January 11, 2016 

Dear Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition Constituents and Friends,

The Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition (ONAC) is writing to let you know of our 2016 ONAC Membership Drive.  We invite you to join our coalition as a member.  Your support helps us to be a sustainable coalition. 

Beyond our Native asset building coalition in Oklahoma, there are few other such Native coalitions in the country.  ONAC’s first priority is to serve tribes, Native nonprofits, and other supporters in Oklahoma.  Given the lack of other Native asset building coalitions near us, and around the country, we also invite those interested in Native asset building, outside of Oklahoma, to join our listserv and to participate in our conferences, webinars, and peer learning calls, given the need for such information in other Native communities.

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

The Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition (ONAC) represents a consortium of 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.  Our coalition is a 501(c)(3) and is Native-led.

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, 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?

• Mini grants to tribes and Native nonprofits for asset building projects.  (We awarded four $3,500 mini grants in 2014.  The project administrators completed those projects in 2015.  As of November 23, 2015, we have awarded three new grantees.  Earlier this month, we released a RFP for another round of mini grants.  Those proposals are due to ONAC by February 18, 2016.  To apply, go to http://www.oknativeassets-apply.org.  You will be asked to establish a username and password for the application). 

• Funding for ONAC Children’s Savings Account pilot projects.  We have six confirmed partners (tribes and Native nonprofits in Oklahoma) for our current pilot project. The 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).  We plan to release a RFP for additional partners in February 2016.

• Asset building resources, models, and strategies.

• An Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition Conference to be held annually.  This year our conference will be held on Tuesday, July 12, 2016, at the Oklahoma History Center in Oklahoma City, OK.  More information to follow.

• 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 in Oklahoma, and around the country, for partnership.

• Outreach to Oklahoma tribal leaders, tribal government programs, and other Oklahoma-based 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) and training (a value worth $5,000 to $20,000, per tribe and/or Native nonprofit, depending upon their TA needs).

• Administrative Policy Guidance requests to federal programs, as needed (such as our request for information about Tribal TANF-funded Individual Development Account program purchases, etc.)

• Opportunities to speak at asset building conferences about your asset building programs.  In the last year, for example, we nominated the Cherokee Nation Commerce Group to participate on a youth entrepreneurship research advisory panel hosted by the Association for Enterprise Opportunity; nominated Patsy Schramm for the Taxpayer Opportunity Network Steering Committee;  and invited a number of Native asset builders to speak at our 2015 annual conference. 

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 needed, the membership/donation form is attached.  Sponsorship opportunities also exist. 

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.!

ONAC Leadership