Two More Equity Grants Awarded

March 9, 2010

The Harvest Initiative, Inc awarded two $7,000 equity grants to entrepreneurs on the Crow Creek Sioux Indian Reservation. Melva Rank, owner of Bad Nation Beauty and Barber Shop, and Ray Hawk, owner of Native American Warriors Pro-Boxing, were selected for the awards from many applicants.

"These businesses did a great job demonstrating how the awards would help them expand,” said Jason Yates, Director of Operations and Strategy for The Harvest Initiative. “We are looking forward to seeing the impact of this round of awards.”

Rank will use her award to add a dedicated space to her home to accommodate the traffic generated by her beauty shop. Hawk will use his award to attend trade shows and market his boxers to Native Casinos across the country.

The Harvest Initiative Business Development Fund was created to address the critical lack of owner’s equity available for entrepreneurs on the Crow Creek Reservation. Owner’s equity is defined as the monies invested by an owner in his or her own business. Unlike non-native small business owners, traditional forms of equity from home ownership, family and friends are often not available to the Indian business owner at Crow Creek for various economic reasons.

The money awarded through this program can be used for several purposes including the purchase of new equipment or creation of new product lines. The Fund requires a dollar to dollar collateral match which can be satisfied with committed loan funds or in kind matches such as inventory, supplies, equipment, tools or vehicles that are part of the activity of the business.

In 2009, the Business Development Fund received significant financial support from Citi, the South Dakota Governor’s Office of Economic Development, and the South Dakota Community Foundation. The support will enable the program to award six more equity grants in the coming year.

The Harvest Initiative Business Development Fund is open to enrolled members of federally recognized tribes residing on the Crow Creek Reservation.

The Fund is modeled after a successful program created by the Montana Department of Commerce called the Montana Indian Equity Fund.

For more information on The Harvest Initiative Business Development Fund or to request an application, please contact Jason Yates at (605) 870-6196 or PO Box 175, Fort Thompson, SD 57339.

The Harvest Initiative, Inc. was organized in the spring of 2008 to invest locally in native grown ideas and support socially responsible business development to move the Crow Creek Sioux Reservation toward a commercially viable, self-sustaining economic environment.