News

ONAC Newsletter, January 2017

ONAC Awards One New Mini Grant in November 2016

ONAC announces that it has awarded an ONAC mini grant to the Mvskoke Loan Fund.  This grant was made possible with support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

In January 2016, ONAC released our second request for proposals (RFP) to fund Native asset building projects in Oklahoma.  We received excellent applications from tribal governments and tribal programs based in Oklahoma.  At the time, ONAC received an application from the Mvskoke Loan Fund, but was not able to fund the grant until our second grant installment from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation arrived.  ONAC is excited to work with their staff as they continue to offer Native asset building projects to their tribal members.  If needed, ONAC is available to provide free training and technical assistance to them as they implement their asset-building program.  Congratulations to the Mvskoke Loan Fund on this award.

The Mvskoke Loan Fund Project Description:

Part of the mission of the Mvskoke Loan Fund is to “foster the financial well-being of its citizens…” and we firmly believe that by focusing relevant trainings on our youth that we can build a culture of financial security.  Through the purchase of the Spending Frenzy game kit offered by First Nations Development, Mvskoke Loan Fund will foster a learning environment that is both interesting and fun, and will offer the additional incentive of $100 each for up to 20 youth to seed an emergency savings account (awarded $3,500). 

ONAC Conference Scheduled for Tuesday, July 18, 2017

Please save the date!  ONAC’s 2017 Conference will be held on Tuesday, July 18, 2017, at the Oklahoma History Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

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.

At the end of the day, we will have a networking reception and provide ONAC membership information. We invite you to participate in this interactive conference.

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 Administration for Children and Families, and others interested in tribal asset building in Oklahoma to attend.

Conference Schedule:

• 9:00 a.m. Registration and Breakfast
  
• 9:15 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Conference
  
• 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Networking Reception and Membership Drive
  

Agenda: Agenda is forthcoming.

Registration Fee: The 2017 ONAC Conference Fee is $25.00 per registrant.  You may register and pay for the registration fee online or by check.

To register, use this link: http://oknativeassets.org/2017-ONAC-Conference

Hotel Room Block: Embassy Suites Hotel (Oklahoma City Downtown/Medical Center) located at 741 North Phillips Avenue, Oklahoma City, OK 73104.

To make a reservation under the ONAC room block, call: (405) 239-3900 and ask for the room block for the Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition.

The room block is available for July 17th at a group rate of $129.00 a night, plus tax, for a standard 2 room suite.  The room block is available until June 17, 2017 only.  If you call and find that the room block is full, please call Christy Finsel at 405-401-7873 so that we may try to increase the block. For those also needing a room on July 18th (after the conference has ended), please call to make your reservation early and ask if they will honor the $129.00 rate for you on the 18th as well.

There is a $10.00 a day parking charge at the hotel.   The hotel provides a made-to-order breakfast as part of the room change.  The hotel provides shuttle service to the Oklahoma History Center.

Children’s Savings Account Pilot Updates 

On November 30^th, the Pawnee Tribe Title VI Elderly Meals Program opened thirty-nine accounts for the grandchildren of grandparents who participate in their program.  ONAC worked with their program staff and the grandparents to open the accounts through the Oklahoma 529 College Savings Plan (many of the grandparents are the account owners as they are raising their grandchildren).  During the account opening event, the grandparents enjoyed a meal made and served by the Pawnee Business Council.  ONAC worked with the grandparents to complete the account applications after they heard an introduction by Debra Echo-Hawk, Title VI Elderly Meals Program Coordinator and their tribal Assistant Keeper of the Seeds (their tribal heirloom seeds), who spoke to the grandparents about the connection between their tribal heirloom seed saving project and the idea that opening a Children’s Savings Account is a way to “plant” an educational seed for their grandchildren.  After the event, for those grandparents who were unable to complete all the forms at the account opening event, Debra Echo-Hawk, Danielle Wheatley, Pawnee Nation Elder Center Cook, and ONAC worked with individual grandparents to complete their applications.  ONAC provided the $100 account opening deposit for each student.  ONAC thanks Tiffany Frietze, Division of Health & Community Services, Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma, Debra Echo-Hawk, Title VI Elderly Meals Program Coordinator/FDPIR Department Manager, Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma, and other program staff for all their work on this program.

On December 8^th, President Terri Parton, of the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, hosted an ONAC CSA account opening event at the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes community center in Anadarko, Oklahoma.  Thirty accounts were opened that night. The Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, hosted the CSA event at the tribal community center (complete with Christmas cookies and punch).  The accounts were available to tribal youth, first-come, first serve.  The tribe sent letters to eligible tribal members to alert them to this opportunity.  During the event, ONAC worked with the parents and grandparents to open the accounts.  Several youth participated in the art project and a few children took home art supplies to continue working on a piece of art that illustrates their understanding of Native assets.  President Parton greeted each family and added the children’s names to the certificates celebrating their account.  ONAC thanks President Parton for her leadership with this project.

Three ONAC Mini Grant Awardees Complete Their Projects

In January 2014, ONAC released its first-ever request for proposals (RFP) to fund Native asset building projects in Oklahoma.  ONAC received seven excellent applications from tribal governments and tribal programs based in Oklahoma.  At that time, ONAC had funding for four projects.  Thus, ONAC awarded a total of $14,000 in mini grants to four ONAC constituents.  Those awardees have since completed their projects.  ONAC eventually secured an additional $10,500 in mini grant funding, from First Nations Development Institute, and in November 2015, ONAC announced that they had awarded those funds to the remaining three applicants (the Mvskoke Loan Fund, Citizen Potawatomi Community Development Corporation, and the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma).

As of December 2016, those three latter grantees have completed their mini grant projects.  With the use of their grant funds, each grantee grew their own capacity to provide asset building programs for their citizens.  Through their projects, the grantees reached a minimum of 110 tribal citizens.  While this impact was immediate and impressive, ONAC anticipates that the positive effects of these initiatives will continue into the future.  For example, one of the grantees, the Mvskoke Loan Fund, through this project, now has a certified credit counselor available to work with their clients. We believe these investments in tribal citizens will strengthen these nations.

