Strengthening communities with data services

Gathering stories and insights that help you make an impact
Participatory research grounded in community

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Built in collaboration

Creating lasting change toward economic vitality and sustainability

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We believe people should have control over their own data.

Data sovereignty is at the heart of what we do, because true representation is impossible without it.

Featured projects

Envisioning Laurel Cliff: Preparing the land and pathways of the Monacan Indian Nation

Monacan Indian Nation
The Monacan’s vision is to make Laurel Cliff a better place for all who live or visit, for all who want a better economy and environment, and for the children who call this place home.

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From access to outcomes: A decade of Native-led finance

NACDC Financial Services
NACDC Financial Services uses a culturally grounded, community-driven approach to create pathways to intergenerational wealth, stability, and self-determination.

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Food systems study: Exploring the local food economy of the Oglála Lakhóta Oyáte

Makoce Agriculture Development
Makoce Agriculture Development is working to transform Pine Ridge's food landscape by building a community-led, culturally rooted food system.

View project

Working with Sweet Grass was a huge win for our team. For years, we struggled to measure the impact of our work across the five-county region we serve. Choosing Sweet Grass was easy due to their impressive previous work and their engaging, understanding, and confident approach.

Charitie Herbst, Sourcewell

Our clients & partners

Insights & articles

Recent articles about economic development and sustainable community practices

Featured

The goal of participatory research is a true shift in power

August 26, 2026

COMMUNITY HEALTH

The goal of participatory research is a true shift in power

August 26, 2026

COMMUNITY HEALTH

Instead of researchers being the sole interpreters of reality, participatory research methods recognize community members as the experts in their own lives.

Read more →

July 30, 2026

DATA IMPACT, FINANCE

See all blog posts

Sweet Grass is respectful and listens to the needs of the partner. I appreciate their awareness of Tribal Nations, the importance of tribal sovereignty, and community-driven work.

—Emily White Hat, American Indian College Fund
Sweet Grass is a phenomenal partner who really took the time to understand very complex subject matter and facilitated seamlessly among a diverse set of stakeholders.

—Intertribal Agriculture Council
Sweet Grass’ contextual and cultural understanding of the Native CDFI market is unsurpassed in the field. We appreciate the work they do to stay informed about our markets and to continually amplify our voices on the ground.

—Lakota Vogel, Four Bands Community Fund
Sweet Grass allowed for us to have a sense of direction with our products and programming, and it helped us to tell the story of our impact.

—Skya Ducheneaux, Akiptan
Sweet Grass hit every single timeline and went above and beyond our contractual expectations. I really feel like they are family. I can be honest without fear . . . it's an authentic relationship and I cherish it.

—Cheryal Hills, Region Five Development Commission
The type of analysis we needed for our equity work wouldn't have been possible without the assistance of Sweet Grass.

—Shalyn Hawley, Four Bands Community Fund
Sweet Grass helped us in seeking ways to find justification and answers in how we need to move forward in providing housing opportunities for our community.

—Donovan Vicenti, Pueblo of Jemez Housing Authority
Sweet Grass met us where we were at on projects and undoubtedly helped us to advance our projects closer to our goals.

—Intertribal Agriculture Council
Sweet Grass brought a breadth of expertise as we delved into our first loan fund evaluation. They were critical in helping us understand our goals, process, and evaluation methodologies.

—Jesus Gonzalez Saucedo, Inclusive Action for the City
The contribution Sweet Grass is making will lead to transformative change for many.

—Nick Tilsen, Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation
Sweet Grass team members are responsive, timely, and develop processes that gain the information needed to benefit our work in a clear and concise manner.

—Emily White Hat, American Indian College Fund
Our interactions with Sweet Grass were thoughtful and chock-full of meaningful, inspiring, and goal-oriented encounters.

—Intertribal Agriculture Council
It has been so easy to approach the staff and ask any questions. Our company has learned a lot in such a short period of time with them.

—Westwater Financial, Inc.
Whenever we have a question or run into an issue, it has been very easy to communicate and get answers.

—Vaipuarii Tapiero-Kight, Hawaiian Lending and Investments
Clear communication and explanation of capability, set clear expectations and met them, quite timely.

—Kris Brunetto, Mountain Plains Community Development Corporation
Good to work with and very helpful walking through the steps and listening to the ideas we had.

—Margaret Morrison, Rosebud Sioux Tribe
The information we received was really helpful. The end result gave us a document that we're already diving into, and that I can see steering our organization for years to come.

