ONAC Newsletter, June 2018
ONAC 2018 Conference Scheduled for June 5, 2018
The 2018 ONAC Conference is fast-approaching! ONAC’s 2018 Conference will be held on Tuesday, June 5, 2018, at the Jim Thorpe Event Space, (a.k.a.), the Jeaneen and Bob Naifeh Family and Bud Wilkinson Event Center, located at 4040 N. Lincoln Blvd., Oklahoma City, OK 73105. (Please note this conference event space is a separate location from the Jim Thorpe museum downtown).
During the conference, we will examine the current state of Native asset building; have opportunities for peer learning; share information about Native asset building models, funding sources, partnership opportunities, research, training and technical assistance; and learn about ONAC next steps and ways to be involved in the Coalition.
This year, we are honored to hear from Wichita and Affiliated Tribes President Terri Parton, Sac and Fox Principal Chief Kay Rhoads, and Citizen Potawatomi Nation Chairman John “Rocky” Barrett; Dr. Michael Sherraden, George Warren Brown Distinguished University Professor, Director, Center for Social Development, Washington University in Saint Louis; Mashell Sourjohn (AARP Oklahoma); Vincent Palacios of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities; Michelle Tinnin of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Pam Charles of the Internal Revenue Service, Cindy Carter Renfro of the U.S. Small Business Administration, Aracely Panameno of the Center for Responsible Lending, and Nancy Bainbridge of Bank2. We will also have a listening session on New Market Tax Credits with Dakota Cole and board members of the Chickasaw Nation Community Development Endeavor, LLC. During the conference, ONAC will recognize our Children’s Savings Account partners and mini-grant awardees from around the state.
Who should attend the conference?
Those interested and engaged in Native asset building are encouraged to attend. We invite Tribal leaders, Tribal program directors, Native nonprofits, Native asset building practitioners and researchers, state representatives, students, cultural advisors, policy organizations, funders, financial institutions and financial institution regulatory bodies, national asset building organizations, inter-tribal organizations, representatives from the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians, IRS, and others interested in tribal asset building in Oklahoma to attend.
Conference Schedule:
8:30 a.m. Registration (Doors open at 8:00 a.m.)
9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Conference
Registration Fee: The 2018 ONAC Conference Fee is $30.00 per registrant. You may register and pay for the registration fee online or by check. Lunch will be provided during the conference.
To access the agenda and to register, please use this link: http://www.oknativeassets.org/2018-ONAC-Conference
Thank you to the following conference sponsors: The Journal Record, Chickasaw Nation Community Development Endeavor, LLC, Choctaw Asset Building, Cherokee Nation, Osage Casino, First Nations Development Institute, Publishing Concepts, LLC, AARP Oklahoma, and the Native Alliance Against Violence.
ONAC Children’s Savings Account (CSA) Program Updates
As of May 2018, ONAC has funded 526 CSAs. Since November 2017, more accounts were opened for youth served by the Osage Nation Financial Assistance Department, the Cherokee Nation Child Support Services, Housing Authority of the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, Citizen Potawatomi CDC, Muscogee (Creek) Scholarship Foundation Program, and Osage Financial Resources, Inc. During the next several months, account-opening events are planned for the Wyandotte Nation (our newest partner), the Osage Nation Financial Assistance Department, and Wichita and Affiliated Tribes. ONAC is thankful to our nineteen tribal and Native nonprofit partners for all their work on this program!
The Closing the Women’s Wealth Gap (CWWG) Initiative invited ONAC to speak about our Children’s Savings Account work at their CWWG Equity Institute in Chicago in April 2018. This institute was offered to participants in the PolicyLink Equity Summit 2018. ONAC was grateful for this opportunity to participate in the panel discussion!
ONAC's Children's Savings Account (CSA) Program Is In The News! Click on this link to read more about ONAC's CSA program: http://journalrecord.com/2018/01/31/onac-extends-outreach-for-tribal-youth-college-savings-plans/. This article was sponsored and made available in front of the paywall by BKD CPAs and Advisors. ONAC is grateful to The Journal Record and BKD CPAs and Advisors for helping to spread the word about ONAC’s CSA program.
