Working at the Community Affairs Division of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve, David Bland traveled to Indian Reservations across the region to learn more about Native-American banking needs. What he saw, however, convinced him that housing presented a much more immediate and pressing need within the Native-American communities. He took his previous experience developing low-income housing and applied it to the Reservations by founding Travois, a company that assists tribes in applying for credits and partnering with investors. The project has achieved remarkable results.

Travois has its roots in Bland’s long experience in finance and investing. Ten years ago, David Bland discovered a groundbreaking resource for developing housing on Native-American Reservations –– the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program, which Congress adopted in 1986. Bland perfected the use of the IRS program to build homes for our country’s citizens most in need of affordable housing. Before Bland, no one had successfully applied the program to Reservation housing, due to the complexities of Tribal sovereignty and the hesitation of banks to lend money on Reservations. Bland, along with dozens of tribes in over sixteen states, have utilized Travois to bring together existing law, financial institutions, and the Tribes themselves to address housing needs. They created over $158 million in housing equity, resulting in over 1,000 homes for poor families.

A gifted entrepreneur, David Bland embodies the pioneering spirit and dedication that makes his businesses so successful. Determined to improve the lives of others, Bland chose a narrow focus of affordable housing on Indian Reservations in order to create the greatest impact for the most needy of our citizens.

David Bland loves business almost as much as he loves people. To him, the business of doing good is the best business possible. Thanks to his entrepreneurship, David Bland has not only helped Native-Americans gain much needed housing, but also helped build a larger sense of community, bringing together people from diverse backgrounds to achieve common goals.

To learn more about David and his cause, and how you can make a difference, please visit:
www.travois.com.

Read More Hero Stories >