—Jenna Tomiello, MT Alpha Cycling
We appreciate Sweet Grass' patience and response time. We threw a lot at [them] and they handled it like a pro. We have been able to shift our timesheets to Salesforce for better data.

—Stephanie Janis, Akiptan
Sweet Grass is easy to contact, responds in a timely manner, and goes above and beyond to help when asked. They do their best to make things as easy as possible.

—Melissa Curley, Akiptan
Sweet Grass helped our organizations deploy more than $500,000 in emergency loans for folks impacted by COVID, reaching our most impacted populations — Native communities, communities of color, and women.

—Jeff Gilbreath, Hawaiian Community Assets
Your professionalism, expertise, and willingness to find solutions made for an exceptional project.

—Karla Aguilar, Texas Tribal Buffalo Project
We developed a great publication that is helpful to Native farmers and ranchers interested in agritourism.

—American Indian and Alaska Native Tourism Association
Sweet Grass did an excellent job facilitating and the write-up was great. I have always found Sweet Grass to be professional, knowledgeable and a good value.

—Lisa Wagner, Wind River Development Fund
Really, my best experience working with consultants. I loved the way you all embraced our community.

—Kara Horton, Port Gamble S'Klallam Housing Authority
There was a lot of understanding of where we were as an organization and where we wanted to go in the next few years. It felt like a huge step in the right direction for our org.

—Jenna Tomiello, MT Alpha Cycling
Sweet Grass was wonderful. They kept us informed as to their progress, and made sure visits and interviews were at our discretion so as not to be a burden on the tribe.

—Kaye Khabir-Harvey, Monacan Indian Nation
I appreciate the hands-on approach and willingness to meet with staff, leadership, and citizens to gather input from all participants.

—Linda Van Tassell, Monacan Indian Nation
As a Native CDFI serving rural and Indigenous communities, Sweet Grass' understanding of our context has been especially valuable in ensuring our tools reflect the communities we serve.

Michael Mausbach, Spruce Root
Sweet Grass is responsive and actively willing to assist regardless of the project. The information we've received from their services has helped us build organizational capacity and leverage resources.

—Angie Main, NACDC Financial Services
Whether it's a small task or a large project, they're always willing to help us. The rapport we've built with the team is unbeatable and irreplaceable.

—Skya Ducheneaux, Akiptan
We value their deep understanding of our organization and the Native CDFI field, as well as the thoughtful insights they bring to our work.

—Shalyn Hawley, Four Bands Community Fund
The whole process was amazing and I am grateful each step was completed before moving on to the next. I think tribal members were very comfortable sharing.

—Kara Horton, Port Gamble S'Klallam Housing Authority
It was super convenient to find someone who could do the logo and poster and web ads, which meant that we weren't constantly having to play telephone with multiple parties . . . less stress for us.

—Jos Johnson, Cascade Bicycle Club
Michael was a professional [and a] newly found friend. The hard work and effort he put forth in this project will always be honored and respected . . . as will he.

—Lou Branham, Monacan Indian Nation
Sweet Grass is capable of understanding the issues of Indigenous communities and assisting in assessing much needed data in Indian Country.

—Lucille Contreras, Texas Tribal Buffalo Project
Our work with Sweet Grass propelled us forward in some of the more strategic projects in our portfolio. This has allowed us to make strides in areas of capacity building and advocacy.

—Julie Keel, Mountain T.O.P.
Flawless performance and were key to operating the project in a team environment. Always available and on task. Sweet Grass became more co-workers than contractors.

—Randy Finn, Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe
World-class assistance in developing systems, reports, and templates that have tremendously added to the success of launching our online platform to manage kahiau.

"Danielle Chavez, Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement
Sweet Grass has been an invaluable partner to our organization as we build out, implement, and continually improve our use of Salesforce.

Michael Mausbach, Spruce Root
Migrating all of our data to a central location has eased communication and costs for our organization.

Nimiipuu Community Development Fund

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Strengthening communities with data services

Participatory research grounded in community

Built in collaboration

Envisioning Laurel Cliff: Preparing the land and pathways of the Monacan Indian Nation

From access to outcomes: A decade of Native-led finance

Food systems study: Exploring the local food economy of the Oglála Lakhóta Oyáte

Working with Sweet Grass was a huge win for our team. For years, we struggled to measure the impact of our work across the five-county region we serve. Choosing Sweet Grass was easy due to their impressive previous work and their engaging, understanding, and confident approach.

Insights & articles

Sweet Grass is respectful and listens to the needs of the partner. I appreciate their awareness of Tribal Nations, the importance of tribal sovereignty, and community-driven work.

