The Consulting and Business Development Center leads the Foster School’s efforts to partner with tribes on economic development since 2002. These partnerships have led to business expansion and job creation in a number of ventures.The center works with Tribes, Tribal Enterprises, Inter-Tribal Organizations and Native American nonprofit organizations in Washington, Oregon and Alaska.
Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission (CRITFC)
The CRIFTC, comprised of the Nez Perce Tribe, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR), the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation and the Yakama Nation, was founded to protect their treaty-reserved property and sacred salmon heritage. The BEDC was introduced to CRITFC by an alumna of the Foster School and has since then helped the CRITFC to develop a marketing plan for a variety of distribution channels for Columbia River salmon through academic-year and summer internship projects.
Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation
What started with a relationship between the Yakama Nation and the UW’s office of Educational Partnerships and Learning Technologies (not longer in existence), turned into a partnership that encompassed student teams who consulted for various businesses within the Yakama Nation, and currently, the Yakama Tribal Credit is co-sponsoring the Business Certificate Program that 11 tribal entrepreneurs are attending.
Confederated Tribes of the Colville Indian Reservation
The partnership began when the Colville Tribal Enterprise Corporation (now the Colville Tribal Federation Corporation) won the William Bradford Minority Business of the Year Award in 2002. CTEC’s Board President expressed a desire to build a relationship to support their growth. Through this, the Tribe and the Foster School of Business signed an MOU, which outlined work on basic business and advanced business education, strategic planning, regional economic development planning, and regional economic development planning. Through this partnership the center developed a customized executive education program for employees of the tribal enterprise and tribal government agencies. Interns have analyzed business performance and developed business plans for tribal enterprises and government agencies. The center has given basic financial management education and provided interns to create a business plan for the Colville Greenhouse.
Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe
The center helped to support the Tribe’s Economic Development Authority enterprise development goals by providing interns to examine the feasibility of various business acquisition opportunities.
Metlakatla Indian Community
The center completed a feasibility study for the new tribal enterprise.
Muckleshoot Indian Tribe
The Tribe contributed funding for the first Native American scholarship at the Foster School of Business.
Nisqually Tribe
The Nisqually Tribe partnered with the center to co-sponsor the 2009 Certificate Program held in Tacoma and which served tribal enterprise employees and other small business owners.
Oregon Native American Business and Entrepreneurship Network (ONABEN)
The center partnered with ONABEN to launch a business plan competition in 2010 for Native American entrepreneurs in Washington and Oregon.
Potlach Fund and Native Lens/Longhouse Media
The center has placed Board Fellows on the board of directors for these organizations through relationships that began in 2007.
Quileute Tribe
In the summer of 2010, an MBA intern worked with Tribe to develop an e-commerce business to capitalize on the popularity of the Twilight books and movies.
Quinalt Indian Nation
In the summer of 2010 an MBA intern analyzed the financial performance of various divisions of the Quinalt Pride Seafood company that enabled the enterprise board to make key investment decisions.
Sealaska Corporation
The center completed a market study and business plan for a joint venture operation between this Alaska Native corporation and a tribe in Canada.