Minnesota; December 16th, 2025
The funding did not arrive through speculation or third-party interpretation; it came directly from the source. MNI SOTA FUND, a Native-led Community Development Financial Institution serving Indigenous entrepreneurs and communities across Minnesota, confirmed it has received a major grant from THE BUSH FOUNDATION, expanding its capacity to support economic self-determination initiatives rooted in Native governance, ownership, and community control.
According to THE BUSH FOUNDATION, the grant was awarded through its Community Innovation funding program, which supports organizations working to dismantle systemic barriers and create long-term, community-driven solutions. The Foundation stated that the funding is intended to strengthen Indigenous-led economic infrastructure, particularly efforts that place decision-making authority directly in Native hands rather than external institutions.
MNI SOTA FUND, in its own public materials, described the grant as a significant expansion of its mission to provide access to capital, technical assistance, and culturally grounded financial services for Native entrepreneurs, small businesses, and community projects. The organization emphasized that the funding will be used to scale programs already in operation rather than pilot untested initiatives, focusing on lending capacity, business development support, and long-term sustainability.
Founded to address historic exclusion from traditional banking and financial systems, MNI SOTA FUND operates as a Native-controlled financial institution, prioritizing relationship-based lending models that align with Indigenous values, community accountability, and local economic resilience. The organization has stated that economic self-determination, in its framework, means more than business growth; it means the ability for Native nations and citizens to shape their own economic futures without dependency on outside gatekeepers.
THE BUSH FOUNDATION, in its grant documentation, has repeatedly stated that it prioritizes investments led by communities most affected by the problems being addressed. In this case, the Foundation identified Indigenous economic sovereignty as an area where Native-led organizations are best positioned to design solutions that endure beyond a single funding cycle.
The grant comes at a time when Native communities across Minnesota continue to face disparities in access to capital, homeownership financing, and small-business investment. MNI SOTA FUND has previously stated that its approach is designed to counter those disparities by keeping capital circulating locally and ensuring financial decisions are made by people with lived cultural and community knowledge.
Neither MNI SOTA FUND nor THE BUSH FOUNDATION characterized the grant as a short-term intervention. Both organizations framed the funding as part of a longer arc of structural investment, aimed at strengthening Indigenous economic systems rather than substituting for them.
No claims were made by either organization regarding projected job totals, revenue figures, or economic multipliers; instead, the emphasis remained on capacity, autonomy, and sustained community control. The funding announcement did not reference political advocacy, electoral activity, or policy lobbying, focusing solely on economic development and financial access.
As stated by MNI SOTA FUND, the grant represents not a shift in mission but an expansion of it; the work, they noted, has already been underway, and the funding allows it to reach more Native entrepreneurs and communities across the state.
The Appalachian Post is an independent West Virginia news outlet dedicated to clean, verified, first-hand reporting. We do not publish rumors. We do not run speculation. Every fact we present must be supported by original documentation, official statements, or direct evidence. When secondary sources are used, we clearly identify them and never treat them as first-hand confirmation. We avoid loaded language, emotional framing, or accusatory wording, and we do not attack individuals, organizations, or other news outlets. Our role is to report only what can be verified through first-hand sources and allow readers to form their own interpretations. If we cannot confirm a claim using original evidence, we state clearly that we reviewed first-hand sources and could not find documentation confirming it. Our commitment is simple: honest reporting, transparent sourcing, and zero speculation.
Sources
Primary First-Hand Sources
• THE BUSH FOUNDATION, Community Innovation Grant announcement
• MNI SOTA FUND, official organizational statements and public materials
Appalachian Post 
Leave a comment