Osage Nation Foundation Awards $2,500 to ONAC
The Osage Nation Foundation has awarded $2,500 to ONAC to fund twenty-five Children’s Savings Account opening deposits for Osage youth. This is the second grant awarded to ONAC for this work. ONAC will work with the Osage Nation Financial Assistance Department to open the accounts for Osage families they serve. Our coalition is grateful to the Osage Nation Foundation for this support and partnership.
W.K. Kellogg Foundation Awards $75,000 to ONAC
As of May 2018, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation has awarded $75,000 to ONAC for its Children’s Savings Account and family emergency savings account work, extending ONAC’s current W.K. Kellogg-funded grant to April 2019. ONAC is grateful for this support of our asset building efforts. With this grant, ONAC will fund five family emergency mini-grants (funds for 120 accounts). Additionally, ONAC will fund 124 additional CSAs and conduct an evaluation of the CSA and family emergency savings account projects. ONAC is grateful for this support of our programs.
Next 1:1 Fund Campaign to Support ONAC’s CSA Program Scheduled for June 18-22, 2018
Whether it’s kindergarten, high school or college, students will soon don their caps and gowns to celebrate graduation season (or they may already have)!
ONAC is celebrating the accomplishments of our children. That’s why, for the week of June 18th-22nd, the 1:1 Fund will match your ONAC CSA donation, dollar for dollar, up to $500! Donate to help our Native youth have many more graduation ceremonies!
In the fall of 2017, ONAC was accepted as a partner by the 1:1 Fund. They offer us two crowdsource-based fundraising campaigns a year, during which time they match each individual donation, dollar for dollar, up to $500.
On GivingTuesday 2017, with support of donors, ONAC raised over $3,900 to fund thirty-nine CSAs for Native youth in Oklahoma. ONAC uses these donations fund the $100 minimum opening account deposit required for each 529 account opened through the Oklahoma 529 College Savings Plan. These funds allow ONAC to serve Native youth ages birth to 22.
The next campaign will be held from June 18-22, 2018. To donate, please go to: https://give.classy.org/ONAC. Thank you for your support!
ONAC To Co-Host a Building Native Communities (BNC) Training in Oklahoma City With First Nations Development Institute, October 23-25, 2018
This training will be a Native-specific financial education train-the-trainer designed for those who will teach financial education classes to Native communities. More information to follow.
Mini-Grant Awardees Complete their Projects
The Housing Authority of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma administered an emergency savings account project for 15 families; the accounts were opened through First United Bank. From grant funds, each family received $200 as an initial deposit to their account. Most of the families are in a Seminole lease-purchase program and they are saving to purchase a home. To recruit families, the Housing Authority of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma offered a two-generation approach. They worked with ONAC to host a Children’s Savings Account opening event so that the families could complete Children’s Savings Account applications for their children, participate in a financial education presentation by First United Bank, and receive the account opening information needed to open a savings account to hold funds for emergencies. During the account-opening event, the housing authority provided a meal for the families. Remaining financial education was provided on a one-on-one basis by First United Bank staff when the families came into the bank branches to open their family emergency savings account. The participants were encouraged to add their own deposits to the account by following their individual savings plans (awarded $3,500).
Absentee Shawnee Housing Authority The purpose of their Match Savings Account program was to provide current and/or future participants in their Home Ownership/Lease to Own programs with an opportunity to open a savings account to help offset the costs of a housing emergency or emergencies that may affect their housing needs. Ten families received $200 in match funds (for their savings deposits) to help them grow the funds in their emergency savings account (awarded $2,000).
Support Native Asset Building in Oklahoma
As part of our efforts to sustain and grow the coalition, ONAC welcomes donations, sponsorships, and memberships. For more information, please go to the donate page at www.oknativeassets.org or call Christy Finsel, ONAC Executive Director, at 405-401-7873.
ONAC is on Facebook
Please “like” us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/oknativeassets/.
Thank you for your asset building efforts and support of ONAC!
