There are about 65 certified Native community development financial institutions (CDFIs) in the United States — roughly the same number as a decade ago.

But that’s starting to change.

In Episode 5 of Difference Makers 3.0, Brian Edwards speaks with leaders building new Native CDFIs in Oklahoma, Hawai‘i and the Northeast — part of a growing wave of more than 30 emerging efforts working to expand access to capital in communities that still don’t have it.

The episode features Kristen Wagner of the Native CDFI Network, along with Riley Logsdon and Chris Coburn of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes Community Development Corporation, Olani Lilly of Changemakers Community Economic Development, and Alexander “Brave Journey” Sterling of Turtle Island Community Capital.

Together, their stories show how the next generation of Native CDFIs is taking shape — not through a single model, but through approaches grounded in the needs, values and realities of the communities they serve.

In Oklahoma, a tribally affiliated lending organization is building toward certification while expanding access to small business and consumer lending in communities where predatory lending remains common.

In Hawai‘i, a community development organization is using finance as one tool within a broader, relationship-based approach — rooted in culture, community and long-term resilience.

And in the Northeast, a new Native CDFI effort is identifying significant unmet demand in a region that has historically lacked access to Native-led capital, with one estimate pointing to at least $180 million in investable opportunities.

In this episode:

• Why the number of Native CDFIs has remained relatively flat — and what’s changing
• How more than 30 emerging Native CDFIs are working toward certification
• What it takes to build a Native CDFI from the ground up
• How tribally affiliated lending models are developing in Oklahoma
• Why consumer lending matters in communities facing predatory lending
• How Native Hawaiian leaders are rethinking finance as a relationship-based system
• The scale of unmet demand for capital in regions like the Northeast
• What drives the next generation of Native CDFI leaders

Reading & Resources

🔗 Native CDFI Network RISE Initiative
https://nativecdfi.net/institute/ncn-ris

🔗 Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes Community Development Corporation
https://cheyenneandarapahocdc.org/

🔗 Changemakers Community Economic Development
https://changemakershawaii.org/

🔗 Turtle Island Community Capital
https://turtleislandcommunitycapital.org/

Difference Makers explores how Native community development financial institutions (CDFIs) are expanding economic opportunity across Indian Country. From small business lending and homeownership to consumer loans, financial education, and technical assistance, Native CDFIs provide the capital and support that help Native communities build stronger local economies.

Join the Native CDFI Network and Tribal Business News as they spotlight the people, partnerships, and ideas driving economic change in Native communities.

Large-scale economic development deals in Indian Country are typically financed through complex capital stacks — combining banks, tax credits and outside investors — with Native CDFIs often left out.

That may be starting to change.

In Episode 4 of Difference Makers 3.0, Brian Edwards and Pete Upton speak with Ted Piccolo and Stephen Nunes of Mission Driven Finance about a $65 million flour mill project on the Umatilla Indian Reservation — and how Native CDFIs helped finance a critical piece of the deal.

The Blue Mountain Mill project brought together tribal equity, senior debt from Native American Bank and a $9 million subordinated loan from eight Native CDFIs across the country.

In this conversation, Piccolo and Nunes explain how that financing came together, why Native lenders were brought in early, and how a collaborative structure — what Piccolo calls a “capital weave” — could shape future Native-led projects.

In this episode:

• How eight Native CDFIs came together to finance a $9M gap in the capital stack
• Why Native lenders have historically been left out of larger deals
• How the “missing middle” can stall projects — and how it was filled
• What a “capital weave” is — and how it works in practice
• How participation builds capacity for Native CDFIs to take on larger deals
• Why this model could extend to energy, infrastructure and other sectors

Reading & Resources:

🔗 Mission Driven Finance
https://missiondrivenfinance.com

🔗 Native CDFI Network
https://nativecdfi.net

🔗 Tribal Business News coverage of the Blue Mountain Mill
https://tribalbusinessnews.com

Difference Makers explores how Native community development financial institutions (CDFIs) are expanding economic opportunity across Indian Country. From small business lending and homeownership to consumer loans, financial education, and technical assistance, Native CDFIs provide the capital and support that help Native communities build stronger local economies.

Join the Native CDFI Network and Tribal Business News as they spotlight the people, partnerships, and ideas driving economic change in Native communities.

Native communities receive less than one-half of 1% of philanthropic funding in the United States — roughly four or five dollars for every thousand dollars foundations give away.

In Episode 3 of Difference Makers 3.0, Brian Edwards speaks with Kevin Walker, President and CEO of the Northwest Area Foundation, about why Indian Country remains on the margins of mainstream philanthropy — and what changes when foundations choose to build deep relationships with Native communities.

Under Walker’s leadership, Northwest Area Foundation made a public commitment that 40% of its grant dollars go to Native-led organizations — a level of sustained investment that stands out in the philanthropic sector.

In this conversation, Walker reflects on how that decision emerged, what philanthropy often misunderstands about Indian Country, and why Native CDFIs represent one of the clearest opportunities for measurable economic impact.

In this episode:

• Why Native communities receive less than 0.5% of philanthropic funding
• How NWAF committed to directing 40% of its grants to Native-led organizations
• What philanthropy often gets wrong about Indian Country
• The difference between a deficit mindset and an opportunity mindset
• Why Native CDFIs are powerful drivers of local economic development
• How foundations can move beyond land acknowledgments toward real accountability

Reading & Resources:

🔗 Northwest Area Foundation
https://www.nwaf.org

🔗 NWAF Native-led work approach
https://www.nwaf.org/approach/native-led-work/

🔗 NWAF strategy supporting Native CDFIs
https://www.nwaf.org/approach/native-cdfis/

🔗 Native CDFI Network
https://nativecdfi.net

Difference Makers explores how Native community development financial institutions (CDFIs) are expanding economic opportunity across Indian Country. From small business lending and homeownership to consumer loans, financial education, and technical assistance, Native CDFIs provide the capital and support that help Native communities build stronger local economies.

Join the Native CDFI Network and Tribal Business News as they spotlight the people, partnerships, and ideas driving economic change in Native communities.