CIN helps address the many devastating effects of poverty.

Native Americans living on the rural and remote reservations of the Southwest struggle daily with isolation, limited employment opportunities, and a harsh and resource-poor environment. Poverty is all too common, and weighs most heavily on those most fragile – especially Elders and their multi-generational extended families.

CIN volunteers not only provide services, but also reach out to isolated Elders.

Many of the communities we serve are not accessible by paved roads, and are reachable only by four-wheel drive vehicles and in some instances even helicopters. Most of these communities receive no revenue from casinos, and provide few employment opportunities. The needs of this fragile population are huge. However it is important to provide help in a way that reduces dependency and at the same time draws on the strong sense of pride and community, prevalent among Indian people.

A helping hand, not a handout.
Our approach is to help Native Americans improve the quality of their own lives by providing opportunities for them to bring about positive changes in their own communities. Through the Council of Indian Nations, we offer a helping hand, not a handout.

From Elder nutrition to home improvements.

CIN provides the tools so communities can help their most needy.

The Council of Indian Nations sponsors programs that address a wide variety of needs, from Elder nutrition to home improvement, for Native Americans on rural and remote reservations in the Southwest. We work with Gift-in-Kind organizations and donors who provide items like food, clothing, shoes, blankets, baby goods, personal hygiene products, and cleaning supplies. We store these goods in the CIN distribution center, process them, match them up with the appropriate programs, and ensure the delivery to the program site. All of CIN’s programs are guided by nine guiding principles, the CIN Way.

Community involvement is the key.
This is where CIN differs from many other social service programs. CIN insists that substantial community volunteerism be a part of the processing or distribution of these goods, or that the goods be used in an incentive program.

Program Partners.

CIN Program Partners play an essential role in motivating their communities.

Volunteerism by those who benefit from our programs is the key to CIN’s vision of strong, self-sufficient Native American communities. We achieve this by working through Program Partners.

CIN Program Partners are members of the community that will benefit from a CIN program and who have an intimate understanding of the needs of their community. Program Partners identify needs, arrange volunteer support, provide lists of people who need assistance, obtain facilities for events, and volunteer their own time to help their communities.

Working with Program Partners, CIN ensures that we are addressing the genuine needs of a community. As important, working on our programs helps Program Partners develop their capabilities and establish a volunteer base. The community develops a shared purpose, and the Program Partner grows in ability to seek resources from other institutions and from the people in the community.

Volunteers carry out much of the preparation and distribution work associated with CIN programs. Volunteers of all ages give of their time to help with projects such as delivering food to homebound Elders, sorting bulk deliveries of diapers into family-size packages for Baby Baskets, or making quilts for babies. This unique relationship with the communities we serve makes CIN’s programs more of a partnership and less like charity.

Incentives.

CIN's Gift-in-Kind donations are used as incentives in a wide range of highly successful programs.

In many CIN programs, incentive items such as baby food, clothing, and personal care items are distributed to program participants to thank them for putting forth the extra effort to improve their lives or their community. Many recipients face overwhelming challenges in their daily lives, such as finding transportation to get to a prenatal appointment or enduring difficult medical treatments such as dialysis. Incentives are also utilized as positive reinforcement for youth activities such as community clean-ups or assisting Elders with household chores.

Gift-in-Kind organizations and donors.
CIN works closely with corporations and Gift-in-Kind charities who donate a wide variety of supplies. CIN staff work with Program Partners to match these supplies with appropriate programs. These donated items allow CIN to distribute new, quality goods in the most cost effective manner.

CIN distribution center.
CIN’s warehouse in suburban Phoenix, Arizona, is the hub through which supplies flow from our Gift-in-Kind partners and donors, to Native Americans in need. CIN staff efficiently receive, sort, pack and ship millions of dollars worth of goods ranging from diapers and baby food to blankets and coats. CIN’s fleet of trucks and drivers deliver the goods to Program Partners for distribution to reservations in our partners in the Southwest.

How can I help?