163
Comunidad Maya Pixan Ixim
4913 South 25th Street, Suite # 1 Omaha, Nebraska 68106
https://www.pixanixim.org/
https://www.facebook.com/comunidadmaya; IG: @pixanixim
Luis Marcos
Co-Executive Director
lmarcos@pixanixim.org
+1 (402) 630-8106
Yes
Luis Marcos is Co-Executive Director and one of the original founders of Comunidad Maya Pixan Ixim. Luis is passionate about Maya and Indigenous agriculture sciences also known as regenerative agriculture. Luis Marcos is a proven leader who has established important relationships with people from all levels of society and around the globe. Through his work with the Omaha Nation and Indigenous nations across borders, he has been named as Ambassador of the Q'anjob'al, Akateko, Chuj, and Popti Nations with the Omaha Tribe. Additionally, as a Q'anjob'al Maya cultural and spiritual leader, Luis leads Maya ceremony and maintains direct relationships with Maya ancestral authorities in Maya Territories. Lola Marina Juan is a well-respected and recognized political, cultural, and spiritual authority within the Q'anjob'al Maya Nation. Lola has developed important relationships with Indigenous peoples around the world. Lola guides and tempers the work of the CMPI team with her deep understandings and cultural authority. Lola's knowledge and expertise is critical to ensuring that our work is of the highest integrity and that we are accountable to the Maya people and community we serve. Leah Vinton, MPA is a bilingual professional and motivated team player with over a decade of experience supporting for-impact organizations and causes with expertise in resource development for international and domestic organizations. Most recently, Leah has worked locally with the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska and Heritage Omaha, and has worked in Latin America with the Pan American Development Foundation and Mercado Global in fundraising and development roles. She lives in Omaha, NE. Lisandra Lorenzo works in our Omaha, NE community center and home office. She provides critical day-to-day support for Maya Q'anjob'al community and leadership in Omaha Territory. She has worked for indigenous organizations in Guatemala including COACAP and the Academia de las Lenguas Mayas de Guatemala.
Organizational Chart is uploaded below.
Comunidad Maya Pixan Ixim: Reinforcing Our Roots, Living Our Maya Heritage (CMPI) was formed in 2007 by the Q'anjob'al Maya community in Omaha, NE. CMPI is a 501(c)(3) organization of the Maya Community in Nebraska dedicated to empowering the Maya people through community development programs. Through an innovative and indigenous-led model, CMPI and the Q’anjob’al Maya leadership support the nearly 4,000 Q’anjob’al Maya living in Omaha, NE. CMPI’s Mission is to improve the health and well-being of Mayan people through community development strategies in Omaha, Nebraska and Q’anjob’al Maya territory consistent with the Q’anjob’al Maya system of social organization and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. With our regenerative agriculture, health, arts, education, human rights and economic development programs, CMPI envisions contributing to the social, cultural and economic vitality of the wider society we live in. Maya Health Initiative: For ten years, CMPI’s has had an ongoing Maya Health Assessment Study in collaborative efforts with Creighton University's Department of Social and Cultural Studies, as well as monthly health promotion sessions and an annual Indigenous Peoples Health Fair in partnership with One World Community Health Centers. Creighton Medical Students share their knowledge on topics including diabetes, cholesterol, and healthy living and the Maya community share their knowledge on Maya Medicine, Maya worldview and spirituality with medical students. Recently, CMPI secured ARPA funding to support the Empowered Women, Healthy Families program to provide culturally competent support and programming for women impacted by domestic violence. Maya & Indigenous Peoples Human Rights Program: The Maya & Indigenous Human Rights Program (MIHRP) is a Maya and Indigenous led program focused on the rights of Maya and Indigenous Peoples in the U.S. and in our ancestral territories. We have Maya and Indigenous advocates in Omaha, NE, the Cherokee Nation Reservation, Los Angeles, CA, San Diego, CA and Arizona at the U.S. - Mexico Border Region. There are three main programs and areas of focus: 1) Maya & Indigenous led immigration legal services; 2) Maya led civic engagement in Omaha, the State of Nebraska, and nationally; & 3) Maya led human rights law projects in Maya Territories. CMPIs Maya Arts and Culture programs highlight the presence of the Maya in Omaha through the arts. The program consists of Maya Calendar based cultural celebrations, visual and performing arts, including our mural and EPIC Play that incorporate Maya culture, history and worldview. Our cultural celebrations include Maya music, dance performance and visual arts based on the Maya sacred book, the Popol Vuh, as well as Maya cuisine. In 2019, CMPI, with the help of A Midsummer Mural company, designed and painted a mural representing the Mayan peoples of Omaha as part of the South Omaha Mural Project. Maya Regeneration Project: The Q’anjob’al Maya people possess profound wisdom and agricultural knowledge and have forged meaningful connections with other indigenous groups in Nebraska. But we are also a displaced indigenous people, and many of us live in economic poverty. We propose combining this indigenous wisdom and knowledge with recent advancements in regenerative agriculture to create a food production system that will provide healthy, local food, lift Maya people out of poverty in Nebraska and contribute to broad economic development. In the meantime, we have built a community garden at our Maya Community Center in South Omaha, worked with Sacred Seed at a pop-up garden downtown, and farmed a quarter of an acre in Lyons, NE in partnership with farmer Graham Christensen, The Nature Conservancy, and Green Cover. The Nature Conservancy and The Agrarian Land Trust have been key to exploring a land title-holding model for the Maya Regeneration Farm to create a Maya Agrarian Commons with an IRS 501c25 legal structure.
