Change Labs

Drive through most communities on the Navajo and Hopi Nations and you’ll see the legacy of a century-old economic model: gas stations, fast food, and a handful of corporate chains — but few locally owned businesses. The absence is striking not because Native people lack ideas or talent, but because the system was never designed for them to thrive.

For generations, economic development on tribal lands centered on resource extraction — coal, oil, gas — to benefit outside markets. Those industries brought limited jobs, and they left behind damaged land, weak local economies, and barriers to small business that persist today. Even now, entrepreneurs on the reservation face challenges most Americans never encounter:

• No access to traditional bank lending
• Slow broadband and limited storefront space
• Complicated land and leasing rules
• Opaque and time-consuming permitting processes
• Few mentors, networks, or training programs

These systemic barriers force many would-be business owners to operate informally or give up entirely. And while tribal leaders wrestle with long-term economic strategy, the potential of small, locally rooted entrepreneurs is too often overlooked.

Change Labs exists to change that.

We are Change Labs, the first Native-led, Native-controlled organization focused solely on growing a vibrant small business ecosystem on the Navajo and Hopi Nations. Our approach flips the old model and centers economic development where it belongs: with the people who live here.

What we do:

1. Capital that meets people where they are
Mainstream lenders routinely decline Native borrowers. Our loan program provides flexible financing paired with coaching so business owners grow sustainably — not into unsupportable debt.

2. Training, mentorship, and hands-on support
From business plans to bookkeeping, permitting to pricing, we walk alongside entrepreneurs step by step. Many are first-time business owners; nearly all lack a local support network. We fill that gap.

3. Community entrepreneurship hubs
In places where resources are scarce, we are building real-world gathering spaces — with high-speed internet, coaching, and collaboration — so entrepreneurs don’t have to leave their homeland to succeed. Our newest hub opened in Shiprock last summer.

Why your support matters

A Navajo or Hopi-owned business creates more than a job. It keeps dollars circulating locally, supports families, sparks opportunity for youth, and strengthens cultural continuity. Entrepreneurship has been shown to increase household income, inspire higher education, and improve family well-being — powerful outcomes in communities long excluded from mainstream investment.

This is self-determination in action.

Every dollar you give backs people with deep roots, big ideas, and a desire to build on their land, in their languages, and for their communities. Change Labs is not an outside charity dropping in. We are part of the community, accountable to it, and committed to ensuring that Native entrepreneurs finally have the tools, capital, and support they deserve.

If you’ve ever wished you could contribute to meaningful, lasting change for Native families and communities — this is your chance.

Help us build a future where Native entrepreneurs thrive at home, and where locally owned businesses are not the exception, but the norm.