Grantee Projects and Outcomes

The Mvskoke Loan Fund had planned to enroll one of their staff members in the credit counseling certification program offered by Rural Dynamics, Inc. in Montana.  Rural Dynamics, Inc., was instead able to offer the program in Oklahoma, which allowed the Mvskoke Loan Fund to send three staff members to the training as their travel costs were greatly reduced.   As of the end of the grant period, one of the three staff members had passed the Credit Counseling Certification test, and the two additional staff members had plans to take the exam.  This grant funding increased the capacity of the Mvskoke Loan Fund to directly offer certified credit counseling services to Native entrepreneurs to improve their credit rating and help prepare them to receive business loans from the Mvskoke Loan Fund (awarded $3,500).

Citizen Potawatomi Community Development Corporation (CPCDC) offered Shonya Mbwaka (Money Smart) to stimulate sustainable economic opportunity for the Citizen Potawatomi tribal community and all past and current clients.  Through this project, funded by ONAC, the CPCDC held a reunion for twenty-eight of their Individual Development Account (IDA) program graduates.  During the reunion, held on October 11, 2016, participants attended a Financial Empowerment workshop presented by CPCDC staff and an Investment 101 presentation by Rhonda Godwin, Director of Administrative and Investment Operations at the Oklahoma City Community Foundation.  On November 16, 2016, the CPCDC held a Lunch and Learn event entitled, “Can Credit Cost Your Retirement?”, presented by CPCDC staff member, Tina Pollard.  The session addressed how your credit habits impact your retirement and ability to contribute to a retirement account.  Additionally, with mini grant funds, CPCDC provided thirty one-on-one individual credit sessions with clients, seen individually from November 23, 2015 to November 23, 2016.  During those sessions, the clients received assistance with basic credit counseling, budgeting, goal setting, credit report review, and planning for retirement. 100% of participants reported that they increased their investing and financial knowledge as indicated on pre- and post-testing and evaluations for workshops. Individual credit session participants were gauged on increased credit scores, comparison to past habits, and a financial wellness questionnaire. 98% of participants agreed or strongly agreed that the information given was helpful and beneficial (awarded $3,500).

The Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma provided employees of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma (ESTO), tribal youth, and tribal families the opportunity to become educated and self-sufficient as they learned from Dave Ramsey’s “Financial Peace University.” Through video teaching, class discussions, and interactive small group activities, this financial education program presented culturally appropriate and practical steps toward economic self-sufficiency. Participants were taught how to get rid of debt, manage money, spend and save wisely, and plan for retirement. This program empowered the tribal community with the financial knowledge and tools that would lead to success.  With grant support, ESTO provided $50 to twenty-two participants (who completed the financial education program) in startup funds for an emergency savings account. Twenty-four adults, five teenagers, and five children participated in the program. Ninety-two percent (92%) of the adults (ages 18+) who participated in the program ended up finishing or completing the class. 100% of the teenagers (ages 13-17) and children (ages 5-12) completed the class.  As a result of their participation in the class, nearly all the adult participants cut up their credit cards and began saving for an emergency. Others began to use the “envelope system” (cash only) for groceries, gas, and entertainment (awarded $3,500).

ONAC thanks each of these constituents for their willingness to engage with the coalition, and for all their work to design and implement these projects.   The coalition looks forward to working with these constituents, and others, to offer additional asset building projects in the future. 

In April 2017, ONAC will release a request for proposal (RFP) for the next round of mini grants.  

ONAC Met the NativeGiving Match Challenge

ONAC wishes to thank our constituents for their support during the NativeGiving match campaign.  We met the match challenge with support from twenty-two individual donors.  Every donation makes a difference.  Thank you!

ONAC Welcomes General and Endowment Donations, Sponsorships, and Memberships

In September 2016, ONAC launched an endowment campaign.  To advance ONAC’s mission, ONAC is seeking to raise $5 million to fund an endowment for general operating expenses and program support.  A strong endowment would make ONAC sustainable and viable well into the future. ONAC thanks the Chickasaw Nation for their generous lead gift of $250,000 towards our endowment fund.  We are grateful to Governor Bill Anoatubby, of the Chickasaw Nation, for meeting with us to talk about opportunities for collaboration and for supporting this campaign.   We are excited to grow this endowment fund and we respectfully ask for your support so that we may increase Native asset building opportunities for Native families.

What are ONAC’s hopes for the future of Native asset building?

ONAC’s vision is that Native families will have multiple opportunities to grow their assets through participation in integrated and culturally-relevant Native asset building programs.  Our dream is that all Native youth will have Children’s Savings Accounts to help them save for their future and let them know that college is a real option for them. The coalition also would like to be able to provide more funding for asset building initiatives in the state, to tribes and Native nonprofits, to increase the numbers of

sustainable asset building programs (such as financial education, matched savings accounts, credit repair/credit builder, and family emergency savings account programs).

There is great potential for ONAC to work with constituents to help numerous Native families build their assets.  The second-largest Native population, per capita in the United States, resides in Oklahoma and is increasing (2010 Census).  Support of Native asset building programs will help Native families to concretely build assets that will lead to family financial security.

Why is ONAC raising an endowment?

In ONAC’s strategic plan, the coalition notes that we need funding to support and grow the nonprofit. ONAC’s leadership has worked to put in place a multi-pronged fundraising plan (individual donors, foundations, members, federal grants, corporate funds, sponsorships, etc.). The next step of that plan is to raise funds for an endowment.

To advance ONAC’s mission, ONAC is seeking to raise $5 million to fund an endowment for general operating expenses and program support. A strong endowment would make ONAC sustainable and viable well into the future.

As of 2016, ONAC’s annual operating budget is $251,522. Endowment funding of $5 million would allow ONAC to draw 5% a year ($250,000). With the sustainability that an endowment provides, ONAC would then continue to seek foundation and individual donor support, as well as memberships, sponsorships, and other donations to offer more Children’s Savings Accounts and asset building grants in the state, in order to better meet the demand for our coalition services.