Sweet Grass is a phenomenal partner who really took the time to understand very complex subject matter and facilitated seamlessly among a diverse set of stakeholders.

Sweet Grass’ contextual and cultural understanding of the Native CDFI market is unsurpassed in the field. We appreciate the work they do to stay informed about our markets and to continually amplify our voices on the ground.

Sweet Grass allowed for us to have a sense of direction with our products and programming, and it helped us to tell the story of our impact.

Sweet Grass hit every single timeline and went above and beyond our contractual expectations. I really feel like they are family. I can be honest without fear . . . it's an authentic relationship and I cherish it.

The type of analysis we needed for our equity work wouldn't have been possible without the assistance of Sweet Grass.

Sweet Grass helped us in seeking ways to find justification and answers in how we need to move forward in providing housing opportunities for our community.

Sweet Grass met us where we were at on projects and undoubtedly helped us to advance our projects closer to our goals.

Sweet Grass brought a breadth of expertise as we delved into our first loan fund evaluation. They were critical in helping us understand our goals, process, and evaluation methodologies.

The contribution Sweet Grass is making will lead to transformative change for many.

Sweet Grass team members are responsive, timely, and develop processes that gain the information needed to benefit our work in a clear and concise manner.

Our interactions with Sweet Grass were thoughtful and chock-full of meaningful, inspiring, and goal-oriented encounters.

It has been so easy to approach the staff and ask any questions. Our company has learned a lot in such a short period of time with them.

Whenever we have a question or run into an issue, it has been very easy to communicate and get answers.

Clear communication and explanation of capability, set clear expectations and met them, quite timely.

Good to work with and very helpful walking through the steps and listening to the ideas we had.

The information we received was really helpful. The end result gave us a document that we're already diving into, and that I can see steering our organization for years to come.

We appreciate Sweet Grass' patience and response time. We threw a lot at [them] and they handled it like a pro. We have been able to shift our timesheets to Salesforce for better data.

Sweet Grass is easy to contact, responds in a timely manner, and goes above and beyond to help when asked. They do their best to make things as easy as possible.

Sweet Grass helped our organizations deploy more than $500,000 in emergency loans for folks impacted by COVID, reaching our most impacted populations — Native communities, communities of color, and women.

Your professionalism, expertise, and willingness to find solutions made for an exceptional project.

We developed a great publication that is helpful to Native farmers and ranchers interested in agritourism.

Sweet Grass did an excellent job facilitating and the write-up was great. I have always found Sweet Grass to be professional, knowledgeable and a good value.

Really, my best experience working with consultants. I loved the way you all embraced our community.

There was a lot of understanding of where we were as an organization and where we wanted to go in the next few years. It felt like a huge step in the right direction for our org.

Sweet Grass was wonderful. They kept us informed as to their progress, and made sure visits and interviews were at our discretion so as not to be a burden on the tribe.

I appreciate the hands-on approach and willingness to meet with staff, leadership, and citizens to gather input from all participants.

As a Native CDFI serving rural and Indigenous communities, Sweet Grass' understanding of our context has been especially valuable in ensuring our tools reflect the communities we serve.

Sweet Grass is responsive and actively willing to assist regardless of the project. The information we've received from their services has helped us build organizational capacity and leverage resources.

Whether it's a small task or a large project, they're always willing to help us. The rapport we've built with the team is unbeatable and irreplaceable.

We value their deep understanding of our organization and the Native CDFI field, as well as the thoughtful insights they bring to our work.

The whole process was amazing and I am grateful each step was completed before moving on to the next. I think tribal members were very comfortable sharing.

It was super convenient to find someone who could do the logo and poster and web ads, which meant that we weren't constantly having to play telephone with multiple parties . . . less stress for us.

Michael was a professional [and a] newly found friend. The hard work and effort he put forth in this project will always be honored and respected . . . as will he.

Sweet Grass is capable of understanding the issues of Indigenous communities and assisting in assessing much needed data in Indian Country.

Our work with Sweet Grass propelled us forward in some of the more strategic projects in our portfolio. This has allowed us to make strides in areas of capacity building and advocacy.

Flawless performance and were key to operating the project in a team environment. Always available and on task. Sweet Grass became more co-workers than contractors.

World-class assistance in developing systems, reports, and templates that have tremendously added to the success of launching our online platform to manage kahiau.

Sweet Grass has been an invaluable partner to our organization as we build out, implement, and continually improve our use of Salesforce.

Migrating all of our data to a central location has eased communication and costs for our organization.