Program helps Native Americans buy a home, enhance financial acumen

Inspired by the home she grew up in — built from the ground up by her grandfather — U.S. National Guardsman Nika Saunders dream of homeownership became a reality thanks in part to help from Wells Fargo and Cook Inlet Lending Center. Wells Fargo’s grant to Cook Inlet Lending Center allowed the organization to expand its IDA program, which provides program participants like Saunders with matching grants for down payment and closing cost assistance. Read more at https://stories.wf.com/program-helps-...

Transcript:
My dream has always been
to own my own home.
The house that I grew up in, my
grandfather built it.
He built a majority of all the
furniture that was in it, and it was
a very beautiful country home.
Hi, Alessia.
Can I tickle you?
Hi, Eleanor.
Can I tickle you to?
My name is Nika Saunders, and
I am currently an active
guardsman with the Alaska Army
National Guard stationed here
in Anchorage, Alaska.
I actually come from the northern
Cheyenne tribe from Montana.
That's where my mom is from.
And my dad is Tohono O'odham,
which is from Arizona.
I'm from the reservation, and
I would say not many people own
their own homes.
So for me, it's a testament that
anything is possible.
I first heard of Cook Inlet lending
center through their website,
a couple of folks that I knew had
talked about them.
Good job.
Cook Inlet Lending Center is
a native CDFI and
CDFI simply means Community
Development Financial Institution.
We're essentially an alternative
to a bank or credit union.
And our mission is really to provide
homeownership opportunities
and to invest in the underserved
within our community.
All right, girls, let's go pick a
book out. Picked up the phone one
day and gave him a call and was
quite surprised that
there was that resource here in
Anchorage and one day just went
over and met
a bunch of nice folks who were
ready and willing to help me
become a homeowner.
Ooh, perfect party.
They help you set up an account
with Wells Fargo.
You put money into it and
they match you.
Our IDA program is a homeownership
program, and IDA stands
for individual development account.
And essentially,
it's a program that provides
the borrower a grant in the amount
of $4,000 after
the participant saves a thousand
dollars.
Wells Fargo awarded Cook Inlet
Lending Center a grant specifically
for Alaska Native American Indian
and the four to one match.
And ultimately, they can
use that total of $5,000
for either down payment or
closing costs when they're ready
to purchase a home.
I opened the door and I thought, this
is my house.
Images were coming to mind of
exactly how I wanted it to look.
It's just exciting to be able
to highlight stories
that happen in in
our Native American communities.
And so the story with Nika
is just a great way to
show and highlight
what programs like this can do.
It was such an amazing program.
I am so thankful for
Wells Fargo and Cook Inlet Lending
Center for partnering together with
us and having this program because
it gives people like me
the opportunity to be
a homeowner, and I'm thankful
for that.
There's just no other good, better
feeling then than seeing
one of our IDA participants graduate
from the program.
I just felt really thankful and
blessed blessed that I
made it. You know, when I finally
had a place, I can open the door and
say, I'm home.