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  • 20 Feb 2024 8:00 AM | Christy Finsel (Administrator)

    The Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition, Inc. (ONAC) has partnered with IRS Stakeholder Partnerships, Education, and Communication (SPEC) and agreed to post a link on our website to On-Line Taxes, Inc. 

    For the next tax season, if you are a filing a simple return, you are invited to file your federal return, for free, by using this On-Line Taxes, Inc. link: https://www.olt.com/main/vita/getstarted.php?affiliate=VITAFREE&linkID=S27091832

    Please note: If you, or someone you know, have an adjusted gross income of $45,000 or less, you may complete your federal and state returns for free, via On-Line Taxes, Inc. If you are over income, the federal return is free and each state return is $9.95. 

    For those wishing to file via a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) site, you may search for sites near you at https://www.irs.gov/individuals/free-tax-return-preparation-for-qualifying-taxpayers. 

    After you select the link above, scroll down to Find a VITA or Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) Site Near You. You will need to use both the VITA/TCE Locator Tool, as well as the AARP Tax-Aide Site Locator Tools to obtain a complete list. 

  • 31 Aug 2023 12:18 PM | Christy Finsel (Administrator)

    Yesterday, ONAC participated in the T25 Indigenous-led Funds Webinar. ONAC was grateful to Integrated Capital Investing for the opportunity to speak with the others on the panel about our national work, understandings of culturally relevant Native asset building, relationships with multiple public/private partners, plans for a revolving loan fund, and need for capital. We are happy to continue the conversation from yesterday with those interested in supporting Native-led asset-building efforts. 

    Here are the bios and resources. Also, here is the link to the recording from the webinar. 


    Video Conferencing, Web Conferencing, Webinars, Screen Sharing

    us02web.zoom.us
  • 19 Aug 2023 1:19 PM | Christy Finsel (Administrator)

    Earlier this year, ONAC was selected as one of 25 funds across the United States that are focused on integrated capital (Transformative 25, https://iciaptos.com/the-transformative-25/). ONAC is grateful for inclusion in this annual list of funds. 

    Last year, ONAC received a generous anonymous $1,000,000 donation. As a nationally-focused Native-led nonprofit, we continue to administer seven Native asset-building programs. Soon, by leveraging a portion of the anonymous donation, we will also launch a revolving loan fund that we are calling the ONAC Fund. ONAC plans to start small and offer loans to participants in the ONAC financial coaching program who have expressed a need for capital. 

    We invite you to participate in a webinar on August 30th where ONAC will speak more about how we plan to connect borrowers to the other wrap-around asset-building programs we currently administer (such as seed-funded Children's Savings Accounts and emergency savings accounts, Native-specific financial education, connections to Native VITA programs, down payment assistance, banking access, free financial coaching, etc.).

    To learn more about several of the Native-led funds in this Transformative 25 cohort (including ONAC's Fund), please see the webinar registration information below. We hope you will join us!

    Indigenous-led Funds: a Transformative 25 Event 

    Join us on August 30th at 11 am PDT / 2 pm EST where we will hear from Indigenous-led fund leaders about their work and contributions to transforming finance for people and the planet. Vanessa Roanhorse, Roanhorse Consulting & Native Women Lead (a T25 2022 Fund), will moderate. 

    Featuring: 

  • 17 Aug 2023 1:11 PM | Christy Finsel (Administrator)

    Access to Affordable Bank Accounts in  

    North and South Dakota 


    Webinar

    Thursday, August 24, 2023  

     10:00 AM to 11:30 PM CDT  

     

     This webinar will provide an overview of the FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and underbanked households and other resources, highlight research from the Cities for Financial Empowerment (CFE) Fund, and discuss the need to broaden access to low-cost bank accounts that meet CFE National Account Standards in North and South Dakota.  Banks that offer these accounts will discuss their experiences and best practices. 

     

    Native Bank On ONAC (Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition) will highlight their efforts to increase the number of Native-owned and Native-serving financial institutions that offer low-cost certified accounts. 


     Here are the ONAC webinar slides.

  • 02 Aug 2023 1:00 PM | Christy Finsel (Administrator)


    Access to Affordable Bank Accounts in  

    North and South Dakota 


    Webinar

    Thursday, August 24, 2023  

     10:00 AM to 11:30 PM CDT  

     

     This webinar will provide an overview of the FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and underbanked households and other resources, highlight research from the Cities for Financial Empowerment (CFE) Fund, and discuss the need to broaden access to low-cost bank accounts that meet CFE National Account Standards in North and South Dakota.  Banks that offer these accounts will discuss their experiences and best practices. 

     

    Native Bank On ONAC (Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition) will highlight their efforts to increase the number of Native-owned and Native-serving financial institutions that offer low-cost certified accounts. 

     

    Click Here to Register 

  • 20 Jun 2023 10:07 AM | Christy Finsel (Administrator)

    June 20, 2023

    The Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition, Inc. (ONAC), a national Native-led nonprofit, announces that it awarded $216,500 in invitation-only sub-grants to twenty Native Volunteer Income Tax Assistance sites during this recently-concluded tax season to assist them in providing Native-led tax preparation services for their tribal communities.  

