January 1, 2022

Dear Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition Constituents and Friends,

The Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition (ONAC) is writing to let you know of our 2022 ONAC Membership Drive. We invite you to join our coalition as a member. Your support helps us to be a sustainable coalition.

What is ONAC and What Types of Asset Building Projects are Members Involved In?

The Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition (ONAC) is an American Indian-led nonprofit network of Native people who are dedicated to increasing self-sufficiency and prosperity in their communities.

ONAC members might engage in any of the following asset-building efforts: financial education programs, Individual Development Account programs, Child Savings Account programs, entrepreneurship activities, homeownership assistance programs, credit repair and credit building programs, Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) outreach, Bank On, foreclosure prevention programs, microenterprise development programs, family emergency savings accounts, and other communal asset-building activities, etc.

Such members might also be seeking funding for asset-building projects; evaluating asset-building programs; drafting case studies highlighting best practices and lessons learned; addressing asset-building policies with tribal leaders, Native non-profits, and at local, state, and national levels; and engaging in peer learning and sharing.

What Does ONAC Provide Constituents?

• Grants to tribes and Native nonprofits for asset building projects. Since 2014, ONAC has awarded fifty-three grants, $355,900 total, to tribes and Native nonprofits.     

• Funding for ONAC Children’s Savings Accounts (CSAs). We have twenty-four confirmed CSA partners (tribes and Native nonprofits).  Since 2014, we have funded 1,069 CSAs.

• Asset building resources, models, and strategies.

• An Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition Conference to be held annually.  

• A forum to talk about tribal, local, state, or federal asset building policies that affect your work and lives.

• Opportunities to connect to Native and non-Native asset building practitioners, around the country, for partnership.

• Outreach to tribal leaders, tribal government programs, and other Native organizations/businesses to provide information about asset building related grants, conferences, webinars, peer learning calls, etc.

• Free asset building program design and implementation technical assistance (TA) (a value worth $5,000 to $20,000, per tribe and/or Native nonprofit, depending upon their TA needs).

• Asset building research on asset limits, Children’s Savings Accounts, and Native women entrepreneurs and the racial and women's wealth gap.

• Administrative policy guidance requests to federal programs (such as our request for information about Tribal TANF, asset limits, Children’s Savings Accounts and emergency savings accounts, etc.).

• Opportunities to speak at asset building conferences about your asset building programs.

• A national Native EITC/VITA network for VITA practitioners.

• Train-the-trainers for Native financial education.

• Funding of Emergency Savings Accounts (ESAs) for Native families (funded 695 accounts as of December 2021).

• The first national Native Bank On initiative to help improve banking access for tribal citizens.

• Emergency Cash Assistance during the pandemic (provided funding for 1,070 Native families in 28 states). 

• One-on-one financial coaching for American Indians and Alaska Natives, regardless of where they reside in the U.S. 

• Down payment assistance for Native families. 

ONAC Requests Your Support!

Your support helps Native families to build assets. We invite you to join as a coalition member. All membership donations are fully tax deductible as no goods or services are provided in exchange.

To join as a member, please click here. If you have any questions, please contact Christy Finsel, ONAC Executive Director, at (405) 401-7873 or cfinsel@oknativeassets.org.

Thank you for your support of the Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition Inc.!