ONAC to Expand Native Asset Building Efforts in the U.S.

10 Dec 2018 8:55 AM | Christy Finsel (Administrator)

News Release

Contact:

Christy Finsel, cfinsel@oknativeassets.org

(405) 401-7873

December 10, 2018                                                           

Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition, Inc. (ONAC) to Expand Native Asset Building Efforts in the United States

Oklahoma City, OK - The Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition, Inc. (ONAC) received a $250,000 grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation to expand its family financial security programs for American Indian and Alaska Native families.

This grant will fund culturally-relevant and community-centric services that help families start to accumulate savings through targeted outreach in Montana, Minnesota, North Carolina, Alaska, and Oklahoma.  The grant will be directed to American Indians and Alaska Natives through two of ONAC’s programs.  Through ONAC’s Grant Program, ONAC will award funds to select tribes and Native nonprofits that are administering Native Voluntary Income Tax Assistance (VITA), financial education, Children’s Savings Account (CSA), and family emergency savings accounts programs.  The support from the Wells Fargo Foundation will also support ONAC’s Professional Development/Asset Builder Program so that ONAC may continue to host an annual asset building conference; provide train-the-trainers and technical assistance for tribes and Native nonprofits designing and implementing asset building programs; participate in national, regional, and local advisory groups and committees; conduct and publish Native asset building research and evaluation; and update and print ONAC-generated financial education booklets for ONAC’s CSA program.  Additionally, with this support, ONAC will restart a national Native VITA network. 

“Understanding how to put your family on a path towards saving money is vital for feeling a sense of security,” said Mike Rizer, head of Community Relations for Wells Fargo. “ONAC has a deep understanding of how to address the challenges in tribal and Alaska Native communities so we wanted to broaden their programs, which empower individuals but also help at a community level by working with other nonprofits.”

“Asset building is a resource that helps families improve their path to economic self-sufficiency,” said Cora Gaane, Tribal Advocate and head of Tribal Philanthropy at Wells Fargo. “Wells Fargo is proud to support organizations like ONAC, which assist Native people in building financial and tangible assets.”  

The project is part of Wells Fargo’s five-year, $50 million commitment to support American Indian and Alaska Native communities. Wells Fargo has been serving American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian communities in the United States for more than 50 years. The company is dedicated to serving these communities with products, services, and financial education programs tailored to help tribal clients, tribal governments, tribal enterprises, and tribal members succeed financially. The resources from the Wells Fargo Foundation will allow the Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition, and our Native partners, to expand its reach and to positively impact a number of American Indian and Alaska Native families.  Finsel said, “We are thankful and very excited about the Wells Fargo Foundation’s investment in Native communities and our Native-led asset building coalition.”

About the Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition Inc.: The Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition Inc. (ONAC), first organized in 2001 and now a nonprofit, is a Native asset building coalition that works with 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 mission of ONAC is to build and support a network of Native people who are dedicated to increasing self-sufficiency and prosperity in their communities through the establishment of comprehensive financial education initiatives, Individual Development Accounts, and other asset-building strategies.  For more information about the coalition, go to http://oknativeassets.org.

About the Wells Fargo Foundation: Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.9 trillion in assets. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, investment and mortgage products and services, as well as consumer and commercial finance, through 7,950 locations, 13,000 ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has offices in 37 countries and territories to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 262,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 26 on Fortune’s 2017 rankings of America’s largest corporations. In 2017, Wells Fargo donated $286.5 million to 14,500 nonprofits and Wells Fargo team members volunteered a record 2 million hours. Wells Fargo’s corporate responsibility efforts are focused on three strategic priorities: diversity and social inclusion, economic empowerment, and environmental sustainability. News, insights and perspectives from Wells Fargo are also available at Wells Fargo Stories.

Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition 
(405) 720-0770

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