Partnership with Native Americans

“The organization works with an independent accounting firm to prepare the 990. Once prepared, the controller , sr. Director business & financial operations, and ceo review the form with the finance committee and then the board of directors.”

“The board of directors, the ceo and all senior employees and other employees sign conflict of interest statements annually. Additionally, our employee reference guide has a section on our conflict of interest policy and new employees receive and sign an acknowledgment of the policy and completed questionnaire upon hire. 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.”

“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.”

“An external consulting firm concluded an annual comprehensive compensation review to include all other officers and employees' job functions and compensation, including comparisons to similar organizations in size and function. The compensation study was reviewed by the board and each employee received information about their role within the context of the study. The study is updated to add new positions or modify existing positions that have changed.”

“Audited financial statements, 990's, and annual reports are available on pwna's website. The organization presently does not publish its governing documents or conflict of interest policy but will provide them upon request.”

“ORGANIZATION'S MISSION: PWNA'S DUAL ROLE AND HUMANITARIAN SERVICE STRATEGY: PWNA is a trusted resource and intermediary for philanthropic solutions in Indigenous communities. Entrusted by Native partners and funders alike, PWNA is one of the largest Native-led nonprofits in the U.S. A 501 (c)(3) founded in 1990, PWNA invests in the most geographically isolated and impoverished Tribal communities, reaching Navajo, Pine Ridge, Rosebud and more to champion hope for a brighter future. For over three decades, we've achieved our mission by respecting the self determined goals of the tribes, connecting them with outside resources, and partnering with Native professionals who can drive social change in Tribal communities. We address immediate needs by providing food, water, school supplies, and other critical materials. To sustainably address the core symptoms of poverty and support self-sufficiency, PWNA takes an asset-based community development (ABCD) approach, bringing together individuals, Tribal programs, and outside collaborators to increase material aid, capacity building, and community investment. The severities created by colonization, the reservation system, broken treaty promises, and racial and systemic bias are not easily overcome. However, 2023 brought advances in Congressional representation, the Indian Child Welfare Act, Native TV and film, and Pope Francis disavowing the 'doctrine of discovery' (the basis for taking Native lands during the westward expansion). Within PWNA's service area, the tribes made advances too. Even as they struggled with economics and health disparities, they exercised Tribal sovereignty and self-determination, which is critical if tribes are to remain socially, culturally, and economically viable long-term. In addition, while 2023 news cycles focused heavily on disasters and war-torn countries, donors here in the U.S. kept some of their attention on the needs of Indian Country. This allowed us to bring immediate relief and support long-term solutions such as leadership development, food security, higher education, and emergency preparedness. We know that none of our work would be possible without our partnerships and the generosity of donors and major funders who believe in our mission.”

“(Expenses $ 1,431,791 including grants of $ 901,410) HOLIDAY: PURPOSE OF THE PROGRAM: To help our reservation partners spread community cheer, engagement, and active involvement at times when families may be experiencing more disenfranchisement and seasonal stress. SITUATION: The holidays can be an extra hardship for many Native families. The Elders and children on the reservations PWNA serves are certainly aware of holidays celebrated across the U.S., but many families cannot afford holiday gifts or celebrations. About 38% of Native American children live in poverty or low-income households, but this impacts up to 61% of Native children. In fact, compared to Whites, Native children are over three times as likely to experience deep poverty. Many Native children are being raised by grandparents living on social security - and Native joblessness is twice that of Whites. The overall rate of impoverishment across the hundreds of Tribal communities PWNA serves ranges from 15% to 54%. PWNA RESPONSE: Happy holidays contribute to overall well-being. During the 2023 holidays, PWNA helped program partners spread holiday cheer by delivering stockings and holiday gift bags filled with practical items. These gifts were given to 13,894 delighted children and Elders across 14 reservations in the Northern Plains and 12 reservations in the Southwest. *DBA programs of PWNA for Holiday support: Southwest Reservation Aid (SWRA), Northern Plains Reservation Aid (NRPA), Southwest Indian Relief Council (SWIRC), Sioux Nation Relief Fund (SNRF), Navajo Relief Fund (NRF) and Native American Aid (NAA).”

“(Expenses $ 1,221,786 including grants of $ 579,442)(Revenue $ 308,265) FOOD & WATER: PURPOSE OF THE PROGRAM: To ease food insecurity by increasing local food supply for Native American Elders, children and families, and supporting food sovereignty through gardening and local access to healthy foods on the reservations we serve. SITUATION: Food on the table is a basic human right, but it's not that simple for the people PWNA serves. With more Americans now experiencing food insecurity and food hardship, many are realizing for the first time what Native Americans have been up against since the reservations began in 1851. Low food security - defined as insufficient food quality or variety for dietary health - has impacted reservations for decades, fueling high rates of nutrition-related diseases such as diabetes and obesity because less expensive foods tend to have more fat and carbohydrates. The U.S. Department of Agriculture designates many Tribal communities as "food deserts" devoid of fresh fruits and vegetables, and 51% of Native residents travel off-reservation for grocery shopping. Food hardship - the inability to afford enough food for yourself and your family - has increased in families with children, according to a 2018 study by the Food & Action Center. The food hardship rate is 23% for Native families (compared to 16-19% nationwide). Today, rather than an emergency solution, food aid has become a long-term solution with more families consistently needing aid. This is certainly the case for many families and food banks in the communities PWNA serves, along with another hardship - contaminated drinking water. 48% of homes on Native American reservations live with water insecurity year-round. PWNA RESPONSE: Areas with high poverty and minority populations are more likely to be food deserts. Accordingly, we provided fresh produce and/or ancestral foods such as bison and mutton to 1,850 people from Cheyenne River, Pine Ridge, Navajo, San Carlos, Tohono O'odham, and Yavapai Apache reservations. These distributions were done with support from Bank of America, Olo for Good, and the Melba Bayers Meyer Charitable Trust. We provided emergency food boxes to 3,665 people, helping Elders worried about bills and gas for the grocery store that is often an hour away, with support from Kroger. PWNA also provided staple foods to 93 food banks and/or senior centers for 21,974 people and Thanksgiving and Christmas meals for 18,021, with support from the Jim Foote Foundation. Rosebud Elders picked up 1,087 bags of breakfast groceries. In addition, we provided nearly 200,000 bottles of water to communities with unsafe drinking water. Our drivers traversed 122,935 miles to deliver this food, water, and other basics in 2023. *DBA programs of PWNA for Food services: Southwest Reservation Aid (SWRA), Northern Plains Reservation Aid (NRPA), Southwest Indian Relief Council (SWIRC), Navajo Relief Fund (NRF), Sioux Nation Relief Fund (SNRF) and Native American Aid (NAA).”

