Partnership with Native Americans

“Process to review form 990: the organization works with an independent accounting firm to prepare the 990. Once prepared, the cfo and ceo review the form with the finance committee and the board of directors.”

“Process to monitor compliance with conflict of interest policy: the board of directors and the ceo sign conflict of interest statements annually. Additionally, for our employees, our employee reference guide has a section on our conflict of interest policy. Conflicts of interest, if any, are resolved as they arise. If any director discloses a conflict of interest, they are also asked to abstain from voting on matters related to the potential conflict.”

“Review of ceo or top management official compensation: the board of directors annually conducts a formal performance appraisal of the ceo, including the ceo's compensation. Every 2-3 years compensation data for ceo's of similarly sized non-profits is gathered and compared with the compensation provided to the organization's ceo. The final performance review is presented to the board and any compensation adjustments are documented in the minutes.”

“Review of other officers or key employees of the organization: an external consulting firm concluded a comprehensive compensation review in 2016 to include all other officers and key employees' job functions and compensation, including comparisons to similar organizations in size and function. They are evaluated through an online hrms system, and copies of the evaluations are included in the employee files. The compensation study was reviewed by the board and each employee received information about their role within the context of the study.”

“Availability of documents: the organization's governing documents, financial statements and conflict of interest policy are available to the public upon request.”

“Other Program SERVICES: EMERGENCY SERVICES: PURPOSE OF THE PROGRAM: To provide disaster relief for tribes, seasonal weatherization and housing assistance for Native American Elders and critical supplies for shelters. SITUATION: THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT ON THE reservations PWNA supports is often harsh, giving rise to a wide range of environmental disasters such as floods, forest fires, blizzards, ice storms, tornados and hurricanes. We are quick to respond to the tribes in and beyond our normal service area when disaster relief is needed. Some communities also experience acute or chronic contaminated-water emergencies. In addition, 90,000 Native Americans are homeless and 40% of Native Americans live in sub-standard, overcrowded housing, with the typical wait time for tribal housing assistance at three years or more. PWNA RESPONSE: PWNA provided supplies to residential shelters for the aged, homeless, disabled and domestic abuse victims, assisting approximately 38,447 people, and we provided supplies for some 2,154 children in foster care or other trauma. In 2016, PWNA repaired or weatherized 66 homes for Navajo and White Mountain Apache Elders, and supplied winter fuel for nearly 200 Elders. PWNA distributed winter emergency kits containing blankets, batteries, candles, water, nonperishable food and other items helpful during winter storms, as well as summer emergency kits of water, sunscreen, bug spray, fire extinguishers and other items helpful during summer heat, storms and outages, aiding approximately 1,270 Elders on the Fort Peck, Navajo, San Carlos Apache, Mescalero, and the Pueblo of Acoma. PWNA rotates our winter readiness and housing services to different communities in the Plains and Southwest to avoid creating dependency. In 2016, seven communities on four reservations reached out to PWNA for disaster relief, including White Mountain Apache and three outside of PWNA's regular service area - THE LUMBEE IN North Carolina, the Bad River Chippewa in Wisconsin and the Houma Nation of Louisiana. PWNA delivered critical water and other supplies for tribal community members, aiding approximately 56,800 people. *DBA programs of PWNA for Emergency services: SNRF, SWIRC, NRF, CIN, NAA and AIRC. EDUCATION SERVICES: PURPOSE OF THE PROGRAM: To invest significant resources toward Native American education and assist students of all ages in pre-kindergarten to college. SITUATION: Education is one of the most important cornerstones of self-sufficiency and quality of life. It is also a crucial factor in addressing the long-term poverty and other challenges on the reservations PWNA serves. High school dropout rates range from 30 to 70%. Only 17% of Native American students start college and only 13% complete college. Many Native students believe college is not an option for them. Non-Native students are twice as likely to achieve a college degree. In addition, contrary to public perception, college is not free for Native Americans. PWNA RESPONSE: BY ADDRESSING BOTH IMMEDIATE AND long-term educational needs, PWNA helps our partner schools and colleges motivate students and retention. In 2016, PWNA furnished school supplies for approximately 24,979 K-12 students, and essential supplies to support literacy for about 19,541 children on about 14 reservations, motivating reading and parent-child reading time. To support early childhood education, PWNA provided supplies to help our partners motivate nearly 20,248 people to participate in programs focused on obesity, exercise and other healthy activities for youth or Elders. PWNA also supports Native American students pursuing a higher education, awarding scholarships to applicants who are most often in the middle range of the academic ranking but who have serious drive and a demonstrated ability to overcome obstacles. The academic-year completion rate for students who receive PWNA scholarships is 90-95%, considerably higher than the national average. PWNA credits this success to our individ”

“Doing business as: american indian relief council (airc), council of indian nations (cin), american indian education foundation (aief), southwest indian relief council (swirc), sioux nation relief fund (snrf), navajo relief fund (nrf), native american aid (naa), national relief charities (nrc) & reservation animal rescue (rar).”