Annual Reports

2006 Annual Report (1.6 Mg)

2004 Annual Report (3 Mg)

Banking and Financial Services

Investing in Community: Community Development Financial Institutions in Native Communities.
Research paper on trends and promising practices for Native CDFIs.

Predatory Lending in Native American Communities. Research paper on predatory lending in Native American communities.

Financial Education in Native Communities: A Briefing Paper.
Research paper on financial education in Native American communities, co-authored with the Corporation for Enterprise Development and the National Congress of American Indians.

The Native American Entrepreneurship Report.
A report on entrepreneurship in Native communities.

Development in Native Communities: Native American Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs).  An Evaluation report to the FB Heron Foundation.


Community and Economic Development

IABS Report-Educating, Advocating, Capitalizing (2007) This report, titled "Integrated Asset Building Strategies for Reservation-Based Communities: A 27-Retrospective of First Nations Development Institute" provides an overview of First Nations Development Institute’s development philosophy and original research on asset building strategies such as financial education, CDFIs, IDAs, Native philanthropy, and entrepreneurship development.

Asset Building in Native Communities: An Asset Building Framework (2004). This paper outlines First Nations Development Institute’s approach to community economic development.

Family Economic Success in Native Communities: Adapting the Annie E. Casey Family Economic Success Framework to Rural and Reservation-based Native Communities (2004). This paper was written for the Annie E. Casey Foundation to provide them with guidance on their investment strategies in Native communities.

Redefining Success in Community Development: A New Approach for Determining and Measuring the Impact of Development (1994). This paper was published as part of the 1994 Tufts University Richard Schramm on Community Development. [Download PDF]

Okiciyab Final Report: Promoting Best Practices in Indigenous Community Development


Earned Income Tax Credit

Building Native Communities: A Guide to Claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) (2004)

A Tribal Leader's Guide to Launching an EITC Campaign (2005).

Contributions of the Earned Income Tax Credit to Community Development in Indian Country (2006). A research study, supported by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and First Nations, conducted by the Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies at Washington University in St. Louis. This paper explores the impact and potential uses of EITC and other tax refunds in Native Communities.


Financial Education

Building Native Communities: Financial Skills for Families - Instructor's Guide (2001)
(This file is approximately 5 Megabytes in size, it may take a few moments to load.)

Building Native Communities: Financial Skills for Families - Participants Workbook (2001)

Financial Education Resource Guide (2002)

Financial Education in Native Communities: A Briefing Paper.
Research paper on financial education in Native American communities, co-authored with the Corporation for Enterprise Development and the National Congress of American Indians.

Building Native Communities: Investing for the Future (2006). Building Native Communities: Investing for the Future teaches general investment principles in an intuitive and culturally focused course curriculum. The curriculum illustrates how to identify personal or business related goals and outlines various ways of achieving them. Easy to read and teach, each session offers exercises and insights through story shorts that take place in a tribal community setting.


Individual Development Accounts (IDAs)

Building Native Communities-Saving for the Future, Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) for Native Families (2006). This workbook was developed to provide guidance to individuals interested in learning basic financial skills associated with IDAs. The workbook is designed to be interactive and will help to introduce people to IDAs, learn how to use IDAs to achieve savings goals, and learn how IDAs can help build assets.

Sovereign Individuals, Sovereign Nations: Promising Practices for IDA Programs in Indian Country. Research paper on Individual Development Account programs and their contribution to assets development policy in Indian Country.

Assets for the Future: Saving for the Seventh Generation. An early evaluation of First Nations' IDA Initiative.

ATNI Handbook (IDA)


Native Agriculture & Food Systems Initiative

Native Food Summit Report 2004 A report from the Native Food Summit held in Milwaukee in September 2004.

Native Food and Agriculture Resource Manual (Native F.A.R.M.) A guide to federal funding programs for Native food and agriculture programs.

Native Food Summit Report. A report from the Native Food Summit held in Albuquerque in November 2002.

An Analysis of United States International Policy on Indigenous People and Food Security. Research paper on international Indigenous issues as they relate to Native agriculture and food systems, written for First Nations by the International Indian Treaty Council.

Wins and Losses in the 2002 Farm Bill
Analysis of the 2002 Farm Bill, co- written with the Intertribal Agricultural Council.

Facts and Profiles in Native Food Systems. Profiles of several Native food projects addressing local food systems.

Food Sovereignty Assessment Tool (FSAT) (2004). This publication provides an introduction to the food security movement in Indian Country, and provides a resource for thinking about food systems in Native communities and what can be done to regain control of Native food systems.

Native Food Producers Database. This is a database of Native food producers and Native food projects. The purpose of making this database publicly available is to facilitate networking among Native food projects and Native food producers.

Click here to join the NativeAgFood listserv The goals of the NativeAgFood listerv are to share ideas, announce funding opportunities, and discuss policy issues related to food systems and agriculture in Native communities.

