July 2002. One Fire Development Corporation was formed. The organization received its 501(c) (3) designation in March 2003.
July 2002 – January 2006. Created a comprehensive program and facility plan to build the first Native American Lifelong Learning Center in America. The team was able to secure over $23 million toward the development of the Center and its programs.
October 2002. Initiated 2002-2003 Community Outreach. Funded local Cherokee Community Development projects.
November 2002. Completed research on Predatory Lending practices in Native American communities. Noted the actions being initiated by tribes or other organizations to prevent predatory lending, and to suggest model regulatory codes for use by Native American communities.
June 2003. Facilitated Consultative Gathering with Native American Elders, Activists, and Select Funders for the Margaret Casey Foundation. Provided Facilitation for the convening.
September 2003. Initiated 2003-2004 Community Outreach. Funded local Cherokee Community Development projects.
January 2004. Provide technical assistance in support of the Cherokee Heritage Center. Objective was to optimize the operational capacity of Heritage Center’s leadership.
July 2004. Convened 35 Indian Country non-profit leaders. Developed a strategy for matching future Indian leaders with reservation-based non-profits. A series of questions were used to guide the discussion held in Kansas City for the First Nations Development Institute.
October 2004. Completed a review of the Native Youth and Culture Fund for American Indian Non-profit organization. The project-achieved results in transferring knowledge of the community and Native Language, impacting the way youth feel and how individual behaviors were strengthened.
December 2004. Initiated 2004-2005 Community Outreach. Funded local Cherokee Community Development projects.
December 2005. Initiated 2005-2006 Community Outreach. Funded local Cherokee Community Development projects.
March 2006. “Cultural Survival.” Funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Identified practical models for the preservation and maintenance of traditional knowledge systems.
February 2007. Funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation a project to formalize a multicultural intermediary to provide technical assistance to underserved populations and foster relationships with philanthropic and government entities.
March 2010. “The Sound of Drums”. Funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. A memoir of Lloyd Kiva New. Lloyd Kiva New ( b. Lloyd Henri New, Cherokee Nation, 1916-2002) wrote his memoirs in the last four years of his life. His sudden passing kept the manuscript on hold for few years.
March 2010. “Context is Everything.” Funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Stories and a discussion of how to strengthen partnerships between the philanthropic community and Native Americans. One year project to assess the impact philanthropy has had on the American Indian community and to determine what lessons were learned by organized philanthropy and donors and what Indian leaders learned who were involved in this dynamic.
September 2012 – March 2018. Native Business Development Workshops. The two-day workshops provide aspiring entrepreneurs the knowledge and resources to successfully launch their small businesses as well as support emerging businesses with the tools to grow. The staff of One Fire delivered more than 100 Entrepreneurial Empowerment Workshops that helped more than 1300 individuals in 80 Native communities realize their small business dreams.