Supporting Indigenous Entrepreneurs
1450103.0
1350103.0
Service/program
The Supporting Indigenous Entrepreneurs project at Comunidad Maya Pixan Ixim and its Maya Economic Development Corporation will provide Q'anjob'al Maya immigrants with the language access, training, tools, and resources they need to start or grow their small businesses through cooperative models and other business structures, such as LLCs. As a displaced indigenous people that left their traditional homeland in Guatemala due to targeted violence and poverty, approximately 3,000 Q'anjob'al Maya now call Omaha home. Some Q'anjob'al Maya entrepreneurs have opened businesses in Omaha including convenience stores and painting, cleaning, and construction businesses. However, there are many community members, especially women, former business owners in Guatemala, and Q'anjob'al-only language speakers, that want to open a business in Omaha but require additional support to successfully launch their ventures. This project will fill this service gap in South Omaha from June 2023 (or when funds are received) to July 2025 with Omaha Economic Recovery Funds and will continue on after the project timeframe as permanent programming at Comunidad Maya Pixan Ixim.
June- December 2023 June: Hire new positions, partnership development with savings & credit unions and CDFIs, planning meetings with Nebraska Cooperative Development Center - UNL and the Nebraska Extension Latino Small Business Development Program, equipment purchases, outreach to local stores to sell Maya grown produce July: Plan and publicize community meetings, work with Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development and the Native Nations Institute at the University of Arizona Native Nations Rebuilding framework on community training plan August: Outreach continues, community meetings to explain program, form business and cooperative affinity groups, needs assessment, curriculum development, sign MOUs with savings & credit unions and CDFIs, finalize Maya produce sales partners September: Outreach continues, Program and weekly classes launch (ESL, financial literacy, business development), business and cooperative affinity group meetings October: Engage business-specific consultants to support business plan development, business and cooperative affinity group meetings, weekly classes continued, Native Nations Rebuilding community trainings November: Participant business plan development, business and cooperative incorporation support begins, business and cooperative affinity group meetings, weekly classes continued, application prep support for seed funding December: Application prep support for seed funding, applications for seed funding due, business and cooperative affinity group meetings, weekly classes continued Jan- December 2024 Year-round: Outreach/advertising, Business and cooperative affinity group meetings, weekly classes continued, business and cooperative registration support begins, selected participants attend a small business or cooperative conference January: Seed funding awardees announced, Program attendees apply for small business and cooperative conference scholarships February: Seed funding disbursed, first facilitated meetings with savings & credit unions and CDFIs for Q'anjob'al Maya business investment, Native Nations Rebuilding community trainings March: Meet the Entrepreneur event featuring Q'anjob'al Maya business owners, launch of the Maya Chamber of Commerce April: At least 2 total small businesses and/or cooperatives launched May: Native Nations Rebuilding community trainings June: Quarterly meeting of the Maya Chamber of Commerce, Maya produce sales partner distribution July: Maya produce sales partner distribution August: At least 4 total small businesses and/or cooperatives launched, Maya produce sales partner distribution September: Quarterly meeting of the Maya Chamber of Commerce, announce seed funding application opening, application prep support for seed funding, Maya produce sales partner distribution, Native Nations Rebuilding community trainings November: At least 5 total small businesses and/or cooperatives launched, application prep support for seed funding December: Round 2 of seed funding applications due, Quarterly meeting of the Maya Chamber of Commerce Jan - July 2025 Year-round: Outreach/advertising, business and cooperative registration support begins, business and cooperative affinity group meetings, weekly classes continued, selected participants attend a small business or cooperative conference January: Seed funding awardees announced, Program attendees apply for small business and cooperative conference scholarships February: Seed funding disbursed, at least 7 total small businesses and/or cooperatives launched March: Meet the Entrepreneur event featuring Q'anjob'al Maya business owners, Quarterly meeting of the Maya Chamber of Commerce May: At least 8 total small businesses and/or cooperatives launched June: Quarterly meeting of the Maya Chamber of Commerce, Maya produce sales partner distribution July: At least 10 total small businesses and/or cooperatives launched, Maya produce sales partner distribution
1.0
Long-Lasting Economic Growth (i.e., a proposal that will foster gainful employment opportunities and financial investment in the area, leading to the creation of generational wealth and widespread economic vitality in North and South Omaha) Transformational (i.e., a proposal that will help energize, recharge, or spur significant and favorable advancements in North or South Omaha's function or appearance)
Sustainable Community (i.e., create or enhance housing, services, education, civic uses, recreation, etc.)