    The twenty grant awards represent the largest number of grant awards made in the country, during this tax season, by one grantor in support of Native VITA sites. 

    As a national intermediary grant funder, ONAC was able to make these awards through the support of the Wells Fargo Foundation with additional funding from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation. To support this VITA initiative and ONAC’s other programs, ONAC also received general operating resources from The Kresge Foundation, the Target Foundation, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. ONAC is grateful for this generous support and believes that funding Native VITA programs is a crucial piece of its efforts to provide integrated asset-building services in Native communities. 

    These grant awards are part of ONAC’s ongoing coordination of the only nationally-focused Native Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)/Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Network. ONAC organizes this Network to provide resources and peer learning exchanges among Native VITA practitioners and related supporters throughout the country. As part of ONAC’s coordination of the Network, ONAC serves on the national Taxpayer Opportunity Network (TON) Steering Committee and is in regular communication with IRS staff and other national entities working on EITC outreach and VITA. For those interested in joining the ONAC Native EITC/VITA Network, with coordination led by Patsy Schramm (Cherokee Nation) of ONAC, please complete the following online registration form: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ONACVITA.

    ONAC congratulates the following ONAC 2023 Native VITA mini-grant awardees on a successful tax season: 

    • Cherokee Nation Commerce Services (Tahlequah, Oklahoma)
    • Community Development Financial Institution of the Tohono O’odham Nation (Sells, Arizona)
    • Fallon Paiute Shoshone Tribe (Fallon, Nevada)
    • Four Bands Community Fund, Inc. (Eagle Butte, South Dakota)
    • Four Directions Development Corporation (Orono, Maine)
    • Lakota Funds (Kyle, South Dakota)
    • Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation (Mashantucket, Connecticut)
    • People’s Partner for Community Development (Lame Deer, Montana)
    • Pueblo of Acoma Housing Authority (Pueblo of Acoma, New Mexico)
    • Sitting Bull College (Fort Yates, North Dakota, and McLaughlin and Mobridge, South Dakota)
    • Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Indian Reservation (Fort Hall, Idaho)
    • Stockbridge-Munsee Community Band of Mohican Indians (Bowler, Wisconsin)
    • The Chickasaw Nation (Ada, Oklahoma)
    • The Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin (Keshena, Wisconsin)
    • The Muscogee Nation (Okmulgee, Oklahoma)
    • Tlingit Haida Regional Housing Authority (Juneau, Alaska)
    • Warm Springs Community Action Team (Warm Springs, Oregon)
    • White Earth Investment Initiative (Ogema, Minnesota)
    • White Mountain Apache Housing Authority (Whiteriver, Arizona)
    • Ysleta del Sur Pueblo (El Paso, Texas)

    With support from the Wells Fargo Foundation, ONAC also awarded $9,500 in additional funding to the following grantees in support of their Native asset-building programs:

    • Osage Financial Resources, Inc. (Pawhuska, Oklahoma)
    • People's Partner for Community Development (support of Children’s Savings Accounts) (Lame Deer, Montana)

    Since 2014, ONAC has awarded a total of eighty-five grants ($663,900) total) to tribes and Native nonprofits in support of their asset-building programs. Grant awards have been made in Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Idaho, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, and Wisconsin. As additional resources are secured, ONAC will continue to expand grant support in other states. ONAC appreciates the partnerships with these grantees and all their work to build assets in Native communities. 

    The importance of Native VITA programs:

    Native VITA services are crucial as the tax preparation is offered by trusted sources in local Native communities. For those without broadband access and affordable devices on which to complete online tax returns, in-person Native VITA services help tribal citizens to claim their tax credits and to use tax time as asset-building time. ONAC will receive the data reports from the 2023 grantees this fall (as some offer year-round VITA services). To convey the impact of Native VITA services, ONAC can report on the data from sixteen grantees in 2022. Those sixteen ONAC grantees served 9,358 tribal citizens and helped them claim $19,823,282 in federal tax refunds. Of those 9,358 tribal citizens, 3,195 individuals claimed $6,361,038 through the EITC and 2,015 families claimed $4,225,714 through the Child Tax Credit (CTC). 

    About the Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition, Inc.:

    The Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition (ONAC), started in 2001, is a national Native-led nonprofit that works with tribes and partners interested in establishing asset-building initiatives and programs in Native communities, for the purpose of creating greater opportunities for economic self-sufficiency of tribal citizens. ONAC is an intermediary funder, grassroots network coordinator, and also a direct service provider that works with Native families to build their assets through ONAC's provision of Native-specific financial education and financial coaching, as well as funding of Children's Savings Accounts (CSAs), Emergency Savings Accounts (ESAs), down payment assistance, incentivized Bank On accounts, and emergency cash assistance. Soon, ONAC will launch a revolving loan fund. 

    The mission of ONAC is to build and support a network of Native people who are dedicated to increasing self-sufficiency and prosperity in their communities through the establishment of integrated and culturally relevant financial education and financial coaching initiatives, as well as seed-funded account programs, down payment assistance, EITC outreach, free tax preparation, expanded banking access, and other asset-building strategies. 

