Below are ONAC's COVID-19 Responses:

1). Regarding efforts by Native Bank On ONAC to connect Bank On certified accounts to tribal citizens, ONAC will be opening accounts with two banks in Oklahoma that have newly certified Bank On accounts.   One of the banks is Native-owned and the first one in the country to offer Bank On accounts (AllNations Bank).  The other bank is First State Bank of Oklahoma.  We have arranged for both banks to open their newly certified Bank On accounts through their drive-throughs.  Our tribal partners in these two separate tribal Bank On integrations (Wichita and Affiliated Tribes and Absentee Shawnee Housing Authority) will be distributing the information about the account openings to the tribal citizens they serve.   ONAC has customized handouts for each. We have also reached out to other tribal leaders in Anadarko to try to connect the tribal citizens they serve to this account. 

2). ONAC was invited to present about Bank On during an upcoming call organized by regional HUD and FDIC contacts.  Karen Edwards, Manager, Native Bank On ONAC, will present on ONAC’s behalf.

3). ONAC provided Native Bank On updates and resources to the Bank On listserv. 

4).  ONAC generated a Bank On handout that we sent to our 1,300 person distribution list.  

5). ONAC also awards grants.  We currently fund Native VITA sites in Maine, Alaska, Montana, South Dakota, and Minnesota.  We have sent the grantees Bank On account information for their respective states. 

6). In addition to ONAC administering the national Native Bank On initiative. ONAC also administers the national ONAC Native EITC/VITA Network.  If you wish to join that listserv, please email Patsy Schramm (Cherokee) at edgpj@aol.com.  ONAC communicates with tribal VITA sites around the country and serves on the national Taxpayer Opportunity Network steering committee.  Ms. Schramm has been distributing taxpayer and COVID-19-related information to our distribution list. 

7).  ONAC has been administering an emergency savings account program for the past several years.  We have allocated certain numbers of accounts to several tribal partners for 2020.  In response to COVID-19, we have moved the financial education and application online.  In Anadarko, OK, we are offering that the ESAs could be held in a Bank On approved account at First State Bank of Anadarko, as the accounts have low fees. 

8).  ONAC administers a Children’s Savings Account program.  In response to COVID-19, we have moved the financial education and application online.