Endowment prospectus

For more information about ONAC's endowment fund, please visit our website at http://oknativeassets.org and click “donate” at the top right of the page.  On that page is a link to our endowment prospectus. All endowment fund donations are fully tax deductible, as no goods or services are provided in exchange.

Please consider making a donation to our endowment fund

If you would like to support ONAC’s work, we ask you to please consider making a donation to ONAC’s endowment campaign.  To donate to ONAC’s endowment fund, either visit our website at http://oknativeassets.org and click “donate” at the top right of the page, or please send a check, made out to the Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition Inc., with “endowment fund” written on the memo line.  You can mail the check to the following address:

            Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition Inc.

            Attn: Christy Finsel, Executive Director

            9511 Horseshoe Road

            Oklahoma City, OK 73162

If your organization is unable to donate to an endowment fund, please consider supporting ONAC through membership, sponsorship, or general donations.

The challenge ONAC faces is to build a robust endowment while meeting the need for services today. While donations towards an endowment will help our coalition to be sustainable into the future, if you wish to underwrite ONAC’s programs today, we also welcome such support.  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 leadership thanks you for considering financial support of our statewide Native asset building coalition.

Thank you for your asset building efforts and for your support of ONAC!

News Release  Help ONAC Meet Its Match Gift Challenge!  Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (December 20, 2016)– Help us meet our match while giving your donation even more impact! The Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition Inc. (ONAC) is a nonprofit organization  that relies on grants, memberships, and generous donations to do our work in Oklahoma.  From now through January 31, 2017, we are conducting a matching gift and year-end campaign to help support our mission.  This year, donations will go towards ONAC’s newly launched endowment fund to help ensure the organization’s important work remains sustainable and viable well into the future.  Will you please help us with a donation today? If you make a donation to us through the NativeGiving.org fundraising platform sponsored by First Nations Development Institute (First Nations), it will be matched by another generous donor dollar-for-dollar until we hit a total of $500 in gifts. That’s a great way to double the impact of your gift to our organization, so we can serve even more Native families in Oklahoma. And, of course, your gift to us is tax-deductible as allowed by law. Beyond that, your gift will have even more power!  It will make us eligible for up to $3,000 in additional incentives that will help us further our mission.  Please give today or soon, because the match and the prize opportunities will end at midnight on January 31st.  A gift to ONAC will allow us to greatly increase our reach and effectiveness in our community. About ONAC The Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition Inc. (ONAC), first organized in 2001 and now a nonprofit, is a Native 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 mission of ONAC is to build and support a network of Oklahoma 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 NativeGiving.org NativeGiving.org is a project of First Nations Development Institute. NativeGiving.org is dedicated to strengthening and improving the lives of Native children and families while raising awareness of the needs of the communities we serve. Consistent with Native American values of sharing and reciprocity, the goal of this unique initiative is to increase giving to philanthropic efforts in Native communities. NativeGiving.org aims to direct more investments to worthy nonprofits such as those featured on the site. The featured nonprofits have developed successful and innovative projects that promote educated kids, healthy kids and secure families. --##--   Media Contact: Christy Finsel, ONAC Executive Director cfinsel@oknativeassets.org, (405) 401-7873

ONAC 2016 Mini Grant Final Report

Prepared by Christy Finsel, ONAC Executive Director

December 2016

ONAC is a nonprofit Native 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.

In January 2014, ONAC released its first-ever request for proposals (RFP) to fund Native asset building projects in Oklahoma.  ONAC received seven excellent applications from tribal governments and tribal programs based in Oklahoma.  At that time, ONAC had funding for four projects.  Thus, ONAC awarded a total of $14,000 in mini grants to four ONAC constituents.  Those awardees have since completed their projects.  ONAC eventually secured an additional $10,500 in mini grant funding, from First Nations Development Institute, and in November 2015, ONAC announced that they had award those funds to the remaining three applicants (the Mvskoke Loan Fund, Citizen Potawatomi Community Development Corporation, and the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma).

As of December 2016, those three latter grantees have completed their mini grant projects.  With the use of their grant funds, each grantee grew their own capacity to provide asset building programs for their citizens.  Through their projects, the grantees reached a minimum of 110 tribal citizens.  While this impact was immediate and impressive, ONAC anticipates that the positive effects of these initiatives will continue into the future.  For example, one of the grantees, the Mvskoke Loan Fund, through this project, now has a certified credit counselor available to work with their clients. We believe these investments in tribal citizens will strengthen these nations.

Grantee Projects and Outcomes

The Mvskoke Loan Fund had planned to enroll one of their staff members in the credit counseling certification program offered by Rural Dynamics, Inc. in Montana.  Rural Dynamics, Inc. was instead able to offer the program in Oklahoma, which allowed the Mvskoke Loan Fund to send three staff members to the training as their travel costs were greatly reduced.   As of the end of the grant period, one of the three staff members had passed the Credit Counseling Certification test and the two additional staff members had plans to take the exam.  This grant funding increased the capacity of the Mvskoke Loan Fund to directly offer certified credit counseling services to Native entrepreneurs to improve their credit rating and help prepare them to receive business loans from the Mvskoke Loan Fund (awarded $3,500).

Citizen Potawatomi Community Development Corporation (CPCDC) offered Shonya Mbwaka (Money Smart) to stimulate sustainable economic opportunity for the Citizen Potawatomi tribal community and all past and current clients.  Through this project, funded by ONAC, the CPCDC held a reunion for twenty-eight of their Individual Development Account (IDA) program graduates.  During the reunion, held on October 11, 2016, participants attended a Financial Empowerment workshop presented by CPCDC staff and an Investment 101 presentation by Rhonda Godwin, Director of Administrative and Investment Operations at the Oklahoma City Community Foundation.  On November 16, 2016, the CPCDC held a Lunch and Learn event entitled, “Can Credit Cost Your Retirement?”, presented by CPCDC staff member, Tina Pollard.  The session addressed how your credit habits impact your retirement and ability to contribute to a retirement account.  Additionally, with mini grant funds, CPCDC provided thirty one-on-one individual credit sessions with clients, seen individually from November 23, 2015 to November 23, 2016.  During those sessions, the clients received assistance with basic credit counseling, budgeting, goal setting, credit report review, and planning for retirement. 100% of participants reported that they increased their investing and financial knowledge as indicated on pre- and post-testing and evaluations for workshops. Individual credit session participants were gauged on increased credit scores, comparison to past habits and financial wellness questionnaire. 98% of participants agreed or strongly agreed that the information given was helpful and beneficial (awarded $3,500).

The Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma provided employees of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma (ESTO), tribal youth, and tribal families the opportunity to become educated and self-sufficient as they learned from Dave Ramsey’s class entitled, “Financial Peace University.” Through video teaching, class discussions, and interactive small group activities, this financial education program presented culturally appropriate and practical steps toward economic self-sufficiency. Participants were taught how to get rid of debt, manage money, spend and save wisely, and plan for retirement. This program empowered the tribal community with the financial knowledge and tools that would lead to success.  With grant support, ESTO provided $50 to twenty-two participants in startup funds for an emergency savings account for those who completed the financial education program. Twenty-four adults, five teenagers, and five children participated in the program. Ninety-two percent (92%) of the adults (ages 18+) who participated in the program ended up finishing or completing the class. 100% of the teenagers (ages 13-17) and children (ages 5-12) completed the class.  As a result of their participation in the class, nearly all the adult participants cut up their credit cards and began saving for an emergency. Others began to use the “envelope system” (cash only) for groceries, gas, and entertainment (awarded $3,500).

ONAC Mini Grant Lessons Learned and Future Plans

Through this round of mini grants, ONAC has reinforced earlier learning that there is need for flexible sources of funding for asset building projects among constituents in Oklahoma.  Additionally, the coalition has learned of, and has been impressed by, the considerable reach of these initiatives in tribal communities.  Thus, going forward, ONAC will strive to continue to offer such grants to our constituents. 

One of the grantees noted, as a lesson learned, that there is need for continued reinforcement and “refresher” courses for those they serve. Their participants asked for future training in the areas of mortgages, down payment assistance, retirement planning, credit card habits, Investments 201, building a flexible budget, etc.

In April 2017, ONAC will release a request for proposal (RFP) for the next round of mini grants.  

ONAC thanks each of these constituents for their willingness to engage with the coalition and for all their work to design and implement these projects.   The coalition looks forward to working with these constituents, and others, to offer additional asset building projects in the future. 

For more information about ONAC mini grants, please contact Christy Finsel, Executive Director, at (405) 401-7873 or cfinsel@oknativeassets.org.

News Release

Contact: Christy Finsel, cfinsel@oknativeassets.org

(405) 401-7873

November 28, 2016                                                           

Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition, Inc. (ONAC) Launches Endowment Campaign and Announces Lead Gift by the Chickasaw Nation

Oklahoma City, OK – To advance its mission, the Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition, Inc. (ONAC), a statewide Native-led coalition in Oklahoma, announces that it has launched an endowment campaign.  ONAC is seeking to raise $5 million to fund an endowment for general operating expenses and program support.  

ONAC thanks the Chickasaw Nation for their recent and generous lead gift of $250,000 towards our endowment fund.  The coalition is grateful to Governor of the Chickasaw Nation, Bill Anoatubby, for meeting with them to talk about opportunities for collaboration and for supporting this campaign.

ONAC’s vision is that Native families will have multiple opportunities to grow their assets, through participation in integrated and culturally-relevant Native asset building programs. The coalition’s dream would be that all Native youth would have Children’s Savings Accounts to help them save for their future and let them know that college is a real option for them. ONAC also would like to be able to provide more funding for asset building initiatives in the state (to tribes and Native nonprofits) to increase the numbers of sustainable asset building programs (such as financial education, matched savings accounts, credit repair/credit builder, and family emergency savings account programs).

With the second-largest Native population, per capita in the United States, residing in Oklahoma, and that population increasing (2010 Census), support of Native asset building programs will help Native families to concretely build assets that will lead to family financial security. There is great potential for ONAC to work with constituents to help numerous Native families build their assets.

“In ONAC’s strategic plan, the coalition notes that we need funding to support and grow the nonprofit. ONAC’s leadership has worked to put in place a multi-pronged fundraising plan (soliciting funding from individual donors, foundations, members, federal grants, corporate sponsors, etc.). The next step of that plan is to raise funds for an endowment,” said Christy Finsel, Osage, ONAC’s Executive Director.  “We are excited to launch this endowment campaign. A strong endowment would make ONAC sustainable and viable well into the future.  ONAC leadership thanks the Chickasaw Nation for helping us to serve more Native families. We also thank our constituents and other members of the public for considering their financial support of this campaign.  Donations of all sizes make a difference,” Finsel said.

A link to ONAC’s  endowment prospectus is available on ONAC’s “Donate” page on the ONAC website at http://oknativeassets.org.  If contributors wish to support this campaign, donation information is also available on that same page. For further information, please contact Christy Finsel at cfinsel@oknativeassets.org or (405) 401-7873.

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 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 mission of ONAC is to build and support a network of Oklahoma 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.            

ONAC Newsletter, Fall 2016

ONAC Launches Endowment Campaign and Announces Lead Gift by the Chickasaw Nation

In September 2016, ONAC launched an endowment campaign.  To advance ONAC’s mission, ONAC is seeking to raise $5 million to fund an endowment for general operating expenses and program support.  A strong endowment would make ONAC sustainable and viable well into the future. ONAC thanks the Chickasaw Nation for their generous lead gift of $250,000 towards our endowment fund.  We are grateful to Governor Bill Anoatubby, of the Chickasaw Nation, for meeting with us to talk about opportunities for collaboration and for supporting this campaign.   We are excited to grow this endowment fund and we respectfully ask for your support so that we may increase Native asset building opportunities for Native families.

What are ONAC’s hopes for the future of Native asset building?

