Looking forward to the next 10 years and beyond!
Western Native Voice has outgrown our current space, and we need a new location for our expanding staff and programs. Our goal comes after ten years of serving the rural and urban Native American communities in Montana rather than merely resolving immediate needs. Western Native Voice is working towards a more permanent office structure to build or renovate in the Billings, MT area.
Will you help us grow? Donate here!
Western Native Voice is working to solve our office space needs and invest in the future to serve the Tribal Nations and Native American communities in Montana.
- OUR VISION: Engaging Native Americans in building political and personal power to address local community challenges. We support and encourage Native community members to step up and be a voice for their families and communities through the civic engagement process and public policies that affect their lives and well-being. We strive for a world absent of discrimination and inequality, where every human has equal access to safety and success.
- INVESTMENT: In over ten years of rented occupancy, Western Native Voice has not built equity. Maturing from space renters to building owners will help better control expenses, save as much as $219,600 over in the next 20 years, and potentially earn income for our mission. Best of all, we can directly move resources into our programs rather than overhead expenses.
- VISIBILITY: Our current location is located in a church on the 2nd floor, which inhibits our visibility within the community and shuts us off from the citizens we serve. A well-designed office will create a more prominent, effective, and influential presence in Billings which, according to the 2010 Census, 4.6% of the population is Native American. We will build community awareness of our organizations and recruit new members who contribute to our cause. The building will also validate our confidence in the downtown area.
- SPACE: The need to pay for offsite storage displaces project support funds. Furthermore, cramped conference rooms limit onsite strategy meetings. With over 3,000 more square feet of space, we can include room for staff, meetings, and file storage. In the long-term, it will also provide for future growth.
- ACCESS: Many of the people we serve have an active role in Western Native Voice activities. However, our second-floor headquarters lack an elevator, which poses an obstacle for many who want to visit or volunteer and have physical disabilities or other ailments. The hope for the new building is to have a single ground floor, accessible parking, and we will incorporate friendly features for those with physical disabilities or other ailments.
- PERMANENCE: As long as we rent, Western Native Voice is at the mercy of rent increases and other uncertainties. Ownership will demonstrate our commitment to remaining in the West and our confidence in our future as reliable and credible leaders. We will have a permanent address the community can be proud of.
- BENEFITS: A permanent office will let us:
- Work more efficiently
- Enhance our public image
- Reflect our conversation values
- Build equity
Western Native Voice has served the Native American Community for ten years. Help us grow in the next three decades and beyond: Support a building that matches our mission.
Will you support our vision?