Nixyaawii Community Financial Services now open, serving members, employees, reservation residents
Published 4:00 pm Wednesday, August 11, 2021
- Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation Board of Trustees Chair Kat Brigham, second from left, and Kelly George, with the Nixyaawii Community Financial Services Board of Directors, right, cut the ribbon for the new NCFS building Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021 as Aaron Hines, NCFS board member, left, and Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan look on. The new NCFS office is at 46440 Kusi Road, No. A-3, across Highway 331 from the Arrowhead Travel Plaza.
MISSION — The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation has opened a full-service financial operation.
Nixyaawii Community Financial Services held a ribbon cutting ceremony Tuesday, Aug. 10, and a public grand opening Aug. 11, complete with hot dogs and burgers. The entity is a Native Community Development Financial Institution loan fund that provides loans, homeownership assistance, adult financial education and more to members of the Umatilla Confederated Tribes, reservation residents and tribal employees. CDFI’s are specialized financial institutions that serve geographically defined low-income communities and/or populations that lack access to financing.
Dave Tovey, executive director of Nixyaawii Community Financial Services, said this has been in the works for several years.
The tribes in 2015 conducted a community survey and a feasibility analysis in preparation for this new financial operation, and in 2019 the tribes named Tovey as the executive director. According to the tribes, Tovey led the way in establishing the policy foundation of the NCFS, finalizing the membership of the board of directors and working out operational details.
Tovey said the financial organization secured IRS nonprofit status in early 2020, and soon after the CTUIR Board of Trustees approved its business plan. Tovey explained that plan merged three tribal programs — Business Development Services, Housing Department’s Homeownership Program and the Tribal Credit Program — under one roof.
Grants and donations exceeding a total of $367,000 provided start-up funding until the approval of the 2021 budget, including $175,000 from the Northwest Area Foundation and $60,000 from the Oregon Community Foundation.
Nixyaawii Community Financial Services is operating in the former location of the Dairy Queen in the Perennial Building off Highway 331 near the Arrowhead Truck Plaza. Renovations in the space allow for social distancing, Tovey said, including a separate waiting area and separate offices. NCFS also kept the former restaurant’s drive-thru to allow customers to conduct transitions on the go.
Tovey also said Nixyaawii Community Financial Services is in the process of becoming a Native Community Development Financial Institution.
“Native CDFIs are engines of opportunity, offering accessible funding for resourceful and resilient communities in Indian County,” according to the tribes. “They weave partners, funding, and networks together to create lasting prosperity and opportunities shared by all.”