The Supporting Indigenous Entrepreneurs project of Comunidad Maya Pixan Ixim and its Maya Economic Development Corporation supports the Sustainable Community need and goal of the Omaha Economic Recovery Act Coordination Plan. Led by Comunidad Maya Pixan Ixim, which is headquartered in South Omaha, and in collaboration with the Nebraska Cooperative Development Center at UNL and the Nebraska Extension Latino Small Business Development Program, and other collaborating partners, we will provide Maya immigrants with the language access, training, tools, and resources they need to start or grow their own small businesses through cooperative models and other small business structures, such as LLCs. Utilizing the Native Nations Rebuilding framework developed by the The Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, the Q’anjob’al Maya community has launched a strategic plan to provide for its community and promote greater prosperity and sustainability. This strategic plan included the formation of the Maya Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) which is incorporated in Nebraska and is pending its 501c3 status. MEDC’s mission as a Q'anjob'al Maya owned enterprise, is to foster entrepreneurship among all Maya citizens, create socially responsible investment opportunities, provide access to competitive capital for Maya-owned businesses, and drive trade with other Indigenous communities and the world. The Supporting Indigenous Entrepreneurs program will include activities including: Support entrepreneurs with foundational tools including ESL classes for Q'anjob'al and Q'anjob'al/Spanish speakers Provide technology literacy and basic to advanced computer skills classes implemented by community partners and translated by CMPI or implemented directly by CMPI Give financial literacy classes to emerging entrepreneurs and community members Educate community members on small business models and pathways including cooperatives and LLCs Support small business development through access to speciality business and cooperative consultants and free legal services for filing and incorporation Provide access to an Enterprise Hub with computer, internet, and printer access Sponsor select program participants to attend small business and cooperative conferences Launch or grow small businesses through a Fondo Semilla to support at least 10 businesses Formally launch the Maya Chamber of Commerce to create a network and community of Maya entrepreneurs Facilitate access to banking and capital by developing a working relationship with an Omaha-based credit and savings union and a CDFI Launch community trainings with the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development and the Native Nations Institute at the University of Arizona to deepen understanding and adoption of the Native Nations Rebuilding framework This project will ensure the success of small business development by following a planning process with program participants that will include: Gathering Information & Visioning: Creating a vision, identifying steering teams, community organizing and prefeasibility. Needs Assessments: Conduct community surveys to better understand the interest and need for their cooperative/LLC idea. This may include community members that may use the service (i.e., grocery store), and potential customers of the business. Feasibility & Market Study: Feasibility is primarily connected to initial community surveys and research markets. Assisting with building budget. Business Plans: All new and emerging cooperatives and LLCs are strongly encouraged to write a business plan and the program assists in writing these plans and evaluating them. Cooperatives are especially adept models for low-income entrepreneurs to provide in-demand services for the community such as childcare, healthy food access, home care for disabled and elderly, affordable housing, and accessible investment opportunities.
Many needs emerged from the South Omaha visioning workshop that could be addressed through cooperative models and small business support including: need for improved access to healthy food (especially fruits and vegetables) through accessible and affordable grocery stores; quality and affordable daycare; safe and affordable housing; improved infrastructure for more business opportunities; job training and ESL classes; entrepreneur support; financial literacy education; access to capital; and multilingual support. The Supporting Indigenous Entrepreneurs project would address these challenges through curated programming for Q'anjob'al and Q'anjob'al/Spanish speakers including access to ESL classes, financial and technology literacy classes, access to capital through seed grants and cooperative formation, supporting cooperative and LLCs formation, and access to trilingual business banking and financing services through credit union and CDFI partnerships. In collaboration with our Maya Regeneration Project, the Maya Economic Development Corporation will also provide locally grown fruits and vegetables to local grocers at discounted rates, and depending on program participant interest, may develop a food cooperative to ensure access to healthy, locally grown food in South Omaha food deserts.
