For SMHA, how we work is as important as what we do. SMHA has a half-century of experience listening to, learning from and working with rural families and communities. We meet people where they are, we bring all sides to the table, and we seek win-win work for all members of a community. We look for opportunities to address unmet needs together with the private sector, we engage community members in dialogue, we seek unlikely but important partners.We create institutions to address gaps and needs in communities, and most importantly we find unique solutions when our communities need us the most: in face of disaster. SMHA believes that the future of rural communities is in the preservation and safe-guarding of what we hold most dear and that which creates the most value for families and communities: our lands, our waters, our traditions and our culture. SMHA focuses on transformational change instead of incremental results,one of comprehensive community and economic develop rather than single-issue experience. By working with private and community partners, SMHA catalyzes new ideas, solutions and approaches that fill the gaps between what families and communities have – and what they need – to be successful. When those solutions take flight – whether as a new institution, a new bank product, or as a vibrant community – we step back and as others continue to lead.