- Details
- By Native News Online Staff
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs wants to encourage tribes and Alaska Native Corporations to identify potential economic development projects or activities inside designated Opportunity Zones.
Via the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development and its Native American Business Development Institute (NABDI), the department is seeking proposals from tribes for technical assistance to hire consultants to perform feasibility studies for Opportunity Zone projects. The agency has $900,000 allocated for the program.
“These grants are also intended to fund applicants to obtain qualified guidance on how the development projects, businesses, or technologies they propose can attract investments from an Opportunity Fund,” according to a notice of the request for proposals (RFP) posted in the Federal Register.
The agency expects to issue 20-25 competitive grants, which it estimates will range from $25,000 to $75,000. Applications are due at the end of the day on Sept. 15.
“The feasibility studies will empower Tribes to make informed decisions regarding their economic futures,” according to the RFP. “Feasibility studies may concern the viability of an economic development project or business or the practicality of a technology a Tribe may choose to pursue in an Opportunity Zone.”
The goal for the studies is to help the tribes attract investment from an Opportunity Fund, which can invest in property or businesses in an Opportunity Zone.
“Historically, NABDI studies have placed tribal economic development opportunities at the doorstep of investors, lenders and other government granting agencies,” Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Tara MacLean Sweeney said in a statement.
The Opportunity Zones program was enacted as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. The program allows investors to defer capital gains taxes if they invest in qualified Opportunity Zones, which were created to drive development and economic activity to low-income areas around the country.
Nationwide, Opportunity Zones most often attract real estate development, but have also been used for energy projects, especially renewable energy installations on existing facilities.
The RFP is open to federally recognized tribes and Alaska Native Corporations. Consultants to the tribes in the RFP can include colleges and universities or private consulting firms, as well as nonprofits and other organizations.
The competitive grants will be evaluated on the project’s economic benefits, including how it would create jobs and stimulate economic activity for the applicant tribe. The agency will give priority to proposals from tribes “who can demonstrate that their communities suffer from economic malaise and unemployment and that the study will address these conditions.” It will also weigh whether the applicant has the financial resources to address those conditions.
As well, the applicants should be willing to implement the recommendations from the feasibility study.
More Stories Like This
American Basketball Association Announces Native ABA InitiativeFour Winds South Bend Upgrades to Class III Gaming Casino
Native News Online Wins Two Awards from Native American Journalists Association
Wahlberg Brothers Are a Big Hit at Indian Gaming Tradeshow and Convention in Las Vegas
Native Gro Offers Tribes a ‘One-Stop Shop’ for Entering the Cannabis Industry
Native Perspective. Native Voices. Native News.
We launched Native News Online because the mainstream media often overlooks news that is important is Native people. We believe that everyone in Indian Country deserves equal access to news and commentary pertaining to them, their relatives and their communities. That's why the story you’ve just finished was free — and we want to keep it that way, for all readers. We hope you'll consider making a donation to support our efforts so that we can continue publishing more stories that make a difference to Native people, whether they live on or off the reservation. Your donation will help us keep producing quality journalism and elevating Indigenous voices. Any contribution of any amount — big or small — gives us a better, stronger future and allows us to remain a force for change. Donate to Native News Online today and support independent Indigenous-centered journalism. Thank you.
