Nalwoodi Denzhone Community (NDC) currently operates “Nnee Nalwoodi (Strong Apache) Life Center” using the 90-acre Dripping Springs property, owned by the Tribe, in the Gilson Wash District of San Carlos Reservation as a “transition center” for struggling youth. This serves as a place of transformation in body, soul, mind, and spirit through reconnection to earth’s Creator by means of education, farming, gardening, animal husbandry, art, and inspiration in a way that is reproducible and sustainable.
This grant will be used to help tribal communities identify community facility needs and to address the issues primarily associated with Covid-19, equity, and climate change impacts. Meanwhile, we will identify resources to finance the community facility needs from both public and private sources, prepare reports and surveys necessary for funding requests/applications. Applicable community facilities include community centers, health centers, schools, fire stations, food banks, youth centers, libraries, and museums.
This grant will also help to improve community facilities, increase climate resiliency, revitalize the recreation economy, spur well-paying employment, and advancing environmental justice in a historically underserved community. The program is also open to all Federally Recognized Tribe in Arizona (Arizona has 22 Federally Recognized Tribes).
The overarching goal of this program is to aid socially disadvantaged Native American
communities in developing and maintaining strong and sustainable economies through strategic planning, implementation, and investments in community facilities, infrastructure, and partnerships that will increase the level of social equity and improve community resiliency from the impacts of COVID-19 and climate change.
Objective 1: Assist low-income tribal communities in identifying and planning for community facility needs. The project team will facilitate strategic planning meetings with community leaders and local stakeholders to identify the community facility needs and brainstorm solutions. Based on the outcome of the planning efforts, the project team will help prepare community facility development plans, feasibility studies, community facility project scope, and/or probable construction cost estimates.
Objective 2: Identify funding to finance community needs from public and private sources such as USDA and other Federal Agencies, State Agencies, Foundations, and commercial credit. Based on the scope and cost of the community facility needs, the project team will help identify the possible funding sources to meet these needs.
Objective 3: Increase the participation of historically underserved communities in Federal financial assistance programs including grants and loans. Prepare reports and surveys necessary to request financial assistance to develop community facilities such as preliminary architectural reports and financial feasibility reports. The project team will assist low-income rural communities in preparing grants/loan applications for financial assistance.
Objective 4: Prepare applications for USDA's Financial assistance by facilitating grant/loan applications for community facility projects related to stimulating community and economic recovery, improving social equity, reducing pollution, increasing climate resiliency, and protecting natural resources.
Objective 5: Improve management related to the operations of community facilities, including financial management. This will be accomplished by facilitating the grant/loan programs and hosting training/workshops on related subjects.
Objective 6: Provide technical assistance and/or training to assist with other areas of need identified by the Secretary of Agriculture.
