We at Chi Ishobak hope this letter finds you and your families in good health as the country continues to move forward. This is an important reminder you need to be aware of.
As the economy continues to strengthen and gain momentum, Chi Ishobak’s Administrative Deferment Period is ending. Per our previous correspondence, the Administrative Deferment Period is effective from May 1, 2020, through July 31, 2020. Loan Payments will resume and are due August 1, 2020.
There have been substantial changes during the past few months. Mainly, the suspension of Per Capita Distributions by the Tribe due to the closing of Four Winds Casino Resort operations. As a reminder, Per Capita direct deposits are only a payment method. Not receiving Per Cap does not mean that you are not required to make your loan payments. You need to select an alternate payment method to satisfy your debt service.
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO
Please choose the payment method below that you utilized prior to the COVID-19 Administrative Deferment to determine how you will make your loan payment(s) moving forward. If you have any questions, please contact us at (269) 783-4157.
Clients utilizing PER CAPITA – For clients utilizing Per Capita Distributions, you need to contact our office to discuss an alternative method of payment. Please note that if you do not contact us or if your contact information is not updated and we cannot communicate with you and loan payments are not made, your loan may become delinquent and may reach default status resulting in legal action.
Clients Utilizing ACH – Payments will continue to be deducted utilizing the bank account on file. If you wish to change accounts, please contact our office. Please not that moving forward, ALL loan payments will be due on the 1st or the 15th of every month. Please contact our office if your original payment date is not set up on either one of these dates for further discussion.
Clients utilizing ADP through Employee Payroll – Payment dates in August will vary depending on your employer. If you have been furloughed or are no longer employed with the company, we ask that you contact us as soon as possible to arrange a new preferred payment method.
Clients utilizing Four Winds Payroll Deduction – If you have remained employed or have recently been brought back into your position after being furloughed, no changes need to be made. If you are no longer employed with Four Winds Casino, we ask that you contact us as soon as possible to arrange a new preferred payment method.
CONTACT US
We understand there is still a variety of situations that our clients are experiencing. While everyone is being affected in a different way, we need to do our best to move forward. We also realize you may have questions and concerns as we move forward, just know that we are here to work with our clients as much as possible within our capacity.
Please contact us by phone at (269) 783-4157 or email us at info@chiishobak.org to ensure that you are prepared to resume loan payments on August 1, 2020. We are maintaining limited office hours from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM until further notice. We will be available to speak with you in person by appointment-only following restrictions and guideline recommendations by the CDC and the Tribe.
Take care, be safe, and be healthy, The Chi Ishobak Team
First and foremost, please know our office is wishing you and your family the best of health and safety during this uncertain time of COVID-19. Our prayers are with you and yours for your continued well-being.
Chi Ishobak wanted to reach out to you as our friend and client. We can understandably sympathize with your concerns during this time of uncertainty. With the closing of all Four Winds Casino Resort locations and the resulting impact on Per Capita Distributions, everyone will feel some level of economic impact. Although there have been positive reports regarding the severity and duration of this pandemic, there is no telling when our routines may begin a regular pattern.
With this unknown in mind, Chi Ishobak is making short-term provisions to assist our friends and clients. Chi Ishobak has taken the following actions on our commercial and consumer loans we service for you:
• Administrative Deferment – We placed the identified loan in an administrative deferment for the period May 1, 2020, through July 31, 2020. The next payment due will be August 1, 2020. During this period, you will not be required to make monthly payments on your loans. Interest will not accrue during this period.
If your payments are made through ACH (auto debit), Payroll Deduction (Tribal Government/Four Winds) and Per Capita Distributions, those debits will not occur while the deferment is in place. We will report you as current to credit reporting agencies.
Note: If you choose to make payments during the deferment period, you may do so; however, you will need to make those payments manually. You will need to contact Chi Ishobak directly so that payment can be collected and processed individually.
• Interest-Only – If the economic climate and/or Per Capita Distributions return before the Administrative Deferment Period ends, the identified loans will move to an interest-only payment status.
WHAT YOU NEED TO DO
Keep this notification for your records. We will communicate with you in July to prepare you for your payment due on August 1 or thereafter when the administrative deferment period ends.
