Throughout Maine live nearly 8,300 people of the Wabanaki Confederacy — or “People of the First Light” — from four federally recognized Native American tribes: the Maliseet, Mi’kmaq, Passamaquoddy and Penobscot. Many citizens reside on tribal lands at Penobscot Indian Island Reservation. Few of them own a home.
“Homeownership was a challenge for my parents, my grandparents,” said Matthew Lewis, Executive Director of Four Directions Development Corporation and citizen of the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Sipayik. “We still haven't leveled the playing field [for Native Americans].”
Four Directions Development Corporation, a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), was founded in 2001 to help improve the social and economic conditions of tribal citizens across Maine, including through financial education and improving housing affordability. Because of federal laws for tribal lands and ownership, it can be difficult for banks to provide traditional mortgage loans to homeowner hopefuls like Chelsea Chavaree, a Penobscot and Passamaquoddy citizen [watch video below]. Four Directions can help bridge that gap.
Finding a home
Chelsea knew Indian Island was the place she wanted to create roots for her family, but she did not think that homeownership was a realistic goal as a single mother with limited resources.
“Growing up away from the Island was really hard for me because I wanted to be in my community and with my community,” Chelsea said. “And so, I wanted to give that [experience] to my children.”
Chelsea turned to Four Directions when she began her homeownership journey and participated in one-on-one financial counseling and learned how to become loan ready.
“It can be daunting when you're buying your first home,” Matthew said. “We help educate citizens, repair and prepare credit, and explain the home buying process. Then we offer continued support after the loan closes.”
“Buying a home on Indian Island means living in our culture. To me, culture is medicine,” Chelsea said. “Speaking the language, dancing and singing our songs as a community is powerful.”
TD's commitment to CDFIs
Support of CDFIs is one of the pillars of TD Bank's Community Impact Plan, a three-year commitment to support lending, philanthropy, banking access and other activities for the benefit of underserved communities.
“CDFIs play such an important role in understanding local market dynamics and borrower needs within communities,” said Amber Tofilon, Head of Sustainability at TD Bank. “Our continued investment through the Community Impact Plan allows CDFIs, like Four Directions, to deploy capital and expand economic opportunity where it’s most needed.”
The TD Charitable Foundation contributed $100,000 in 2025 to Four Directions, part of which supported the CDFI’s down payment assistance program. The effort builds on other TD Bank investments and grants with several CDFIs in the U.S.
“Supporting Four Directions increases our reach across communities, enabling the organization to provide access to capital and meet a shared goal of not only making, but keeping home ownership affordable,” said Paige Carlson-Heim, Head of Social Impact at TD Bank. “As a bank with strong ties to and history in Maine, working with Four Directions was a natural fit.”
“Through support of the TD Charitable Foundation, we've been able to capitalize our down
payment assistance program that helps borrowers be competitive in the market,” said Matthew. “We're seeing home prices increase, but incomes are not staying on pace with that. This prices some of our borrowers out of the housing market. These down payment assistance loans can provide borrowers with a more competitive advantage and help realize the dream of homeownership.”
Working with tribal citizens to break barriers
Chelsea's family is one of 270 families who have received loans totaling $17.8 million through Four Directions since it began operations.
“There are some tribal communities that have zero homeownership,” Matthew said, and noted that there are just 64 Native American CDFIs to serve more than 400 tribes in the U.S. “Four Directions works each day to bring tribal citizens home.”
Upkeep of homes is another critical issue on tribal lands as many owners also are unable to get a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC). The grant from TD Charitable Foundation enables Four Directions to help citizens obtain low-cost repair loans and take care of the home for a future generation of tribal members.
“Working with Four Directions, I felt supported the entire time,” Chelsea said. “Everyone was super kind and helpful. When you work with somebody from your community, you understand each other.”
To learn more about how TD Bank supports its communities, visit our Community Impact page.
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