Sokaogon Chippewa Community News

Wisconsin Native Loan Fund Recruiting for Leadership Council

The Wisconsin Native Loan Fund (WINLF) is recruiting 12 individuals for our newly formed Leadership Council.

The Leadership Council will be comprised of low-income Native Americans in WINLF’s service area. Individuals who serve on the Leadership Council will gain skills to prepare them for personal growth and leadership roles in their communities.

The goal of the Leadership Council is for participants to empower themselves, to improve their living situation, and to enhance their overall skills to advance personally and professionally as leaders in their community.

Leadership Council participants will increase their knowledge of WINLF’s financial education programs, including expanding their awareness of Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), and receive mentoring to prepare them to take part in local government and community boards, such as Housing boards, Tribal Councils, Zoning boards and more.

WINLF is also recruiting mentors who are business owners, teachers and community leaders with experience in local government, boards and Tribal Councils. Mentors will be asked to participate by occasionally presenting subjects they specialize in to the Leadership Council. Mentors will be paired with participants on a local level to provide guidance based on participants’ interests.

The Leadership Council will meet twice a month. Meetings will last approximately an hour. One of the monthly sessions will focus on receiving participants’ input on WINLF’s development of new products to meet potential borrowers’ needs, identifying group training goals, and providing peer support. The second monthly meeting will provide participants the opportunity to learn from leaders in Tribal communities as well as educational presentations based on the team goals selected by participants.

The Leadership Council will start by meeting virtually, and when appropriate, transition to in-person meetings that will include presentations.

Participants who attend both monthly meetings will receive a $50 monthly stipend to offset any costs associated with participation and any cost associated with travel will be paid by WINLF.

The Leadership Council project is funded by a Catholic Campaign for Human Development grant.

Individuals interested in joining the Leadership Council as a participant or mentor should complete this survey.