the community as we attempt to impact our community one safe home at a time.
We’re very excited to begin to offer home loans to provide safe, clean, affordable housing to our community. Stay tuned!
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