Turtle Island Community Capital Secures $500,000 from Ishkode Fund to Advance Indigenous Economic Self-Determination

The two-year grant will support TICC's growth as the only Native-led CDFI operating at a regional scale across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic

PROVIDENCE , RI, UNITED STATES, July 23, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Turtle Island Community Capital (TICC), the only Native-led community development financial institution (CDFI) operating at a regional scale across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, secured a two-year, $500,000 general support grant from the Ishkode Fund. The first installment of $250,000 has been received, with the remaining balance to follow over the course of the grant period.

The grant is unrestricted general support, giving TICC flexibility to direct the funds where they are needed most as the organization scales its flagship programs and its lending capacity across Tribal Nations in the region. Unrestricted, multi-year grants remain uncommon in the nonprofit sector, where most philanthropic funding is restricted to specific programs or projects. General operating support gives nonprofits room to cover core costs, including staffing, systems, and organizational infrastructure, and to redirect resources as priorities shift, rather than allocating every dollar to a predetermined use.

"This grant is a vote of confidence in what Native-led capital can do when it is trusted to move at the speed and on the terms of the communities it serves. The Ishkode Fund's support gives us the flexibility to keep building an ecosystem, not just a fund, and to keep proving that Indigenous economic self-determination is not a concept. It is already happening," said Alexander Sterling, TICC Founder and CEO.

"We focus on supporting organizations that are building lasting, community-defined solutions, and TICC's model does exactly that. General operating support gives our partners the room to direct capital where their communities need it most, and we are proud to back that kind of trust-based, and more importantly, relationship-based philanthropy that recognizes that communities know best how to invest in their own futures," said Victoria Sweet, CEO, Ishkode Fund.

Since its founding in December 2024, TICC has raised over $1 million in catalytic and blended capital and convened more than 300 leaders across Tribal Nations, anchor institutions, and capital providers. The organization's flagship programs, Resilience Circles, the Watershed Bioregional fund, and Native Impact Nights, pair access to capital with technical assistance and relationship-based support, an approach TICC describes as ecosystem building rather than traditional lending.

The Ishkode Fund's grant comes as TICC's Watershed Bioregional fund is raising $10 million in blended capital to expand the flow of capital into Indigenous communities across the region.

About Turtle Island Community Capital
Turtle Island Community Capital is a Native-led CDFI reshaping access to capital so Indigenous entrepreneurs and communities can lead their own economic futures. The only Native-led CDFI operating at a regional scale across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, TICC deploys patient, flexible capital alongside technical assistance, ecosystem building, and relationship-based support. Its flagship programs, Resilience Circles, the Watershed Bioregional Fund, and Native Impact Nights, reflect a model that pairs capital with capacity and positions TICC as an ecosystem architect, not simply a lender. Founded in December 2024 by Alexander "Brave Journey" Sterling, TICC has raised over $1 million in catalytic and blended capital, deployed an early portfolio totaling over $100k in full-spectrum integrated capital, and an additional $1,500 in grants. TICC has convened more than 300 leaders across Tribal Nations, anchor institutions, and capital providers, building the networks, partnerships, and trust that make economic self-determination possible. The Watershed Bioregional Fund is currently raising $10 million in blended capital to transform how capital flows in Indigenous communities.

Kathleen Van Gorden
KVG Communications, Inc.
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