ONAC’s vision is that Native families will have multiple opportunities to grow their assets, through participation in integrated and culturally-relevant Native asset building programs. Our dream is that all Native youth will have Children’s Savings Accounts to help them save for their future and let them know that college is a real option for them. The coalition also would like to be able to provide more funding for asset building initiatives in the state, to tribes and Native nonprofits, to increase the numbers of

sustainable asset building programs (such as financial education, matched savings accounts, credit repair/credit builder, and family emergency savings account programs).

There is great potential for ONAC to work with constituents to help numerous Native families build their assets.  The second-largest Native population, per capita in the United States, resides in Oklahoma and is increasing (2010 Census).  Support of Native asset building programs will help Native families to concretely build assets that will lead to family financial security.

Why is ONAC raising an endowment?

In ONAC’s strategic plan, the coalition notes that we need funding to support and grow the nonprofit. ONAC’s leadership has worked to put in place a multi-pronged fundraising plan (individual donors, foundations, members, federal grants, corporate funds, sponsorships, etc.). The next step of that plan is to raise funds for an endowment.

To advance ONAC’s mission, ONAC is seeking to raise $5 million to fund an endowment for general operating expenses and program support. A strong endowment would make ONAC sustainable and viable well into the future.

As of 2016, ONAC’s annual operating budget is $251,522. Endowment funding of $5 million would allow ONAC to draw 5% a year ($250,000). With the sustainability that an endowment provides, ONAC would then continue to seek foundation and individual donor support, as well as memberships, sponsorships, and other donations to offer more Children’s Savings Accounts and asset building grants in the state, in order to better meet the demand for our coalition services.

Endowment prospectus

For more information about ONAC's endowment fund, please visit our website at http://oknativeassets.org and click “donate” at the top right of the page.  On that page is a link to our endowment prospectus. All endowment fund donations are fully tax deductible as no goods or services are provided in exchange.

Please consider making a donation to our endowment fund

If you would like to support ONAC’s work, we ask you to please consider making a donation to ONAC’s endowment campaign.  To donate to ONAC’s endowment fund, either visit our website at http://oknativeassets.org and click “donate” at the top right of the page, or please send a check, made out to the Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition Inc., with “endowment fund” written on the memo line.  You can mail the check to the following address:

            Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition Inc.

            Attn: Christy Finsel, Executive Director

            9511 Horseshoe Road

            Oklahoma City, OK 73162

If your organization is unable to donate to an endowment fund, please consider supporting ONAC through membership, sponsorship, or general donations.

The challenge ONAC faces is to build a robust endowment while meeting the need for services today. While donations towards an endowment will help our coalition to be sustainable into the future, if you wish to underwrite ONAC’s programs today, we also welcome such support.  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 leadership thanks you for considering financial support of our statewide Native asset building coalition.

2015 Annual Report

ONAC has posted our 2015 annual report on the homepage of our website. To view ONAC’s 2015 Annual Report, go to http://oknativeassets.org/resources/Documents/ONAC_2015_Annual_Report.pdf.

If you would like to request a paper version of the report, please contact Christy Finsel at cfinsel@oknativeassets.org.

ONAC Administers Three Programs

For those of you not as familiar with ONAC, our coalition administers three programs: 1) Children’s Savings Accounts to help Native youth save for college and other asset purchases; 2) grants for Native asset builders so they may have flexible funding sources to start new programs or expand existing ones; and 3) professional development resources for Native asset building practitioners (model sharing and development, networking opportunities, free technical assistance, research, administrative policy guidance requests, and participation in state and national advisory groups related to tax policy, Native financial education, women and wealth, and economic inclusion).

Children’s Savings Account Pilot Updates 

On September 26, 2016, BeLieving in Native Generations (BLING), a Native-led nonprofit, partnered with ONAC to begin to open their nineteen allotted Children’s Savings Accounts for 4^th and 5^th grade students attending Riverside Indian School in Anadarko, Oklahoma. During the account opening event, ONAC, BLING, and staff from the school, met with the parents of the students and assisted them as they opened 529 accounts for the benefit of their children.  Each youth received the ONAC financial education booklet and a certificate celebrating their account.  ONAC provided the $100 account opening deposit for each student.  During the account opening event, the students drew pictures of assets they valued such as college degrees and college campus buildings.  ONAC provided the art supplies for this art project.  Additionally, ONAC provided the youth with organic gardening seeds for their families.  ONAC thanks Deborah Scott, Director of BLING; Kristie Subieta, Counseling Psychologist at Riverside Indian School; Clay Vinyard, Superintendent; Patrick Moore, Principal of the High School; and Jeremy Lee, Dean of Students, for their support of this project.

One day later, on September 27, 2016, the American Indian Resource Center, Inc. (AIRC), also a Native-led nonprofit, partnered with ONAC to open thirty-five Children’s Savings Accounts for 5-8^th grade students in the Cherokee Immersion after-school program, as well as accounts for their siblings.  During this particular account opening event, the parents attended and opened the accounts with assistance from ONAC and AIRC staff.  A Cherokee artist Matthew Anderson, Cultural Specialist at the Cherokee Arts Center & Spider Gallery, attended and shared information about Cherokee traditional arts.  The students then completed the Native arts project.  As a means of promoting that we are building multiple Native assets, ONAC provided each student with a bag of organic gardening seeds, as well as gardening instructions.  A big thank you to Pamela Iron, Executive Director, Georgia Dick, project lead, and other AIRC, Inc. staff for all their organizing efforts. 

On November 3^rd, ONAC opened a minimum of 30 Children’s Savings Accounts for the Ponca Tribe Head Start Program participants and their siblings, as well as children and grandchildren of their staff members (several more applications are still coming in).  During the account opening event, ONAC and staff from the Head Start program met with the parents of the students and assisted them as they opened Oklahoma 529 College Savings Plan accounts for the benefit of their children.  Each youth received the ONAC financial education booklet and a certificate celebrating their account.  ONAC provided the $100 account opening deposit for each student.  During the account opening event, the students drew assets of value to them.  ONAC provided the art supplies for their art project.  Additionally, ONAC provided the youth with organic gardening seeds for their families.  ONAC thanks Linda Rieman, Director of the Ponca Tribe Head Start program, and her staff for all their work on the account opening event. 