There is no other action you need to take, unless you want to opt to continue making payments as outlined above by contacting the Chi Ishobak offices.
CONTACT US
We are available to help you understand this information.
You may contact us by phone at (269) 783-4157 or email us at info@chiishobak.org. During this time, we will be working remotely, but will have access to voicemail and email. You message will be returned, so your patience is appreciated.
As Pokagon Band Citizens, we have the honor of being part of a remarkable family. We have been here for thousands of years due to the planning, perseverance, and commitment of our ancestors. We have seen very tough times. This is no different, and we will get through this as well. We have always been here, and we always will be.
(February 24, 2020 – Niles, MI) – Anthony and India Urban, owners of Urban City Host, saw a need in the region for safe, reliable, affordable and COMPLETE website solutions. Since 2018, they have been providing just that.India is a Pokagon Band of Potawatomi tribal member, and Anthony her husband. Anthony had been working for a local company that was developing a global foot print and helped revamp their website with the help of another marketing agency. He fell in love with the process of web design and hosting (or, storage of a website / domain), but was not happy with the options that were on the table and the way hosting was taking advantage of “the little guy”. Hidden fees, charging for free software and limiting web builders like WordPress. What is WordPress? WP is a web site builder that powers over 30% of the internet.
After a discussion with India about the issues he was facing she asked \”what can be done about it?\” This led to hours of research on server infrastructure, web hosting, and the options available from the majors like Go Daddy, Spotify, Bluehost, WordPress.com, and Siteground. He also did research into what the Fortune 500 companies were using for host and infrastructure. Soon, he was in discussions with the company who now is one of their main partners. Together, they built the SSD web servers that would be needed for the next level of hosting they wanted to provide. The server array is located in Lansing and operates at the major node that is there.
Urban City Host is now proud to offer a
value hosting experience using the same technology used by Facebook, Sony, The
New York Times to just name a few. With 141 shared data centers worldwide using
the RailGun cache, they offer a truly fast cloud SSD server host experience.
Free WordPress engine that is unlimited and unrestricted gives clients a truly
custom web building experience offering true infinite integrations with
software of all types like social media, Intuit, and e-commerce
solutions. Those services with Google Ads and Social Media marketing, in
addition to acquiring 50% of DragonWatch PC (desktop boutique builder) makes
Urban City Host a one-stop shop for your online marketing endeavors.
DOWAGIAC, Michigan (November 19, 2019) – Sean Winters, Executive Director of Chi-Ishobak, announced that the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Native American CDFI Assistance (NACA) Program awarded $1,088,000 to the Michigan-based non-profit organization to offer products and services to build capacity for Tribal Citizens in the areas of professional and personal finance. “This is a tremendous honor and opportunity for Chi Ishobak,” said Winters. “This incredible gift from the CDFI Fund will definitely have a positive impact within Indian Country for tribal entrepreneurs and tribal consumers.” The CDFI Program invests in and builds the capacity of CDFIs to serve low-income people and underserved communities lacking adequate access to affordable financial products and services. For the FY 2019 CDFI Program round, the CDFI Fund awarded $132 million in Base-FA awards to 261 organizations in 45 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The CDFI Fund also awarded $18.2 million in PPC-FA awards to 125 CDFIs specifically to serve Persistent Poverty Counties nationwide. “I am proud to announce the FY 2019 CDFI Program and NACA Program awards,” said CDFI Fund Director Jodie Harris. “I am especially pleased that almost half of the awarded organizations have chosen to provide services in areas of persistent poverty, which will lead to significant impact for residents in some of the most distressed communities nationwide.”
U.S. Treasury Awards More Than $200 Million to CDFIs to Spur
Economic Growth in Low‐Income Urban, Rural, and Native
Communities
Awards through the CDFI Program and NACA Program support CDFI lending and investment nationwide
September 10, 2015
Washington- The U.S. Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund
(CDFI Fund) awarded 195 Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) $202 million in grants
and loans today through the latest rounds of the Community Development Financial Institutions Program
(CDFI Program) and the Native American CDFI Assistance Program (NACA Program). This
announcement caps the 20th anniversary celebration of the creation of the CDFI Fund and the CDFI
Program.
