Matriarch Funds
Since 2020, Native Women Lead (NWL) has piloted three relationship based lending programs to support Indigenous women-led businesses in New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and Utah to access equitable, patient capital while providing wrap-around support.
These gender-lens focused pilot programs were designed and led by Native women for Native women through our Matriarchal worldview. As we have evolved, NWL is now applying and activating the 5 R’s of Rematriation as a primary values & underwriting framework. We believe decision-making process and power should be spearheaded and intentionally held and protected for Native women to mitigate racial and gender bias, dismantle systemic and structural inequities and challenge traditional frameworks in finance that are often shaped by western systems of capitalism & patriarchy.
Matriarch Restorative Fund
Launched in March 2022, the Matriarch Creative Fund was designed to provide loans between $10,000 - $50,000 at a 3% interest rate to the Native women entrepreneurs in our communities who were ready to grow and expand their small businesses.
Matriarch Creative Fund
Launched in late 2021, the Creative Fund was designed to provide capital to the Native women artists, makers, crafters, creatives and revolutionaries in our communities. With small loans of $5,000-$10,000 with a 5% interest rate, the fund provided and economic boost to the creatives in our communities.