NACDC Financial Services is based in Browning. It’s deployed more than $30 million in loans across Native American communities since 2010.
It’s a Native-certified community development financial institution. These kinds of lenders work in underserved areas and Indian Country. They offer business, agriculture and home loans, and money management training. They’re funded by a variety of sources, including the federal government.
But the U.S. Treasury laid off all staff in charge of doling out those dollars, and paused grant applications during the federal government shutdown.
Angie Main, executive director of the Blackfeet lender, says services will continue despite having millions of dollars in limbo.
“We have to be strategic in how we’re going to fundraise," Main says. "We’ve completely had to change our marketing strategy.”
She says communication on a potential $1.9 million grant has stopped. She knows she won’t hear whether that’s approved until the government reopens, if at all.
Main says the lender also isn’t getting already-awarded federal grant dollars that pay for three staffers. So Main’s pulling from reserves to cover their paychecks.
Main worries federal workers could default on loans because they aren’t getting paid right now.
“So we have all of those factors to consider when we work with our clients and trying to help them be at ease, too, so that they’re not stressing over the fact that, ‘oh, I have a home loan payment due.”
She says their default rate over the past 15 years has been less than 1%, and she’d like to keep it that way.
