Native-Led CDFI Cuts Arts Business Monthly Debt Load by Over 40%

Turtle Island Community Capital replaces extractive financing with fixed capital for New York City retailer Relative Arts

Apr. 14, 2026 at 1:05pm

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A photorealistic studio still life featuring a stack of colorful, handcrafted Indigenous fashion and design items arranged elegantly on a clean, monochromatic background, conceptually representing community empowerment and economic self-determination.A Native-led CDFI's flexible financing empowers an Indigenous-owned arts business to thrive on its own terms.NYC Today

Turtle Island Community Capital (TICC), the only Native-led community development financial institution (CDFI) operating at a regional scale across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, has closed a $40,000 loan to Relative Arts, a brick-and-mortar community space, open studio, and shop that showcases contemporary Indigenous fashion and design in New York City's East Village. The loan reduces the company's monthly debt service by more than 40% and replaces high-cost, revenue-based financing with a fixed, fully amortizing structure.

Why it matters

This transaction reflects TICC's approach of deploying capital as a tool for economic self-determination in Indigenous communities, which often face systemic barriers to accessing culturally aligned and relationally-based financing. By replacing extractive financing structures with fixed, predictable capital, TICC aims to support the long-term sustainability and growth of Indigenous-led businesses like Relative Arts.

The details

The Relative Arts loan fully retires the company's previous high-cost credit and revenue-based financing obligations, eliminating repayment mechanisms tied to gross receipts. Instead, it replaces them with fixed, predictable monthly payments and a modest working capital buffer to stabilize rent and ongoing operations. This shift is designed to support the business's cash flow capacity and long-term sustainability, rather than destabilizing it.

  • TICC closed the $40,000 loan to Relative Arts in April 2026.
  • Relative Arts generates approximately $150,000 in annual revenue.

The players

Turtle Island Community Capital

The only Native-led community development financial institution (CDFI) operating at a regional scale across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, TICC deploys patient, flexible capital and builds the relationships and infrastructure needed for long-term economic resilience in Indigenous communities.

Relative Arts

A brick-and-mortar community space, open studio, and shop that showcases contemporary Indigenous fashion and design in New York City's East Village.

Alexander Sterling

The founder and CEO of Turtle Island Community Capital.

Liana Shewey

The Co-founder and Director of Programming at Relative Arts.

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What they’re saying

“Capital should support a business, not destabilize it. When repayment is tied to gross revenue instead of actual cash flow, it creates pressure that compounds over time. That's what we are designed to change.”

— Alexander Sterling, Founder and CEO, Turtle Island Community Capital

“As a business whose primary function is to support artists and create space for them to thrive, being able to pay our artists fairly and on time is the most important thing. As artists ourselves, we'll do anything to bring the vision to life.”

— Liana Shewey, Co-founder and Director of Programming, Relative Arts

“We found ourselves in a position where we were growing faster than we could afford to keep up and needed funding quickly. We ended up taking out a predatory loan to keep going, but rather than being thrown a lifeline, we were left to drown. Alex saw the value in the community that we've nurtured and believed we deserved the opportunity to keep growing. Alex and Turtle Island Community Capital more than threw us a lifeline; they came with a lifeboat and brought us back to shore.”

— Liana Shewey, Co-founder and Director of Programming, Relative Arts

What’s next

TICC plans to continue expanding its lending activity in urban markets across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, focusing on supporting Indigenous entrepreneurs and other historically excluded communities.

The takeaway

This transaction demonstrates how a Native-led CDFI like TICC can transform the flow of capital in Indigenous communities by providing access to culturally aligned, relationally-based financing that supports long-term business sustainability, rather than extracting value through high-cost, revenue-based structures.