In early November, ONAC drafted an interim update report our CSA activity to date for TIAA and the Office of Oklahoma State Treasurer Ken Miller (as most of the accounts have been opened through the Oklahoma 529 College Savings Plan).  We are in the process of working on a more complete paper with descriptions about each partner’s CSA activities.   Since 2014, ONAC has funded 330 CSA accounts.  We will continue working with our valued partners to open at least 305 more accounts by April 2018.  

ONAC Children’s Savings Account Efforts Mentioned by the Asset Funders Network

Information about ONAC’s Children’s Savings Account  program was included on the Asset Funders Network CSA page of their website.  To view, please go to http://assetfunders.org/educate/csa/ and scroll down to CSAs in the News.  ONAC thanks Anne Yeoman, AFN’s CSA Project Manager, and the Asset Funders Network leadership for mentioning our program.

ONAC Presented at the FNDI LEAD Conference

On September 29^th, ONAC facilitated a Children’s Savings Account session during the First Nations Development Institute (FNDI) LEAD Conference, in Tulsa, Oklahoma.   During the session, Ms. Finsel, of ONAC, provided general Native Children’s Savings Account (CSA) program design information, as well as specifics about the ONAC Children’s Savings Account program.  Two ONAC CSA partners, the Cherokee Nation Office of Child Support Services (Sara Quetone, Child Support Program Manager, and Miranda Bush, Child Support Specialist) and the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma (Michael Lowery, Grant Coordinator), presented information about their partnerships with ONAC to offer CSAs.  ONAC appreciates the invitation from First Nations Development Institute to participate in their conference.  We also thank our partners for sharing information about the rollout of the CSA program with the youth they serve.

ONAC Attended the AARP Oklahoma Indian Elder Honors and Met with their Staff about Native Asset Building Resources

On October 10^th, ONAC attended the 8^th Annual AARP Oklahoma Indian Elder Honors as an invited guest of AARP Oklahoma.  We were honored to participate and we congratulate all of the honorees.  ONAC participates in the AARP Inter-Tribal Community Group, organized by Mashell Sourjohn, Associate State Director of Community Outreach and Sean Voskuhl, AARP Oklahoma State Director.  We are thankful for Ms. Sourjohn’s work to organize that group and for inviting us to attend meetings.  The day after the Indian Elder Honors, we met with the AARP American Indian and Alaska Native Work Group to share information about collaboration between Native asset building coalitions and AARP.  ONAC appreciated the opportunity to attend that meeting.

ONAC Participated in a University of Arkansas Children’s Savings Account Webinar

On October 14^th, ONAC presented information about our Children’s Savings Account (CSA) program on a webinar organized by the University of Arkansas School of Social Work Child Savings Account Team for prospective partners they are working with in Arkansas who are exploring offering CSAs in their home communities.  ONAC was honored to participate and thanks Dr. Marcia Shobe, Professor, and Dr. Yvette Murphy-Erby, Professor, for the invitation to share about our program models and hear from other practitioners across the country.

Oklahoma Arts Council Funding Opportunities

The Oklahoma Arts Council provides grant funding for the following: 

1).  Arts Learning in Communities – hands-on arts instruction (can include performance, visual art, literary arts and traditional art forms.)  For more information, please go to:

http://arts.ok.gov/Arts_in_Communities/Arts_Learning_in_Communities_Grant.html.

2).  Community Arts Programs – audience-based arts and cultural events, including performances, powwows, exhibits and festivals.  For more information, please go to:

http://arts.ok.gov/Arts_in_Communities/Community_Arts_Grant.html

If you are looking for funding for your arts program, these opportunities may be of interest to you.  You may wish to link your financial asset building initiatives to your arts program. 

ONAC is on Facebook and Twitter

Please “like” us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/oknativeassets/.

Please follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/oknativeassets or @oknativeassets.

Thank you for your asset building efforts and for your support of ONAC!

Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition’s 

Children’s Savings Account Programming

Authored by Christy Finsel (Osage), ONAC Executive Director

November 2016

The Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition (ONAC) is an American Indian-led nonprofit network of Native people who are dedicated to increasing self-sufficiency and prosperity in their communities.  The coalition has existed since 2001, was classified by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) in 2014, and is one of only a handful of Native asset building coalitions in operation within the United States.

ONAC administers a Children’s Savings Account (CSA) program that provides a nest egg of savings for Native youth, ages birth to eighteen, and helps them save for asset purchases, such as post-secondary education.  ONAC provides the opening deposit for the youth, plus a piggy bank, certificate, and financial education booklet.  Most of the accounts are held through a 529 College Savings Plan, although some of the tribal partners have chosen to have the youth open their accounts at a financial institution (so the youth have experience with depositing their savings at a local bank branch).

Making the Case for Native CSAs

Instilling young people with the habit of saving is proven to have long-term benefits. In The College Savings Initiative, a joint project between the Center for Social Development at Washington University in St. Louis and the New America Foundation in Washington, DC, researchers found that “in multivariate analysis, youth who expect to graduate from a four-year college and have an account are about seven times more likely to attend college than youth who expect to graduate from a four-year college but do not have an account.” (Elliott, W. and Beverly, S. (2010). The Role of Savings and Wealth in Reducing “Wilt” between Expectations and College Attendance.  Journal of Children & Poverty, 17(2), 165-185. Also available at https://csd.wustl.edu/Publications/Documents/WP10-01.pdf). 

According to the American Indian College Fund, “only 13% of American Indian students age 25 or older have a college degree-115% below the national level.” (Student Success Stories, American Indian College Fund, accessed August 14, 2016, at http://www.collegefund.org/success_stories/detail/85). Anecdotally, ONAC has heard from other Native colleagues in Oklahoma that there are scholarship funds available that are not applied for, even though Native youth are eligible applicants.  CSAs can help create a pipeline for Native youth to college by helping the youth to think positively about their future and their college plans. 

