C.A.S.H Community Development is a provider of free financial literacy services to Indigenous communities across the nation, focusing on building self-reliance through education. Through their work, they have identified a need to work with Indigenous communities to identify holistic solutions to mitigate climate change and environmental hazards. With the ever-increasing threat of climate change, Indigenous communities across the United States are already experiencing infrastructure losses, unpredictable water availability, and increased frequency and intensity of extreme events. Even though these communities have an increasing awareness of climate change and interest in comprehensive adaptation planning, lack of funding, human resources, access to information, training, and expertise provide significant barriers. C.A.S.H Community Development is working to overcome those barriers by empowering communities to identify and implement climate solutions across the nation.
C.A.S.H Community Development is a small organization (three paid staff members) with an outsize impact. The organization’s leadership are Indigenous, with first-hand experience of the socioeconomic, climate, and environmental issues faced by their communities. Across the United States, 1 in 3 Indigenous people are living in poverty, with a median income of $23,000 a year. Environmental and climate justice advocates warn that Indigenous communities are more vulnerable to changing climate conditions and have the least resources to protect against and recover from extreme weather events. C.A.S.H Community development supports Indigenous communities through workforce development projects; educational opportunities; community organizing and activism; and increased access to funding and technical expertise. Their ethos is to build community capacity, instill community pride, ensure the long-term success and sustainability of projects, and break the intergenerational cycles of poverty.