Mytegia Lee is a tribal liaison for the UNMRI Tribal Entrepreneurship Enhancement Program (TEEP) and also works as the Executive Direct for Southwest Native Assets Coalition (SNAC) who recently received a grant from Wells Fargo Invest Native Initiative. The work Mytegia does through UNMRI TEEP and SNAC is invaluable to the support and growth of financial literacy education and access to capital for Native American community members and entrepreneurs in the Northwest Region of New Mexico.
Below is a press release highlighting SNAC’s recent grant award from Wells Fargo along with a video highlight Mytegia and her hopes for her community going forward.
Southwest Native Assets Coalition Selected for 2023 Invest Native Grant
Grant from Wells Fargo to support Sovereignty Through Education – Financial Literacy and Credit Counseling
Launched in January 2023, Invest Native Grants are part of a $20 million philanthropic initiative by Wells Fargo across six states – Arizona, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming – to support a more equitable and prosperous future for Native Americans.
“Navigating what may seem like a shaky ladder to greater financial freedom by tribal members living in financial deserts throughout the Southwest US is more achievable when practitioners who are from and work in their own tribal communities help steady the ladder of opportunity.” Mytegia Lee, Executive Director
Twenty-eight Native-led organizations in total received nearly $11 million in grants to advance work in Invest Native’s four pillars: Housing access and affordability, small business growth, financial health, and sustainability and climate resilience.
- Southwest Native Assets Coalition addresses financial health by providing financial literacy and credit counseling services to underserved Native American communities. SNAC also offers technical assistance to small business owners which includes one-on-one counseling and access to small dollar debt consolidation loans.
- In 2023 SNAC assisted 941 participants over a 9-month period. During the grant period SNAC will expand service to Native Americans in Arizona and New Mexico harmed by predatory lenders by consolidating high interest debt and refinancing at affordable rates. Some clients had as many as 15 active revolving credit accounts with extraordinarily high interest rates. Many of the clients we assist are either low-income or on fixed incomes and they have debt-to-income ratios averaging 70% with no alternative borrowing options.
- SNAC’s work was inspired by the lack of options for Native Americans that have been victims of the unabated predatory lending industry ubiquitous across Indian Country. The Invest Native grant is transformational for our young but ambitious Native-led non-profit organization. Funds will cover program related expenses for the next fiscal year including financial education and consumer credit counseling services. Funds will also be used to acquire an existing consumer loan portfolio from a nonprofit partner, allowing SNAC to apply its case management expertise to high-risk clients as well as offer debt consolidation loans and credit builder loans. The grant will allow SNAC to generate loan servicing fees from the acquired portfolio and position the organization to meet the requirements needed to secure certification from the US Treasury CDFI Fund.
“Invest Native is about empowering Native-led organizations and enabling them to build more resilient communities for future generations,” said Otis Rolley, president of the Wells Fargo Foundation. “We are excited to announce this latest round of grant-making as part of our long-term commitment to helping Native communities build economic stability and independence.” Invest Native supports Native-led and Native-serving organizations, including community development financial institutions (CDFIs), nonprofits, Tribally Designated Housing Entities (TDHEs), and Native collaboratives including two or more organizations working together to achieve common goals within the six-state territory.
Please note: All press materials will need to be sent to Wells Fargo for review and approval before sharing. Please direct
these to Erin.Devaney@wellsfargo.com and copy Karen Whitaker from Enterprise (kwhitaker@enterprisecommunity.org).
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We are honored to receive an Invest Native grant to support our Southwest Native Assets Coalition which offers financial education, credit counseling and affordable small dollar lending. We are one of the 28 Native-led and Native-serving organizations in Arizona, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming selected through a competitive process by @WellsFargo Link to the Wells Fargo news release here, or to your own website post/newsletter article.
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We are honored to receive an Invest Native grant to support the expansion of Southwest Native Assets Coalition which offers financial education, credit counseling and affordable small dollar lending. We are one of the 28 Native-led and Native-serving organizations in Arizona, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming selected through a competitive process by @WellsFargo. Nearly $11 million was granted across the six states to advance work in Invest Native’s four pillars: housing access and affordability, small business growth, financial health, sustainability and climate resilience.