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- By Native News Online Staff
RAPID CITY, S.D. — The NDN Collective, Inc. (NDN) on Friday released a Request for Information (RFI) to identify contractors and other technical assistance providers who can provide support to Indigenous communities bracing from economic impacts, stresses to public services due to COVID-19.
The RFI, which is posted on the NDN website and open for 60 days, seeks to help NDN find contractors that demonstrate experience and capability from the broader Indigenous community to assist in this effort. This team will specifically provide assistance in accessing federal stimulus resources for Native Nations, Indigenous-led organizations, and individuals, and others.
The RFI is designed to complement COVID-19 Response grants and loans that were announced last month offered by NDN Collective to maximize the potential of these resources to solve current critical needs by building capacity to use these funds effectively.
“With the billions of dollars available in the federal system for Tribes and Indigenous communities we wanted to launch this RFI for the purpose of supporting tribes in positioning themselves to take the most advantage of the federal stimulus bills to support their communities through these challenging times,” says Nick Tilsen, NDN Collective President and CEO. “This RFI is an extension of a way for NDN to invest into the self determination of Native Nations.”
“The purpose of this RFI is to ensure that tribal communities and Indigenous organizations have the technical support and capacity building resources readily available to them to access current and future federal stimulus packages,” says Michelle Fox, NDN Collective Managing Director who will be overseeing the RFI. “There is so much need within tribal communities and resources are already stressed: by identifying personnel on the ground we will provide a resource for tribes to fill that void and ensure stimulus resources reach the most vulnerable communities.”
For more information on the NDN Covid-19 Response Project grants, announcements and resources go to the NDN Collective website at https://ndncollective.org/covid-19.
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