What We Do
Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship is often seen as a process of finding capable individuals and providing nourishment in the form of capital. At RCI we believe it is also a process of nurturing individuals through one-on-one technical assistance to become those capable individuals. This grassroots approach is how RCI approaches revitalizing communities in need. We believe it is the best way to make positive change sustainable.
1. Entreprenurship Development Systems (EDS) - We have taken our considerable experience in facilitating entrepreneurial dreams through the Success Coaching model of free, one-on-one technical assistance where we roll up our sleeves and work side by side the aspiring or growing entrepreneur. An example of our success using these components can be seen with the Oweesta Collaborative EDS. The Oweesta Collaborative model was designed to support entrepreneurship within the circle of community. Entrpreneurs are not separate from the families, communities, and cultures in which they live; they and their businesses are integral to the vitality of the larger community. The Oweesta Collaborative exists to identify and cultivate a significant number of entrepreneurs who can develop quality companies and create quality jobs.
2. Private Sector Development - One of the challenges for RCI working in rural development has been meeting the needs of communities that are widely dispersed and in areas that are difficult to reach. As a result, many of these communities are marginalized from the rest of the country by culture, language, and the lack of access to basic infrastructure and social services.These areas are usually deprived of private and public sector attention, forcing the people to seek development partners in new and innovative ways.
In helping to set up and advise EDS programs, RCI is helping to plant the seeds for a future of sustainable private sector development. RCI offers technical assistance to improve business management, foster growth, and enhance the private sector of communities through:
• Market analysis
• Business plan writing
• Competitor assessment
• Loan packaging
• Management team analysis
• Grant and loan applications
• Community capacity building
• Venture team building
• Strategic planning
• Feasibility analysis
• Process and efficience analysis
• Organizational assistance
• Strategic planning
• Membership and team building
• Enviromental assessment
• Support for equity drive
• Communications consulting
• Government representation
3. Training/Coaching - RCI has indentified many key factors that contribute to growing and maintaining a successful EDS. One of the most important factors is long-term, intensive, one-on-one technical assistance (TA). RCI offers this support in the form of special training and Success Coaches. These Success Coaches, work primarily in the field, onsite where the rural entrepreneurs live and work.
Coaches themselves receive special 5-day training in the practice. Success Coaches are taught that:
• their first loyalty is to the client.
• they are there to encourage independent action and reduce dependency.
• they help entrepreneurs develop their own abilities to achieve their goals.
• they provide links to necessary resources, stimulate thinking, and provide feedback.
• the client must have an inner motivation the Coach then leverages to propel the client to the next level.
• a Success Coach is able to objectively identify problems and deficiencies in the client businesses and is given the tools to do so.
• the relationship a Success Coach has with a client is actually determined by the passion of the client.
The Success Coach must match the determination and effort of the client entrepreneur. The client and coach learn to work together as a team based on that loyal relationship.
Mentoring
Mentoring has many of the same attributes as Coaching, but at a higher level. The knowledge skill set of a mentor is usually more focused in a certain area of expertise such as marketing or accounting and is usually called in to help with a particular situation. The mentoring network is made up of both volunteer and paid professionals.
RCI and the Mentors provide specialized services in the areas of:
1. Technical Assistance
• Business/strategic management
• Marketing
• Accounting
• Financial management
• Production management
• Sales
• Advanced technologies
• Design and graphics
• Planning
• Staffing
• HR and Job Training
2. Capacity Building - One of the main areas that RCI focuses on is Capacity Building for the client. RCI believes in the power of partnerships to help with capacity building as well as helping to foster long-term sustainability. Capacity building partnerships include:
• Lenders and equity investors
• Foundations
• Private and public sector leaders
• Individual agriculture producers
• Federal and state agencies
• Agriculture producer organizations
• Communities and cooperatives
• Private businesses
• Technology experts
• Conservation groups
3. Mentoring Networks - There are a number of people in the community that have opted to give something back to their community by helping others. These mentors are an important resource for any business, especially for one just starting out. RCI has put together a team of mentors that can be called in to help solve specific problems for their clients. Besides providing necessary information, knowledge skills, and possible solutions, these mentors also offer themselves as role models. They have already “been there, done that”, and can speak from experience. That can be very motivating and inspirational to the entrepreneur. A mentor can also provide access to information not usually available through normal means. Many times, mentors were once budding entrepreneurs themselves, who have successfully passed all of the obstacles, and have built a sustainable business. They can empathise and understand what the new entrepreneur is going through.
