"mAKING A DIFFERENCE IN INDIAN COUNTRY. ONE NATIVE YOUTH AT A TIME"

After administering a highly successful Credit Outreach program over the past three and ½ years, the NTDA saw the need to create a new component of the initiative that deals specifically with American Indian youth.  Since our current initiative only allows us to assist American Indian youth in accessing FSA Youth Loans up to $5,000 for a modest income-producing project many of the other educational tools necessary for an American Indian youth to develop a proper business plan is still left up to the individual youth. 

The NTDA, on the other hand, has decided to take this one step further and are proposing to create the “American Indian Youth Entrepreneurial Empowerment Project.”  The project will eventually become an integral component of the NTDA and will become a self-sustaining ingredient in our already successful credit outreach initiative. The NTDA matches qualified business mentors with young entrepreneurs to allow knowledge sharing and ensure a higher business success rate. Through entrepreunership education the NTDA not only empowers Native youth, but assists them in seeking other financing sources for their entrepreunerial projects.

The project will consists of the following parts:

• An American Indian Youth Entrepreneur website, with chat room featuring American Indian Business Leaders who will be available on-line at regularly scheduled chat sessions throughout the course of the year;
• An “Indianized” web-based and interactive youth oriented entrepreneurial curriculum which will include:
  • a.         Developing a business plan,
    b.         Establishing your credit history,
    c.         Records management,
    d.         Risk management,
    e.         Customer relations and service,
    f.          Communication and networking skills,
    h.         Product and service marketing and promotions, and
    g.         Other curricula.
• Hosting youth entrepreneurial workshops at AIHEC, AIBL, AISES, NIEA, and NIBA;
• Regular on-site youth entrepreneurial workshops throughout our service delivery areas at 4-H Clubs, Boys & Girls Clubs, reservation schools, etc. that will be incorporated into our existing credit outreach initiative utilizing our 18 Credit Outreach staff located throughout the country to deliver this service;
• Assisting at least 80 American Indian Youth to develop business plans and complete loan packages per year;
• Follow-up services for our current Youth Loan Recipients as well as assisting non-agriculture youth in pursuing a start-up small business;
• Distribute a quarterly newsletter to all schools and partners in the 28 state service delivery area, which will highlight “success stories,” information about the interactive components, and recruitment for the youth travel portion of the project;
• Sponsoring a minimum of three youth loan recipients to attend the yearly conventions of AIHEC, AIBL, AISES, NIEA, and NIBA while at the same time manning the project specific NTDA Youth Entrepreneurial Traveling Trade Show Booth to receive firsthand salesmanship, marketing, and boothsmanship training; and
• At least two “Train the Trainer” sessions for our current Credit Outreach staff to ensure they are equipped with the skill sets necessary to effectively deliver this program in their respective service delivery areas now, and after Federal funding ceases.

  
  Made possible by a grant provided by the Administration for Native Americans

  Copyright © 2006 National Tribal Development Association
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