“(Expenses $ 156,399 including grants of $ 109,217) ANIMAL WELFARE: PURPOSE OF THE PROGRAM: To support programs concerned with animal welfare and related human health risk in remote, underserved Tribal communities. SITUATION: Indigenous peoples have a long history of relationship with animals; more than just pets, they are viewed as brothers and sisters in Native cultures. But today, as families struggle with poverty, so too do the animals, and the problems arising from strays and overpopulation are immense for some reservations. PETA cites that, in just 6 years, one female dog and her offspring can produce 67,000 pups; in just 7 years, one female cat and her offspring can produce 370,000 kittens. The reservations we serve are unable to care for that many animals, so some partners hold spay/neuter clinics monthly. Still, about 88% of pets living in underserved communities are not spayed or neutered, and 69% have never seen a veterinarian. On top of this, many shelters are now overrun with animals because dogs adopted during the pandemic were sent back when people returned to work - our reservation partners still hope to find homes for each one. PWNA RESPONSE: PWNA's Reservation Animal Rescue (RAR) program supports groups that rescue, rehabilitate, and rehome animals, ensuring they have what they need for a good quality of life. Supporting potential foster families is often a key to rehoming, so we supplied nearly 8,100 pounds of supplies to our partners on the Cheyenne River, Northern Cheyenne, Omaha, Pine Ridge, Navajo, and Zuni reservations. With your support, RAR also awarded 9 new grants in 2023 and continued spend-down on 4 others, providing $82,500 in support for spay/neuter, vaccination and transport for adoption that benefited 637 animals across 11 reservations. *DBA programs of PWNA for Animal Welfare: Reservation Animal Rescue (RAR)”

“(Expenses $ 0 including grants of $ 0)(Revenue $ 0) PURPOSE OF THE PROGRAM: To provide accurate information about Native American history, modern-day life on the reservations, and PWNA programs and impact, while addressing persistent misconceptions that deter opportunity and racial/social equity for Native peoples. SITUATION: The need for Native voices to be heard has never been greater. Harmful stereotypes and lack of accurate information about Native people, history, issues, and funding contribute to racial/social inequity and inadequate support for Tribal communities. Many Americans believe Native Americans go to college for free or receive a government check every month just for being Native. So, for all the billions given for philanthropy in the United States, less than one-half of 1 percent is aiding Native American causes. Meanwhile, Tribal nations face challenges that are inextricably tied to broken treaties, a Census undercount that limits federal funding to tribes, and systemic failures in the education system that are detrimental to Native students. Amidst the rich culture and unity of Tribal communities, Americans seem to quickly forget the spotlight that COVID-19 shined on food and water insecurity, lack of health care and housing, and education and technology barriers - challenges that have persisted for decades. PWNA RESPONSE: Increasing public education to help individuals and organizations in the U.S. become more NativeAware is a crucial step toward positive change. PWNA reached a potential reading, listening, and viewing audience of about 574.2 million people with news media about current challenges and realities on the reservations. We achieved this through 83 news articles, 1 TV airing, 6 press releases, social media engagement, fresh content on our website, and timely original content on our blog. PWNA also sponsored season 2 of the PBS "Native America" series for accurate public education on issues facing tribes today, reaching up to 112 million viewers. In addition, as a tireless advocate for Indigenous peoples, our president & CEO contributed to public education through these efforts in 2023: - Food security at the 2023 Courageous Conversations event (PepsiCo RISE) - Tribal sovereignty for faculty and students (University of Texas at Arlington) - Doctrine of Discovery (Westside Church) - Native History & Misconceptions (Comcast) - History Not Taught in Schools (IPG Mediabrands) - Food & Water Insecurity, Determinants & Solutions (Instacart) - Tribal Sovereignty Citizenship (DHS Border Patrol) - Tribal Health Equity (Molina Health Care) - U.S.-Tribal Relations & Policies (Vitalyst Foundation) - Food Security & Determinants (McKesson) - Health Equity Priorities & Solutions (Vitalyst Foundation) - Social Equity roundtable moderator (Social Innovation Summit)”

“Doing business as: american indian relief council (airc), council of indian nations (cin), american indian education fund (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), northern plains reservation aid (npra) & southwest reservation aid (swra).”