Increasing Tribal Resources

 

Welcome to the Development Office of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe

 

The Development Office provides contracted services for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe.  Under the vision of Chairman Cedric Cromwell, we work to maintain and increase the revenues and assets of the Tribe and to research, plan, produce and implement the policies and procedures for obtaining the grants, contracts and cooperative agreement and other funding streams that improve the lives of Mashpee Wampanoag tribal members. 

Each day at the Development Office we are likely to be:
Researching, writing and submitting Grants, Contracts & Cooperative Agreements, Financing & Program Income proposals
Completing Appropriations Research and Policy Analysis
Engaging in Revenue & Asset Planning
Researching, Planning & Educating on the 3rd Sector and Economic Development options available to the Tribe

The Development Office's professionals bring together many decades of relevant experience in Indian Country and industry focused economic development, planning, research, policy analysis, communications and proposal/event and Native American nonprofit, foundation, endowment and philanthropic management expertise. 

 

 

Congratulations!

February 2012: Tribal Court has successfully obtained new, first of its kind funding from the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Justice Systems in the amount of $4,950.00!  Congratulations Tribal Elders Judiciary Committee, Vivian Bussiere, and Sr. Development Specialist Leslie Jonas.

 

 

During 2011, over $15.2 Million in grants, contracts and federal low interest financing have been proposed for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and over $14.6 Million have been secured in 2011 to support tribal programs and projects.

Under the vision of Chairman Cromwell and the guidance of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council the tribe’s Development Office has brought in new or sustained awarded funding for:

  • Tribal Youth Sports Activities (1st of its kind competitive funding from the NIKE N7 Fund)
  • Continued Tribal Health Programs funding
  • ICWA Foster Care and Guardianship  (1st of its kind annually recurring funding from the Department of Health & Human Services)
  • Economic Impact Initiative grants for the construction of the Tribal Government & Community Center (NEW – 1st of its kind funding from the US Dept of Agriculture)
  • Continued Natural Resources funding
  • Education – Child Care Development Funding providing Child Care Vouchers (NEW – 1st of its kind annually recurring funding from the Department of Health & Human Services)
  • Continued NAGPRA funding
  • Tribal Court Development Funding (NEW – 1st of its kind competitive funding from the Department of Health & Human Services, Administration of Native Americans)
  • Continued LIHEAP funding providing heating assistance to tribal members from the Department of Health & Human Services
  • Continued WIA funding providing employment assistance to tribal members from the Department of Labor

And we are awaiting funding decisions on other proposals for:

Tribal Health and Finance and Development to strengthen the tribe’s ability to bring in new 3rd party health revenues – toward increasing health job options at the tribe and ultimately to increase the federal health dollars under tribal management; Transportation and others.

This year the Development Team has successfully collaborated with nearly every tribal department to sustain or bring new revenues in to help the tribal community. 

During 2011 the Development Office has generated about $12.00 in new grant funding dollars into the Tribe for every $1.00 dollar spent to provide a tribal Development Office. 

If the Tribal Government Center’s federal financing is included each $1.00 spent on Development has returned well over $100.00 in benefit to the Tribe this year.

With nearly 1 in 2 tribal members facing unemployment, and with tribal households getting by on often less than 50 cents to the dollar that the average Massachusetts resident earns in income there is still so much more to be done.

In 2011 new 1st of their kind Competitive Grant Awards were secured for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe.

Competitive Grants
Competitive Grants are those grants for which an applicant must compete against other applicants who also want a funder to fund their programs or projects – no matter how well written when submitted - they are not guaranteed to be funded.  We are happy to report on Development’s successful competition for the following funding:

$10,000.00 in NIKE N7 Fund funding first identified as a priority to help tribal kids by Vice Chairman Tobey, Treasurer Harding and Chairman Cromwell.  The NIKE funding award was matched by the Tribal Council to provide this 1st of its kind assistance to 60 tribal youth to make sure our children could pay for and participate in the sports activities of their choice.  The youth entered in a tribal lottery and received notice of their awards during the September 2011 monthly general body meeting.  The “Wamps Can Do It” project has been highlighted at NIKE’s website and in an article in the Barnstable Patriot.  Watch for upcoming updates on the activities made possible for tribal youth ages 5 -18 by the NIKE N7 Fund’s “Wamps Can Do It” grant.

$78,100.00 in USDA Economic Initiative Impact funding.  This funding will be used to help build the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe’s Government & Community Center.

$177,688.00 in DHHS Administration for Native Americans Social and Economic Development Strategies (SEDS) funding to support  the continued development of infrastructure including Codes of Ethics and Policies and Policies and increased education and outreach for access to user friendly Tribal Court documents and a guide to using Tribal Court.

Formula Grants
“Formula Grants” are types of federal funding that the Tribe is eligible to receive on an annually recurring basis. Today formula funding provides for activities like Housing, WIA (Workforce Investment Act), LIHEAP (Low Income Heating & Energy Assistance Program) and Aid to Tribal Governments from the BIA .

During 2011, all of the previously negotiated formula funding has been maintained.  This year, under the direction of Chairman Cromwell, the Development Office has focused on analyzing the various formulas that define the amount of funding that the Tribe has received. 

Our research indicates that previously negotiated agreements for formula funding have consistently left the Tribe underfunded dramatically – in some cases up to an estimated 80% underfunded and in other cases formula funding agreements hadn’t been reviewed or renegotiated to assure that the Tribe was benefitting appropriately.  Today we are actively moving forward to renegotiate all of the formula funding that had previously been in place for the Tribe. 

New first of its kind formula funding for the Tribe in 2011

The new formula funding is designated to increase the Tribe’s assistance to tribal members from the ICWA and Education departments, providing:

• About $18,000.00 each year from now on for ICWA in New Title IV B funding for services around foster care, guardianship and adoption activities.  2011 is the 2nd year of new Title IV B funding that has been brought into the Tribe by the Development Office.

• About $200,000.00 each year from now on for the Education Department in New Child Care Development  funding that will provide first of their kind opportunities for tribal members to access child care vouchers from the Tribe to pay for child care, for more information on this opportunity contact the Education Department.

This is new and secure funding that was never available to the Tribe before.  As long as it is properly managed and the law allows, these formula funded grants will remain dependable annual sources of funding for the Tribe to continue to help tribal members more than ever before possible.

Thank you for your time to learn more about the work of the Development Office for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe. 

The Development Offices are at the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe’s New Bedford site at 1919 Purchase Street. 


Development Officer Wanda Jean Lord,  wlord@mwtribe.com

Sr. Development Specialist Leslie Jonas, ljonas@mwtribe.com

and Interim Research Specialist Myrna Nuey

Development Office Phone:  774-202-6260