“Today’s awards highlight how much the CDFI Program has contributed in its 20 year history towards
building a strong network of CDFIs across the country,” said CDFI Fund Director Annie Donovan. “These
important community partners are not only on the frontlines of economically distressed communities
providing needed capital and credit, they are building a more inclusive economy which benefits the nation
as a whole.”
In 1996, 31 CDFIs received the very first CDFI Program awards with $35.5 million from the CDFI Fund.
Today, the CDFI Fund announced $182.3 million in Financial Assistance and Technical Assistance
awards to 152 organizations, including 28 first-time awardees, through the Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 round of
the CDFI Program. In addition, $22 million was awarded to 11 organizations through the Healthy Food
Financing Initiative. A total of 374 applications were received requesting more than $439 million under
this round of the program.
The CDFI Program invests in and builds the capacity of community credit unions, banks, loan funds, and
other financial institutions serving rural and urban communities across the nation that lack adequate
access to affordable financial products and services. Through the first 20 rounds of this program, the
CDFI Fund has awarded more than $1.5 billion, helping build a nationwide network of more than 950
CDFIs located in every state, all focused on economically empowering the communities they serve.
In addition, the NACA Program awarded $19.6 million in Financial Assistance and Technical Assistance
to 43 organizations, including seven new NACA Program awardees. The program is designed to
encourage the creation and strengthening of Native CDFIs. Organizations funded through the NACA
Program serve a wide range of Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian communities
(Native Communities), and reflect a diversity of institutions in various stages of development – from
organizations in the early planning stages of creating a CDFI, to tribal entities working to certify an
existing lending program, to established CDFIs in need of further capacity building assistance. A total of
60 applications were received requesting more than $37.5 million for the FY 2015 round, which was the
CDFI Fund’s 14th round of funding with awards specifically for Native Communities. With $19.6 million in
awards CDFI Fund significantly increased the funding awarded to CDFIs serving Native Communities this
round, up from $12.2 million last year.
Additional information about the FY 2015 rounds of the CDFI and NACA Programs, including the full
award list and key highlights, can be found through the Award Book links below and on the CDFI Fund’s
website at www.cdfifund.gov/cdfi or at www.cdfifund.gov/native.
October 19, 2015
Dowagiac, MI – The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians and Chi Ishobak, Inc. have signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in which Chi Ishobak will serve as the Certified Native Community
Development Financial Institution (CDFI) for Little River Band of Ottawa Indians. Chi Ishobak will provide
access to capital for tribal citizens for small business loans and consumer loans with supplemental
education-oriented services to build professional and personal financial capacity.
“This partnership is a significant milestone within Indian Country,” said Chi Ishobak Executive Director
Sean Winters. “This type of program works within economically distressed communities and provides
capital and credit, while empowering Native Americans to continue strengthening our tribal nations.”
Chi Ishobak has been providing its loan program, business development, and personal financial
education curriculum to the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians since 2009. The impact Pokagon Band
citizens have recognized has been growing steadily year-by-year. Since 2012 more than $900,000 has
been disbursed to tribal entrepreneurs and consumers. Tribal businesses have generated more than
$2.7 million in local economies and created approximately 15 jobs through existing small-businesses,
start-up business, and a female-owned business. Chi Ishobak clients have eliminated over $81,000 of
consumer debt, increased credit scores by an average of 41 points over a 10-month period, and helped
establish an initial credit score average of 671 over a 10-month period.
Chi Ishobak and the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians will aggressively market this program to tribal
citizens via email, newsletters, websites, and through tribal government to increase exposure to program
information and details as part of the initial launch. Chi Ishobak will be on-site in both Manistee and
Muskegon within the next two months to promote this partnership. Locations, dates, and times are
forthcoming and will be made available in advance.
Chi Ishobak strives to establish financial responsibility and accountability for tribal citizens through cultural
and traditional teachings. Combining traditional ways with modern resources has become a proven
system for empowering tribal citizens to properly manage and plan for economic resources.
“Chi Ishobak would love to create this type of relationship with other Michigan Tribes,” added Winters.
“We are all family and the greater number of tribal citizens we can help will accelerate the benefit across
Indian Country.”
Additional information can be found through Chi Ishobak’s website at www.chiishobak.org or by
contacting Chi Ishobak offices at (269) 783-4157.