Funding Traditional Culture
America has been called a melting pot because it has received people from every corner of the world and assimilated them into one nation. People who would otherwise be forever on the outside of American culture have been given the opportunity to become an intregal part of the whole. On the other hand, some have had to sacrifice their original cultures and languages. In recent years there has been a renewed interest to revitalize knowledge and understanding of traditional cultures. Thus, we now see Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, Italian Americans, among others receiving much attention from foundations and civic groups to help renew traditional cultures and languages. Sadly, Native Americans have not garnered the same level of attention. The American Indian peoples want very much to preserve their heritage—not to any detrment to America but to preserve their cultures, arts, and ancestry with its most noble teachings. RCI has taken a leading and supportive position to link investors and organizations to fund preservation of traditional arts, language, and values.
• Arts - RCI sponsors many programs that are specializing in the passing on of traditional skills. In addition, RCI sponsors artists for various fellowships and grants.
• Language - A language is a living, growing, changing thing that embodies the spirit, hopes and dreams of a people. To teach a language, you have to teach the philosophy of the culture. Language represents a unique world view and complex culture complex—an essential part of the living human heritage. RCI assists recipients to preserve, teach, and pass on language arts of Native cultures.
• Values - Generosity is one of the seven Lakota Virtues. In Lakota culture, a man is not judged by how much he has aquired rather but by how much he has given away. Humility is another of the seven virtues. Crazy Horse, a well known fighter and hero, was known among his people more for his humility than for his warrior daring. RCI works to empower people from the ground up with programs that help to renew their traditional values. RCI is sponsoring many programs that directly address the problems depression, addiction, and persistent poverty through grassroots community development.
Capital Access
Community-based rural development and entreprenurial organizations need the kind of grassroots, hands-on, long-term support that will lead them to economic and social freedom, self-sufficiency, and sustainability.
For decades many government and private organizations have sponsored groundbreaking initiatives that have demonstrated the effectiveness of targeted assistance to CDCs and CDFIs. But in many ways the development of rural CDCs is 20 years behind. Support is badly needed for an iniative to increase access to capital and provide accelerated capacity building for impoverished rural and Native communities.
Before leaving the World Bank, James Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank, took the time to tour the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota and experienced these conditions of rural poverty first hand. After a tour of the reservation, he stated:
“Private ownership is the key to easing poverty. To me, what I am seeing here isn’t poverty. It is the chance to see new businesses that are being established, and to meet entrepreneurs who are taking their future into their own hands”
• Revolving Loan Fund - The establishment of a RLF within a community is one of several tools available to encourage small business development. RLFs are established to provide a source of financing not otherwise be available within a community for local expanding and start-up businesses. Often, they are used to fill a financing gap in a business development project. A revolving loan fund enhances the tools of the local economic development agency.
• Package Loans - RCI works with a variety of rural and tribal controlled CDCs and CDFIs. Many of these organizations do not possess the staff capacity or expertise to package financing for larger financial projects. RCI helps build up their capabilities through mentoring and long-term technical assistance. Loan packaging usually involves gathering all of the pieces of the loan from an organization and matching them with the needs of the loaning agency. RCI makes sure that all of the pieces fit together in a way that enhances organization chances for funding.
• Collateral Funding - Many projects never get the funding needed because of insufficient collateral to reduce the lender's risk of making a loan. Collateral funding is all about finding solutions for projects without sufficient collateral. RCI works to create funding mechanisms for the collateral portion of projects that can be bank financed subject to sufficient collateral being provided. Some of these mechanisms are grants, subsidies, collateral enhancement, and collateral funds for Native America.
RCI-Rural Community Innovations Montana Office & Headquarters: Montana Office & Headquarters: 605.352.6761 South dakota Offices: David Lambert david@rci-usa.org
210 Cirque Drive
Bozeman MT 59718
406.587.0783
e-mail: gary@rci-usa.org
Box 385 Parker, SD 57053
(605) 297-9100 Ph.
(605) 297-9102 Fx.
Pine Ridge Reservation Office:
Kimberly T. Brave Heart kim@rci-usa.org
PO Box 565 Kyle, SD
(605) 455-2009 Ph.
(605) 455-2987 Fx.