Framework for Native Asset Building

In the ONAC CSA financial education booklet, ONAC recognizes that Native people may think about assets broadly (from a community perspective) and not only as money or individual assets.  The coalition also notes that Native communities have been building assets for generations. At the account opening events, the youth are asked to draw assets of value to them, with art supplies provided by ONAC.  From two of the account opening events, with permission from the parents, ONAC has included the artwork of twelve of the youth in a desk calendar to promote the idea of talking about Native assets throughout the year.  ONAC has distributed the calendars to the youth and their families, as well to our partners and other constituents.  In the next year, ONAC hopes to display the artwork, in an art show, to illustrate the various understandings of assets by Oklahoma Native youth.  To support the idea that food security/cultivation is a Native asset, in June 2016, ONAC started distributing organic garden seeds to the Native youth and their families at the account opening events.

Community Partner Engagement

As a Native asset building coalition, ONAC works to increase the capacity of our Native partners to be able to offer sustainable asset building programs.  Thus, as part of ONAC’s CSA program model, ONAC has formed partnerships with fifteen partners (tribal programs and Native nonprofits).  The partners include the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, Osage Financial Resources, Inc., Citizen Potawatomi Community Development Corporation, Cherokee Nation Child Support Program, Mvskoke Loan Fund, Ponca Tribe Head Start, Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, Kaw Nation, Ranch Good Days, Inc., Pawnee Tribe Title VI Elderly Meals Program (accounts will be opened by grandparents raising grandchildren), BeLieving In Native Generations, Housing Authority of the Seminole Nation, American Indian Resource Center, Inc., and the Scholarship Foundation Program of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. The CSA models are customized by each partner to meet local needs.

Grant Support and Outcomes to Date

Since 2014, with grants from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and First Nations Development Institute, with support from the Ford Foundation, ONAC has secured funding for 635 Children’s Savings Accounts.  As of November 6, 2016, ONAC has opened and funded 255 accounts, and has funded mini grants for an initial 35 accounts that were opened by the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, as well as funded two mini grants to the Kaw Nation and Ranch Good Days, Inc. for 40 more accounts, for a total of 330 accounts.  Of the data we have to date, 245 accounts were opened through the Oklahoma 529 College Savings Plan (accounts with youth associated with Osage Financial Resources, Inc., Mvskoke Loan Fund, Cherokee Nation Child Support Services, BeLieving In Native Generations and Riverside Indian School, American Indian Resource Center, Inc., the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, and the Ponca Tribe Head Start Program); 10 were opened through MOST-Missouri’s 529 College Savings Plan (for youth associated with the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma); and 35 were opened at financial institutions (one in Anadarko and another in Tahlequah). ONAC will fund the remaining 305 accounts through April 2018.  In November 2016, one more account opening session is planned with the Pawnee Tribe Title VI Elderly Meals Programs (for grandparents raising grandchildren).  The coalition has secured initial endowment funding to open additional accounts in the future. More information will be forthcoming.

ONAC did not collect data on the age or gender of, or whether the youth were living at or below 200% of the federal poverty line for the 35 accounts opened by the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians and the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes during their pilot CSA mini grant projects.  Each of those 35 youth was an enrolled tribal member of those two tribes (AI/AN).  ONAC also has not collected age, gender, and family income information, to date, on the 40 youth who are receiving accounts funded by ONAC mini grants to the Kaw Nation and Ranch Good Days, Inc.  The 40 youth receiving those funds are either enrolled tribal members of the Kaw Nation or Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes.

Since December 2015, ONAC has collected the following data on the 255 accounts we have funded (ONAC directly sent in opening deposit checks for these 255 accounts):

·      100% AI/AN

·      211 youth living at or below 200% of the federal poverty line

·      44 youth living above 200% of the federal poverty line

·      131 youth identified as boys

·      124 youth identified as girls

Ages of 255 Youth Account Owners as of October 2016

Age	Under 1	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Numbers of youth that age	14	13	12	26	22	11	16	11	23

Age	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Numbers of youth that age	12	16	11	18	16	14	8	6	3	3

Given this data, there is evidence that the families desire these accounts even if the youth is a teenager.  While ONAC promotes the idea of starting earlier in saving for college, parents thought it important to still open accounts for older youth at ONAC account opening events.

Innovation in Addressing Gaps and Championing Community Assets

ONAC has championed culturally-relevant CSA models that build community assets.  Program innovations include:

• Wichita and Affiliated Tribes administered a Wichita SummerSmart Youth Program where, in addition to building tribal pride through teaching Wichita history and culture and promoting good health practices, they offered savings accounts for the interns and youth participants as well as financial education classes. During the program, with the grant funds, they opened 27 Children’s Savings Accounts (including 4 accounts for their youth interns). The children learned about tribal presidents, aboriginal homelands of the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, traditional foods such as corn, and their language. They were introduced to a wide variety of physical activities such as dodgeball, kickball, and other sports. They were also provided nutrition classes by their Food Distribution staff. A banker came and discussed with them the importance of saving money, and the children noted the things they would like to save for in the future. Wichita and Affiliated Tribes President, Terri Parton, also held a discussion with the youth to reemphasize the importance of saving for things that they wanted and needed.
  
• The Mvskoke Loan Fund held a CSA opening event that coincided with a Muscogee (Creek) Movie Night at the Dome (where the tribe shows a full length children’s movie).  They opened 116 Children’s Savings Accounts with Muscogee (Creek) parents/guardians through the Oklahoma 529 College Savings Plan.  Building from Indigenous teachings that assets are not only money, the Mvskoke Loan Fund invited a Muscogee (Creek) artist, Daniel Wind III, to display his work.  Muscogee college students volunteered to work with the youth attendees on artwork that the youth created to express their understandings of assets.  The youth drew pictures of their families, homes, flowers and trees, food, and a person graduating and getting a job. 
  