The Supporting Indigenous Entrepreneurs project aligns with LB 1024’s strategic priorities by supporting: Transformation: Connecting Indigenous entrepreneurs to culturally relevant and Q'anjob'al/Spanish accessible services, tools, capital, and community to support their journey towards starting or expanding a small business. Fundamental Change: Indigenous peoples are often overlooked within the Latino community and the specificity of their needs, identity, and history are not addressed with traditional services. Through tailored support to the Q'anjob'al Maya community, they can be a part of improving the lives of South Omaha residents through economic and physical development. Long-lasting Economic Growth: Through small business and cooperative support for the Q'anjob'al Maya, community members will create new jobs, invest financially in South Omaha through their small business investments and revenue generated by their customers, and create generational wealth by improving the economic standing of their families, creating legacy businesses, and exposing their children to new opportunities through entrepreneurship and community building.
We anticipate at least 30 new jobs and at least $1.5 million annually in new wages to be directly created through this proposal.
30
5
Staff hired to run the program’s salaries are between $70,000-$85,000. According to Zippia, which pulls data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Foreign Labor Certification Data Center, the average business owner salary in Nebraska is $71,140. Taking into account that new business owners will likely make less in the first years of their enterprise, we are estimating that new small business owners would be able to make $50,000 per year.
Since these jobs will be created by Q'anjob'al Maya small business owners and cooperatives in South Omaha, they will be created in qualified census tracts. Additionally, with most community members’ networks residing in South Omaha, we anticipate that people hired by small businesses and cooperatives and services purchased by these businesses will also be within South Omaha.
The South Omaha and broader Omaha community will benefit from this project through increases employment, small business ownership, increases in tax revenue, greater equity for Indigenous populations related to access to financial and business development services, increased availability of services and goods for the community, increased autonomy and self-determination for indigenous peoples, reduced reliance on public benefits due to increased incomes, increased child welfare, improvements to social determinants of health, greater awareness in the community on issues and challenges faced by Indigenous peoples and how to best provide them with services and support.
This project will provide tailored support to a population that is often underserved due to language barriers, discrimination, and marginalization in Omaha and South Omaha. By providing a suite of classes and services in Q'anjob'al Maya and Spanish that are culturally-relevant and given by fellow community members, the Q'anjob'al Maya community will be more successful in their journey to become entrepreneurs. Additionally, if Q'anjob'al Maya community members decide to pursue cooperatives or LLCs that target lack of services including affordable homecare, childcare, housing, and access to healthy food, the economy and the quality of life for the Q'anjob'al Maya community, the South Omaha community, and the broader community, will be improved. While the program activities and outreach will be directed towards Q'anjob'al Maya community members, any and all Omaha community members are welcome to attend and participate in classes and trainings.
This program will bring new services to Omaha, including Q'anjob'al Maya-specific program materials and services as well as a hub for education on cooperative models and small business development for Spanish speakers. While cooperatives are more common in Nebraska within an agricultural and food context, there are not any active cooperatives in Omaha tackling issues such as grocery stores in food deserts, housing, childcare, homecare, and investment opportunities for lower income populations. Additionally, the adoption of the Native Nations Rebuilding framework by a diaspora population, such as the Q'anjob'al Maya, to rebuild and provide for itself as a displaced indigenous population is an innovative approach to community development and advocacy. The transnational and intertribal network the Q'anjob'al Maya are creating here in Nebraska is an innovative approach to community building and organizing. Since 2015, the Q'anjob'al Maya have had a diplomatic relationship with the Omaha Nation which was recently expanded to include economic, social, and cultural development. The Q'anjob'al Maya have also brought Midwest native nations together including the Winnebago, the Ioway Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, and Oglala Sioux through the Indigenous Peoples Summit which took place on August 9, 2022, in Omaha, NE, a first of its kind gathering with Indigenous peoples from across the Americas.
This project will measure skills attainment (ESL, financial literacy, technology literacy), number of members that join the Maya Chamber of Commerce, partnership development and collaboration, quality of life improvements, capital leveraged for small businesses and cooperatives, small businesses launched, and jobs created through this project.
Through the staff hired for this project, we will develop a monitoring and evaluation framework to track the success of this project. There will be pre and post tests where appropriate, quarterly tracking of program participant progress, number of businesses started, revenue generated, employees hired, and outside capital and investments secured.
