Dear ONAC Constituents and Friends:
Greetings! In 2021, ONAC celebrated twenty years as a Native-led asset-building coalition. While keeping its name, over the years ONAC has greatly expanded the Native asset-building services it provides across the country. We could not do this work without you!
As a nonprofit, ONAC works hard to directly support Native families and communities. ONAC has low overhead expenses. In 2021, 90.7% of ONAC's expenditures were program related.
Here is a link to the 2021 ONAC annual report:https://bit.ly/ONAC2021
Background information about ONAC:
To better support other Native asset-building practitioners, ONAC is a grantmaker and provides intermediary funding to tribes and Native-led nonprofits so they may administer their own programs. Also, ONAC coordinates two national Native asset-building networks including the Native Bank On initiative that focuses on expanding access to safe and affordable bank accounts and the Native EITC/VITA Network that shares resources and opportunities, to provide a platform for interaction among Native site coordinators, and to bring concerns from Native VITA sites to appropriate parties. To bring more resources to the table, ONAC also conducts national Native asset-building research on the Native youth savings initiatives in the country and the efforts of Native women entrepreneurs to close the women’s wealth gap, as well as publishes resource guides for parents managing 529 college savings accounts and those offering remote VITA services and financial education during the pandemic. For tribes and Native-led nonprofits interested in free technical assistance and training to administer such programs, ONAC provides co-hosted Native financial education and coaching trainings and free one-on-one technical assistance.
In addition to providing intermediary funding and helping to build the capacity of other Native asset-building practitioners, ONAC is a direct service provider. ONAC administers the largest Native seed-funded Children’s Savings Account and emergency savings account programs in the country; provides nationally-available emergency cash assistance and free financial coaching directly to Native families across the country; and is the only Native nonprofit offering seed-funded Bank On accounts. In 2021, ONAC launched a down payment assistance program.In the past year, ONAC has provided down payment assistance to fifty families with support from the FHLB Topeka and private donors.
Coalitions such as ONAC wear a variety of hats and support the creation of culturally relevant and community-centric programming that addresses intergenerational poverty with a focus on traditional Native beliefs regarding asset building.
A note about the Native asset-building field:
The Native asset-building field is broad and includes tribal governments, non-CDFI Native-led nonprofits, and Native CDFIs that are all delivering needed asset-building services. ONAC works with these constituents and others throughout the country to help Native families and communities reduce poverty and build assets. Given the historical and current asset stripping, the demand for services in various Native communities, and differences in missions and geographic service areas, it takes all of us working together to be successful.
Again, here is the link to the 2021 annual report:https://bit.ly/ONAC2021
We are grateful for your support and partnership!