Exploring the Vision of Native Food Sovereignty: An Institutional Framework Final Report, February 19, 2006



Nonprofit Capacity Building

Controlling Consulting - Understanding the Basics (2004)

Controlling Consulting - Hiring and Managing the Consultancy (2004)

For-Profit Feasibility Planning for Nonprofit Organizations (2004)

Writing a Business Plan (2004)

Business Plan Example (2004)

Thoughts About Creating a Marketing Plan (2004)

Providing a Long Term Map for Organizational Effectiveness (2004)

Capitalization Strategies for Community-Based Nonprofit Organizations (1997)


Predatory Lending

Predatory Lending in Native American Communities (2003). Research paper on predatory lending in Native American communities.


Strengthening Native American Philanthropy

First Nations recommends the following publications for those interested in Native philanthropy:

Conference Reports

Power of Giving: Strengthening Philanthropy in Native Communities (2006). In June, 2006, First Nations Development Institute, Spirit Mountain Community Fund, the Potlatch Fund, and Native Americans in Philanthropy (NAP) convened a group of Native philanthropic leaders in Grand Ronde, Oregon, to provide technical assistance, build capacity, and discuss how we can better support the development of Native foundations and Native philanthropy. This is the report from that conference.

Strategic Philanthropy: Assessing the Needs of the Native Philanthropic Sector (2005). On September 14 2005, First Nations Development Institute and Native Americans in Philanthropy (NAP) convened a group of Native philanthropic leaders in Minneapolis/St. Paul to discuss how we can better support the development of Native foundations and Native philanthropy. This is the report from that conference.


Speeches and articles by Rebecca Adamson on Native American philanthropy

These articles and speeches are authored by Rebecca Adamson, former director, former president, and founder of First Nations Development Institute.

• A River So Wide I: considering the limits on Native American use of formal philanthropy, Indian Giver, Spring 1999

• A River So Wide II: considering the options of Native American formal philanthropy, Indian Giver, Summer 1999

• A River So Wide III: Native American philanthropy enters a new era, Indian Giver, Fall/Winter 1999

• A River So Wide IV: American Indian philanthropy gathers momentum, Indian Giver, Winter/Spring 2000

• 7871 awareness: a two-way stream, Indian Giver, Winter/Spring 2001

• John W. Gardner Leadership Award acceptance speech, Indian Giver, Fall/Winter 2001

• The 1996 Robert W. Scrivner Award acceptance speech

• Here nature knows us

Technical Reports

• Options for Designing Your Tribal Philanthropic Program – This publication is the first component of the Strengthening Native American Philanthropy Manual created to help tribes start their own foundations or other formalized philanthropic models.

• Operating a Tribal Philanthropic Program – This publication is the second component of the Strengthening Native American Philanthropy Manual. It provides information on designing a mission and vision statement and other topics.

• Individual Philanthropy - This publication is the third component of the Strengthening Native American Philanthropy Manual. It focuses on how individual tribal members can contribute to philanthropic causes.

• Wisdom of the Giveaway. This publication is a curriculum that offers an overview of giving traditions of Native communities and the vehicles through which tribes share and distribute local assets.
[Download PDF] 14 Megabytes

• Legal Questions and Answers - This booklet addresses the often-asked legal questions on charitable giving for individuals in tribal communities.

• Tribal Giving: What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Formalized Philanthropy? - This booklet addresses the advantages and disadvantages of formalized philanthropy.


Wisdom of the Giveaway Conference Reports:

• Great Lakes Wisdom of the Giveaway Conference Report. A report from the 2003 "Wisdom of the Giveaway" Conference held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in partnership with the Forest County Potawatomi Community Foundation.

• San Diego Wisdom of the Giveaway Conference Report. A report from the San Diego "Wisdom of the Giveaway" Conference held in November 2002.

Research Reports

The Emerging Sector: Nonprofits in Indian Country. This research paper draws upon a survey conducted in the late 1990s and provides data on the Native nonprofit sector.

Other Resources

• What every tribe, corporation, foundation, and financial planner should know about charitable giving to tribes and tribal organizations. This pamphlet explains the nature of §7871 organizations and provides a printer-ready document for organizations to use.

• IRS Letters sent to First Nations. This file contains two letters received from the IRS clarifying key questions related to the tax code treatment of tribal governments for philanthropic purposes. The first letter confirms that corporations created under tribal law can qualify for 501(c)(3) status. The second letter clarifies that grants made by private foundations to Indian tribal governments, and tribally created §7871 organizations, are “qualifying distributions” and not “taxable expenditures.” Therefore, donations to tribal governments and §7871 organizations are considered tax deductible.


Press Releases

• FNDI Announces the Separation of First Peoples Worldwide

• 2007 National Leadership in Action Award Recipient


Sustainable Forestry

Forest Certification on Tribal Land. A resource manual for Native American Forest Management Operators and Forest Product Enterprises.


For more information about any of these publications, please email Laura Smith at lsmith@firstnations.org or call 540-371-5615