ONAC Newsletter, July 2015
What is the Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition?
The Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition (ONAC) is a nonprofit asset building coalition that works with Oklahoma 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. The coalition is Native-led and one of only several Native asset building coalitions in the country. Our goal is to increase the number of sustainable Native asset building programs in the state and to support those administering such programs by providing free technical assistance, networking opportunities, mini grant funding, administrative policy guidance advocacy, and promotion of what is working well with these programs at a state and national level.
A Brief History of the Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition
In 2001, a meeting supported by First Nations Development Institute (FNDI), a national Native nonprofit, was held to determine interest in the development of a coalition of tribes having initiated (or about to initiate) asset-building programs. It took until 2007 for a group of tribal representatives to meet, at the Cherokee Casino and Resort in Tulsa, agreeing to become an organized Native-focused asset-building group, along the lines of those developed in some other states. This initial meeting established three objectives:
1) Identify and bring together Oklahoma tribes that are implementing or planning to implement asset-building programs, for networking and learning purposes;
2) Create and support a venue for Oklahoma tribes to share information on issues related to creating and implementing asset-building programs; and
3) Sustain a Native-led asset-building group – made up of tribal and tribal-related entities – designed specifically to address unique asset-building circumstances of Oklahoma tribes.
As a first step to accomplishing its mission, ONAC identified three main action goals:
1) Engage tribal leaders and state and federal policy makers in expanding asset-building opportunities for Native people in Oklahoma through policy changes;
2) Create an information conduit for tribes on financial education, IDAs, EITC, CDFIs, and other asset-building strategies and opportunities; and
3) Develop local leadership, expand membership, and work to make the coalition self-sustaining.
The coalition was launched! Over the years, we have grown the coalition. We now distribute information to 700 constituents and friends. Until July 2014, the coalition structure was informal, not operating under bylaws with elected officers. In July 2014, ONAC received IRS approval of tax exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code as well as determination that ONAC is classified as a public charity.
What Kinds of Asset Building Programs Do ONAC Constituents Administer?
ONAC members currently administer a variety of asset-building programs including: homeownership assistance, entrepreneurship, Individual Development Account, financial education, Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA), credit and debt repair, estate planning, food security, and Children’s Savings Accounts. ONAC works to support and strengthen these efforts in Oklahoma.
ONAC Has the Following Updates:
In January 2015, Terry Mason Moore and Lahoma Simmons joined the ONAC Advisory Committee. The other advisory committee members, Shay Smith, Ed Shaw, and Cynthia Logsdon, along with current ONAC board members Anna Knight, Dawn Hix, Amber Fite-Morgan, and Mary Elizabeth Ricketts, welcome Terry and Lahoma.
We wish to thank ONAC board member, Amber Fite-Morgan, for her service. At the end of July, she will be moving out-of-state to start a new position. We appreciate all her care for, and governance of, ONAC. Terry Mason Moore will be the ONAC Board Secretary as of August 1, 2015. Her legal expertise will be helpful to the coalition.
ONAC attended a White House Convening on Creating Opportunity for Native Youth on April 8, 2015. During a breakout session facilitated by Sally Jewell, Secretary of the Interior, attendees were invited to introduce themselves and their work. We shared information about ONAC and the value of partnerships between Native asset building coalitions and federal departments.
In June 2015, ONAC was awarded a $200,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to fund pilot Children’s Saving Accounts, as well as, family emergency savings mini grants to ONAC constituents (so that tribes and Native nonprofits may administer such mini grants). The Children’s Savings Account partners include the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes (Anadarko), Osage Financial Resources, Inc. (Pawhuska), Citizen Potawatomi Community Development Corporation (Shawnee), Cherokee Nation Child Support Program (Tahlequah), Mvskoke Loan Fund (Okmulgee), and the Ponca Tribe Head Start (Ponca City). For the family emergency savings accounts, ONAC will offer a Request For Proposals (RFP) to fund a total of six family emergency savings accounts programs over the next three years. More information to follow. We are thankful to the W.K. Kellogg Foundation for their support of ONAC and Native asset building efforts in Oklahoma!
Also, in June 2015, First Nations Development Institute awarded ONAC a Native Youth and Culture Fund award to fund 80 Children’s Savings Accounts (CSAs) with two ONAC constituent partners (Osage Financial Resources, Inc. and Mvskoke Loan Fund). We will open the accounts over the next year. This is part of ONAC’s efforts to fund CSAs for Native youth across Oklahoma. Thank you for First Nations Development Institute for their support of this project!
The 2015 ONAC Conference will be held on Tuesday, July 14, 2015, in Oklahoma City, at the Oklahoma History Center. Click Here for more information about the conference and to register.
In 2014, with support from First Nations Development Institute and the Ford Foundation, ONAC made four grants ($3,500 each) to the following awardees: The Muscogee (Creek) Nation Housing Division, Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, and the Housing Authority of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma. As of May 2015, each grantee has completed their grant objectives. We are appreciative of all their hard work and congratulate them on the positive impact their asset building projects had on their communities
ONAC continues to offer free technical assistance to constituents in Oklahoma (such as tribes and Native nonprofits) who wish to design and implement debt reduction account programs, financial education programs, Children’s Savings Account programs, Individual Development Account programs, family emergency savings programs, etc. If you would like such assistance, please contact Christy Finsel, ONAC Executive Director, at cfinsel@gmail.com.
Each quarter, we publish a report with our completed activities. To view our progress, please go to the Our Work section of our website and click to learn more: http://oknativeassets.org/our_work. You can see our work, by year, on the left side of the page.
ONAC has launched a 2015 membership drive. Memberships help our coalition to be sustainable. To join as a member, please see: http://oknativeassets.org/membership. Thank you to those who have joined thus far! Your support keeps our coalition moving forward.
In December 2014, we offered our first year-end donor campaign as a newly registered nonprofit. We greatly appreciate the constituents and friends who made a donation to our coalition. This donor campaign was the first of many ONAC will offer as a means of raising funds for mini grants, Children’s Savings Accounts, and support of our coalition.
We hope to see you at the ONAC Conference on July 14, 2015! Thank you for your support of ONAC!
Christy and the ONAC Board and Advisory Committee Members
