The CDFI Fund’s New Markets Tax Credit Program Native Initiative
Please join us for an upcoming New Markets Tax Credit Native Initiative Best Practices Workshop! Workshops will focus on research findings and lessons learned regarding increasing investment in NMTC Native Areas (Federal Indian Reservations, Off-Reservation Trust Lands, Hawaiian Home Lands, and Alaska Native Village Statistical Areas). These best practices and recommendations are the culmination of the findings from and information contained in the NMTC Native Initiative Market Research Report, Case Study Report, and Self-Assessment Guide for Native Organizations.
Workshop dates are as follows:
Native CDFI Network 4th Annual Policy & Capacity-Building Summit
December 5, 2023—Washington, DC
In person event
Native CDFI Network NMTC Native Initiative Webinar
January 11, 2024; 11:00 am- 12:00 pm PST
Virtual Webinar (Register here: https://nativecdfi.net/events/new-markets-tax-credit-native-initiative-webinar/)
Novogradac 24th Annual New Markets Tax Credit Conference
January 24, 2024—Carlsbad, CA
In person event; Register here for “Getting Native NMTC Deals Done” pre-conference workshop: https://www.novogradacevents.com/ereg/index.php?eventid=770506)
NMTC Native Initiative Webinar for Hawaiian Organizations (Hosted by Waianae Economic Development Council)
January 30, 2024; 10:00 am - 11:30 am HST/12:00 pm - 1:30 pm PST
Virtual Webinar (Registration information coming soon)
NMTC Native Initiative Webinar for Alaskan Organizations (Hosted by Alaska Growth Capital BIDCO, Inc.)
February 8, 2024; 10:00 am - 11:30 am AKST/11:00 am - 12:30 pm PST
Virtual Webinar (Registration information coming soon)
Summary of the CDFI Fund’s New Markets Tax Credit Native Initiative:
The NMTC Program Native Initiative is an effort to increase New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) investment in Federal Indian Reservations, Off-Reservation Trust Lands, Hawaiian Home Lands, and Alaska Native Village Statistical Areas, collectively referred to as NMTC Native Areas. Big Water Consulting and its partners were selected by the CDFI Fund to administer this project based on their extensive knowledge of the NMTC Program and their experience conducting trainings related to the NMTC Program for Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and Community Development Entities (CDEs).
The Market Research Report identifies and reviews existing research and data on the unique history, challenges, industries, actors, and available funding and capital sources that shape how tribes and Native actors successfully participate in community economic development.
The Case Study Report presents findings, best practices, and recommendations derived from an online survey and subsequent interviews with participants in past NMTC investments in NMTC Native Areas.
The purpose of the Self-Assessment Guide is to help Native entities better understand the various roles in NMTC projects and determine how they can best take advantage of the NMTC program.
About the NMTC Native Initiative Research and Training Team
karen williams
has been involved in the NMTC program since its inception. As a lawyer or consultant, she has provided services for over $800 million in NMTC projects, as well as over $2 billion in public-private, and community and economic development projects. She has experience working with federal, state, and local government agencies, as well as nonprofits and for-profit businesses. Williams has a JD Cum Laude from Seattle University.
sean zielenbach, ph.d.
is the President of SZ Consulting, LLC, has been working on issues related to economic development and development finance for the past 33 years. He consults for numerous community development entities throughout the country on issues of strategic planning, impact measurement, and program and product development. He helped design the NMTC program while at the CDFI Fund and has helped dozens of organizations attract NMTC capital for a variety of high-impact projects. Sean has conducted several studies on issues pertaining to affordable housing, small business development, and community revitalization.
roman bitsuie
was the executive director of the Navajo-Hopi Land Commission Office from 1998-2010 and 1989-1995. He has worked in legal and government affairs since 1974, when he was a Tribal Court Advocate and since then has worked for the Navajo Tax Commission, the Navajo-Hopi Land Dispute Commission, has been a member of the Navajo Nation Council, and has worked in private enterprise. His last post at the Navajo Nation was as the executive in charge of Navajo Peacemaking Program. He is presently a consultant, working on economic and community development for tribes.
Marina titova, ph.d.
has worked in community development finance for over 30 years. She currently works at IFF, one of the largest not-for-profit organizations in the Midwest, where she’s led the NMTC and Social Impact Bond Programs for the past 5 years. Her responsibilities include managing the NMTC application and overseeing deployment and performance of the $300 M minimum NMTC portfolio, and administering two Social Impact Bond projects in Illinois and Michigan.
Kevin Klingbeil
is the Managing Director of Big Water Consulting. Kevin is a geographer and former public and Tribal housing lawyer and manager for the U.S. Census Bureau with extensive experience facilitating focus groups and trainings, conducting interviews, and assisting Tribes and Native Villages in designing and implementing data collection efforts to meet their needs. Kevin has represented public housing clients in state courts and at conferences, such as NAHRO, and Tribal housing clients in government-to-government consultations with the U.S. Census Bureau and HUD regarding the collection of housing-related data in Indian country.
Nancy Pindus
is an Urban Institute associate in the Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center, where she is an experienced policy researcher and project manager, specializing in program evaluation, organizational behavior, cost analysis, and service delivery. Her research projects have taken Pindus to communities across the country, examining program implementation and operations through interviews, on-site observations, and focus groups. She has studied economic development, welfare reform, employment and training, food assistance, and public health programs. She has also examined coordination across agencies and systems as well as local capacity building in many studies.
If you have any questions about the NMTC Program Native Initiative Best Practices Workshops or the larger NMTC Program Native Initiative effort, please contact either of the Big Water Consulting staff members listed below.
Project Manager:
Kevin Klingbeil
Big Water Consulting
kevin@bigwaterconsulting.net
(206) 466-2065
Research Associate:
Chloe Adler
Big Water Consulting
chloe@bigwaterconsulting.net