    Asset-building programs simultaneously address family economic security, food sovereignty, financial literacy, and preservation of Native languages and arts. ONAC believes strongly in the importance of creating programming that incorporates Native worldviews, traditions, arts, and languages into Native asset-building efforts.

    For further information: 

    Contact Christy Finsel, Ph.D., (Osage Nation), ONAC Executive Director, cfinsel@oknativeassets.org.

  • 09 May 2023 9:27 AM | Christy Finsel (Administrator)

    On May 9, 2023, ONAC Executive Director, Christy Finsel, met with the OCC Acting Comptroller Michael Hsu in Oklahoma City. ONAC and other community groups spoke with Acting Comptroller Hsu about the realities they face, on the ground, with building assets in underserved communities. ONAC was grateful for the opportunity to participate in the meeting. 

  • 25 Apr 2023 9:44 AM | Christy Finsel (Administrator)

    Date: April 26, 2023

    Contact: Jennifer Astone

    Email: jen@iciaptos.com 

    On April 26, 2023 the Transformative 25 (T25) Project and Integrated Capital Investing released its third list of integrated capital funds, banks and initiatives transforming finance since 2021. 

    The T25 identifies and recognizes funds, banks and initiatives which demonstrate the power and possibility of integrated capital toward a finance system that works for people and the planet. 

    T25 funds employ creative financial tools, generate social, relational, and ecological returns, and engage with ownership and governance for equity. 

    The T25 Selection Committee includes 19 members from multiple sectors who reviewed a diverse group of funds that drive innovative solutions to wealth inequality, the climate crisis, unbanked entrepreneurs and families, and racial and gender discrimination. The funds provide holistic solutions and business assistance to returning citizens, Native communities, the underhoused and underemployed. 

    The T25 funds illustrate that collaboration, rather than competition, is the path to solving  problems. Ishita Shah, one of the committee members noted, “The integrated capital community is one that spreads its wings by teaching others rather than employing a competitive culture. That's the beauty of keeping impact center stage - everyone's incentive is to spread ideas and approaches to impact, rather than compete on the best fund or greatest financial success.”

    On April 26 at 11 a.m. the list will be shared in a public webinar, open to registrants at the following eventbrite link. The Transformative 25 - 2023 report and list will be available at the Transformative 25 website on April 26.

    Here is the recording of the Fund launch

    ##

  • 20 Mar 2023 5:22 PM | Christy Finsel (Administrator)

    Dear ONAC Constituents and Friends:

    The Center on Budget & Policy Priorities is hosting Tax Time Thursdays every other week throughout this tax season. This learning series will focus on outreach strategies for reaching underserved and marginalized communities who may be eligible for tax credits. Sessions will include brief presentations and extended time for participants to ask questions and share their experiences.

    On April 6th, the session will explore strategies to reach Native communities. Patsy Schramm (Cherokee Nation) and Christy Finsel (Osage), of ONAC, will present during this session.

    Register here: https://bit.ly/Tax-Thursdays23

    Remaining Tax Time Thursdays Calendar:

    • 3/23: People experiencing homelessness with Deacon Jim Shanahan, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington

    • 4/06: Native communities with Christy Finsel and Patsy Schramm, Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition (ONAC)

    • 4/20: Rural communities with Paheadra Robinson, Southern Rural Black Women’s Initiative

    • 5/04: People who were formerly incarcerated with Debra Simmons, Neighborhood Improvement Association, Inc.







  • 01 Mar 2023 10:21 AM | Christy Finsel (Administrator)

    Yesterday, February 28, 2023, ONAC, in partnership with the FDIC, participated in a webinar about Native asset building in North and South Dakota. Those residing in other states may also find the slides from the webinar to be helpful to them in their asset-building efforts. 

    Here is a link to the webinar slides: https://bit.ly/Feb282023slides

          Asset Building in North and South Dakota 

    Native American Communities   

    Tuesday, February 28, 2023 

    In recognition of America Saves Week, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) hosted a webinar focused on saving and other asset-building strategies in North and South Dakota Native American communitiesNative American leaders outlined economic inclusion and asset-building best practices and success stories and discussed innovative practices that have been developed for Native American households. They also discussed how financial institutions and community-based organizations can support tribal governments and Native-led nonprofits in their work to build financial security for their communities.

    Presenters Included:

    Carla Tillmon, Community Affairs Specialist, Kansas City Region, FDIC

    Christy Finsel, Executive Director, Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition (ONAC) 

    Karen Edwards, Manager, Native Bank on ONAC

    Jonathan Anderson, Tribal Business Information Center (TBIC) Director, Sitting Bull College, North Dakota 

    Geri LeBeau, Director of Operations, Black Hills Community Loan Fund, South Dakota 

    Here is a link to the webinar slides: https://bit.ly/Feb282023slides


    For FDIC banking access resources go to: www.fdic.gov/getbanked


    For ONAC Native banking access resources go to: https://bit.ly/ONACNativeBankingAccess

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