Supporting Native developers in transforming CDFI capital
into thriving housing villages
The Native Developer CDFI (Community Development Finance Institution) Readiness Initiative is designed to support Native enterprises in becoming CDFI-ready housing developers capable of accessing capital and delivering community-led housing projects. This is a response to a critical bottleneck in Native housing: CDFIs are often ready to lend, communities are ready to build, and land is available, yet there are too few Native developers prepared to access financing and carry projects from concept to completion.
Why This Matters
Across Native communities, the housing need is urgent. CDFIs, both Native and non-Native, have capital ready to finance innovative housing communities. Yet one major gap remains: there are too few CDFI-ready Native developers. Most support systems focus on individuals pursuing homeownership or Tribal housing authorities navigating federal programs. What’s missing is the middle, a pathway that supports Native entities to become developers who can structure deals, access capital, and deliver community-rooted housing.
What We Support
We support Native developers through a readiness pathway from development entity, to a financeable project, to built homes, to built housing villages.
IDENTIFICATION
We engage Tribal Nations, Native nonprofits, builders, and emerging entrepreneurs who are interested in becoming housing developers.
READINESS ASSESSMENT
We assess governance structure, financial capacity, project readiness, and development partnerships to understand what is needed for the next step.
CAPACITY BUILDING
We coordinate support in areas such as advanced financial literacy, development training, pro formas, underwriting, and CDFI readiness coaching.
DEAL STRUCTURING
We help align the right development entity, financing partner, technical partner, and project opportunity so that an emerging developer can move toward a financeable deal.
CAPITAL DEPLOYMENT
We support CDFI application preparation, underwriting alignment, and financing strategy so projects can move from concept into capitalized development.
PROJECT DELIVERY
We support the shift from financing to implementation, including construction launch, workforce integration, and community-led project delivery.
GROWTH
We help developers build the confidence, systems, and relationships needed to move from a first project to future projects, while growing a regional pipeline.
Service, Not Program
The Native Developer CDFI Readiness Initiative is intentionally designed as a service-based model, not a traditional time-bound program. That distinction matters. Many Native practitioners are navigating the impacts of historical trauma and ongoing personal and community challenges. For many, rigid cohort structures and classroom-style requirements do not reflect how capacity is actually built. A service-based culture allows support to be delivered in a more relational way. It combines structured and unstructured support at the same time, meeting people where they are while still helping them move toward real outcomes.
Our model emphasizes:
Relational, trust-based support
Flexible engagement, the ability to step in and out without penalty
Project-based learning tied to real housing opportunities
Ongoing mentorship and technical assistance
Long-term accompaniment across multiple stages of development
Practical problem-solving in real time as barriers arise
Model Project: Hempcrete Tiny Home Villages
One near-term demonstration of this work is the development of hempcrete tiny home villages grounded in a Housing First approach. This model builds on lessons from Eagle Haven Tiny Home Village at Lummi Nation and Green Buffalo hempcrete homes at Lower Sioux, adapting them into a hempcrete-based, climate-resilient, community-led development model.
Key elements of this model include:
Workforce development integrated directly into the building process
(Image of Eagle Haven, Lummi Nation)
Behavioral wellness and Housing First principles embedded into project design
Pathways for Native developers to lead projects rather than only participate in them
(Image of Eagle Haven, Lummi Nation)
We are developing pilot projects with United Indians of All Tribes Foundation in Washington state and Lower Sioux members in Minnesota. We have identified strong interest in CDFI financing partnerships. The remaining challenge is helping emerging Native developers become ready to access and use that financing.
Partner Organizations
United Indians of All Tribes Foundation
A Native nonprofit growing housing sovereignty in Washington state.
Sovereign Insurance Association for Native Nations
A Native nonprofit in support of Tribal Nation insurance sovereignty.
NW Living & Learning Community Collaborative
A BIPOC nonprofit providing hempcrete training, education and ownership models.
Green Buffalo Institute
A Native nonprofit providing hempcrete construction training and education.
NW Native Asset Building Coalition
A Native nonprofit supporting Native developer financial literacy and economic sovereignty.
Long-Term Vision
Our long-term vision is to help create a growing network of CDFI-ready Native developers who can access capital with confidence; deliver innovative and community-led housing; build local workforce and construction capacity; reduce dependence on extractive or misaligned development models; and strengthen Native housing sovereignty over time. As this network grows, it can also provide a replicable model for how to unlock affordable housing in other communities across the country.
Connect With Us
We welcome conversations with:
- Tribal Nations and Native organizations interested in innovative housing development
- Emerging Native developers and builders
- CDFIs and lending partners
- Philanthropic and technical assistance partners
- Organizations interested in innovative housing delivery models
If you would like to explore partnership, pilot development, or support for emerging Native developers, please contact Sovereignty Rises.
This is how sovereignty grows, home by home, Nation by Nation