By Cary Rosenbaum of the CUJ
MISSION – After just a few years in operation, Cayuse Holdings reached a point of success where dividends could be shared with Tribal members.
The $250,000 dividend translates to $19.82 per person, but combined with other sources — including Gaming ($650.25), Arrowhead/Mission Market ($198.96) and NOAA Fisheries ($34.98) — each CTUIR member will receive $904.01 by Feb. 28.
“We are proud to contribute a portion of Cayuse’s earnings to our owner, CTUIR,” Cayuse Board Chair Cisco Minthorn said. “Our growth in the past two years is now being realized and we are hopeful to contribute more next year and into the future.”
The payment is 25 percent of a profit share with the CTUIR. The remaining 75 percent will go to Tribal government services and business opportunities, according to the release.
“While this contribution may seem like a drop in the bucket compared to the Tribe’s larger enterprises, it is a significant sign that the Board of Trustees’ decision in 2018 was a good move,” Cayuse Chief Executive Officer Billy Nerenberg said. “They authorized changes that would spur the growth of Cayuse and today we can proudly help support the CTUIR tribal government and community.”
Cayuse Holdings was created in 2018 to strategically and formally expand Cayuse Technologies into a multi-company structure. At that time, the CTUIR Board of Trustees decided to expand Cayuse into the government contracting field and also to acquire Native Hawaiian Veterans, a small business with several years of experience in performing work for the federal government.
Board of Trustees Chair Kat Brigham applauded the company’s hard work.
“They did it with careful budget planning in 2020, even though there was a pandemic,” she said in a Feb. 2 release.
Cayuse noted that prior to the holding company formation and expansion it had been generating $13 to $15 million in annual revenue. Since adding several new subsidiaries and conducting government contracting, the earnings have grown to $38 million in 2020.
In order to accept the dividend, the CTUIR amended the Enterprise Distribution Plan (EDP) to include a distribution payout from Cayuse Holdings.
In addition to the EDP, the Tribes negotiated a payout from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries to offset fishing opportunities lost to Tribal members age 18 and over in 2020 because of COVID.
“For those Tribal Members who have Credit Program Loans, Arrowhead/Mission Market, NOAA Fisheries, and Cayuse payments will not be applied to your loans,” officials said.