We do anticipate that the Supporting Indigenous Entrepreneurs project will spark co-investments and secondary investments such as through collaborations with Community Development Institutions such as Spark CDI, savings and credit unions such as Heartland Credit Union, and other partners we are cultivating. We will also be pursuing donated revenue opportunities to continue and expand this project.
Yes
As mentioned above, Comunidad Maya Pixan Ixim has developed or is developing several relationships to support the launch, development, and expansion of the Supporting Indigenous Entrepreneurs project and participants. We will collaborate with Nebraska Cooperative Development Center, Nebraska Extension Latino Small Business Development Program, and a savings and credit union, which may be Heartland Credit Union as we have had initial conversations with them to expand tailored services to South Omaha and the Q'anjob'al Maya community. Additionally, we’ve had initial conversations with Spark CDI about their developer academy for aspiring real estate developers and the access to capital they can provide small businesses and real estate projects. Where appropriate we will also collaborate with existing CMPI partner, the Latino Center of the Midlands, and seek to build a relationship with Do Space and further develop our relationship with Metro Community College - South Omaha campus to support our technology literacy programming. Finally, we have an existing relationship with Dr. Stephen Cornell from the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development and the Native Nations Institute at the University of Arizona. He attended our 2022 Indigenous Peoples Summit.
We do not have signed MOUs agreements due to time constraints, but Comunidad Maya Pixan Ixim has strong commitments from Charlotte Narjes, Associate Extension Education and Associate Director of UNL’s Nebraska Cooperative Development Center and Sandra Barrera Fuentes, UNL Faculty and Associate Extension Educator to support this project. Ms. Narjes and Fuentes both provided inputs for this application and budget. Additionally, Comunidad Maya Pixan Ixim staff were able to attend the CooperationWorks! national conference that was hosted by UNL in Omaha, NE September 2022 thanks to an invitation from the Nebraska Cooperative Development Center.
No
Comunidad Maya Pixan Ixim has been a tenant at 4913 S 25th St, Suite #1, Omaha, NE 68107 for ten years. CMPI has improved the location by performing soil testing and replacement and creating gardening beds for the Garden of Hope community garden for the outdoor space. CMPI also recently completed a capital campaign to purchase the building and secured support from the Sherwood Foundation, the Weitz Family Foundation, and the Claire M. Hubbard Foundation.
Within one or more QCTs
See long-term lease agreement uploaded to this application.
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
This is not a capital project.
No
Please see request rationale uploaded at the end of this application.
LB1024’s grant funds will be used to implement the Supporting Indigenous Entrepreneurs program and launch Maya Economic Development Corporation programming and operations. With this funding, CMPI will be able to apply for and leverage other funding and partnerships to support and grow the Supporting Indigenous Entrepreneurs program to build it into a long-term and sustainable project.
No
As described above, this project will be managed by the Comunidad Maya Pixan Ixim, a 501c3 organization. Once this initial funding is secured, it will allow CMPI and the Maya Economic Development Corporation to pursue other funding opportunities, investments, and partnerships to make it a long-term and sustainable project.
We have $100,000 in operating support pledged from the Sherwood Foundation that we will direct towards this project. We will continue to seek additional funding to complement funds received through LB1024.
Receiving funds from the Omaha Economic Recovery Act would jump start the Maya Economic Development Corporation’s launch. This is a once in a lifetime chance to invest in the generational wealth of the Q'anjob'al Maya community in Omaha, a displaced indigenous people that fled targeted violence and poverty for a better life. As this project is part of CMPI’s strategic plan, CMPI will continue to actively pursue funding for this project.
Yes
This proposal is scalable and could be completed in smaller components. Depending on the level of funding secured, CMPI and the Maya Economic Development Corporation can select which trainings and services to implement first and can scale up training and services as program participation and funding grows. Partnership development is key to scalability and segmenting the program, such as collaborating with a local savings and credit union, partnering with a community development institution like Spark CDI, and our collaboration with Nebraska Cooperative Development Center and Nebraska Extension Latino Small Business Development Program.
The organization will support this proposal financially by providing indirect cost support which will include additional staff support, such as from the CMPI Program Coordinator and the Director of Strategic Partnerships, as well as covering operations costs including office space, utilities, phone and internet access. The budget covers only 5% indirect cost, lower than the usual indirect cost rate.
1.0
1.0
1.0
1.0
Documentation of site control (proof of ownership, option, purchase contract, or long-term lease agreement) Organizational Chart Proposal Budget/Sources and Uses Request Rationale Documentation Schedule