• The Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma opened a total of fifty ONAC Children’s Savings Accounts for youth enrolled in a financial education program they provided, as well as for children who attend their Early Childhood Learning Center.   They held a Family and College Savings Plan Night at their Early Childhood Learning Center.   During that event, they scheduled storytelling, a Native arts project, supervised playtime, and dinner.  Chief Glenna Wallace attended the event to support tribal staff and to encourage the parents and youth to deposit more funds in the account over the years.
  

Scalability and Replicability

In Oklahoma, among the CSA partners, there is interest in 450 more accounts than ONAC has the funding to support.  Additionally, there is interest in Native CSAs around the country from other Native communities.  

ONAC is in a position to scale this CSA project nationally.  The ONAC board has approved for ONAC to open CSAs for any Native youth residing in the United States and its territories.   The coalition has designed an online CSA application system to provide the coalition with the mechanism to open accounts with Native families in any state.  Thus far, accounts have been opened in Oklahoma and Missouri, as the Eastern Shawnee Tribe is located near the border of both states.

ONAC believes this CSA program is replicable.  The coalition has shared information about the CSA models nationally via our newsletter and by presenting information about the program at national convenings.  Also, in regard to replicability, ONAC has worked with child support contacts to tease out alternatives to forgiveness of state assigned child support arrears as such forgiveness it is not allowed in Oklahoma due to the wording of the state constitution. This gap in arrears forgiveness and CSA development in Oklahoma, led ONAC, with the Cherokee Nation Office of Child Support Services, to arrive at an alternative option that tribally-administered child support programs may want to offer their clients. To add extra incentive for parents served by the Cherokee Nation Office of Child Support Services to deposit funds into their children’s accounts, they will offer the custodial and noncustodial parents, who have establishment and enforcement cases, an offer for private mediation. If both parties are willing, and the non-custodial parent owes a custodial parent money, in order to work a good obligation, the non-custodial parent may deposit money into the CSA for the benefit of their child. This reduces the non-custodial parent’s debt, and helps the child to have a bigger nest egg of savings. This ONAC CSA model, with an added debt reduction component, may be a replicable model for other tribally administered child support programs.

Thank You

ONAC wishes to thank Kerry Alexander, Director for TIAA of the Oklahoma 529 College Savings Plan, and Tim Allen, Deputy Treasurer for Communications and Program Administration of the Office of Oklahoma State Treasurer Ken Miller, for their assistance.

Contact

For further information about ONAC and the CSA program, contact Christy Finsel, ONAC Executive Director, at cfinsel@oknativeassets.org.  ONAC’s website address is www.oknativeassets.org.

Children’s Savings Account Pilot Updates 

On September 26, 2016, BeLieving in Native Generations (BLING), a Native-led nonprofit, partnered with ONAC to begin to open their nineteen allotted Children’s Savings Accounts for 4^th and 5^th grade students attending Riverside Indian School in Anadarko, Oklahoma. During the account opening event, ONAC, BLING, and staff from the school, met with the parents of the students and assisted them as they opened 529 accounts for the benefit of their children.  Each youth received the ONAC financial education booklet and a certificate celebrating their account.  ONAC provided the $100 account opening deposit for each student.  During the account opening event, the students drew assets of value to them.  ONAC provided the art supplies for their art project.  Additionally, ONAC provided the youth with organic gardening seeds for their families.  ONAC thanks Deborah Scott, Director of BLING; Kristie Subieta, Counseling Psychologist at Riverside Indian School; Clay Vinyard, Superintendent; Patrick Moore, Principal of the High School; and Jeremy Lee, Dean of Students, for their support of this project.

One day later, on September 27, 2016, the American Indian Resource Center, Inc. (AIRC), also a Native-led nonprofit, partnered with ONAC to open thirty-five Children’s Savings Accounts for 5-8^th grade students in the Cherokee Immersion after-school program, as well as accounts for their siblings.  During this particular account opening event, the parents attended and opened the accounts with assistance from ONAC and AIRC staff.  A Cherokee artist Matthew Anderson, Cultural Specialist at the Cherokee Arts Center & Spider Gallery, attended and shared information about Cherokee traditional arts.  The students then completed the Native arts project.  As a means of promoting that we are building multiple Native assets, ONAC provided each student with a bag of organic gardening seeds, as well as gardening instructions.  A big thank you to Pamela Iron, Executive Director, Georgia Dick, project lead, and other AIRC, Inc. staff for all their organizing efforts. 

With grants from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and First Nations Development Institute, with support of the Ford Foundation, ONAC has secured funding for 635 Children’s Savings Accounts.  As of October 2016, ONAC has opened and funded 220 accounts, plus funded mini grants for an initial 35 accounts that were opened by the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, as well as funded two mini grants to the Kaw Nation and Ranch Good Days, Inc. for 40 more accounts, for a total of 295 accounts. 

PRESS RELEASE

Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition, Inc.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE , August 18, 2016    

Contact: Christy Finsel, (405) 401-7873

OKLAHOMA NATIVE ASSETS COALITION RECEIVES GRANT FOR 

 ASSET-BUILDING POLICY AND PRACTICE PROJECT

The Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition, Inc. (ONAC) recently received a $120,000 grant from First Nations Development Institute, with support of the Ford Foundation. This award is for an Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition Asset-Building Policy and Practice Project.

With this grant, ONAC will receive funding for constituency building, educating policymakers, and building asset-building programs. “This grant will support ONAC as our coalition hosts our annual conference, provides funding for Children’s Savings Accounts and mini grants in Oklahoma, and offers free technical assistance to our partners who are designing and implementing asset-building programs in the state," said Christy Finsel (Osage), Executive Director of ONAC.   "This funding will also help ONAC to continue to work with tribal, federal and state policymakers and administrative staff to provide information about the unique challenges associated with the racial wealth gap in American Indian communities, including the need to respect tribal sovereignty and understand what program designs have worked in American Indian communities to build family economic security.  We appreciate First Nations Development Institute’s investment in our coalition.  ONAC is excited about this opportunity to help Native families build their assets by working with tribes and Native nonprofits to increase the numbers of asset building programs.” 

The Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition Inc. (ONAC), founded in 2001 and now a 501(c)(3) 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, visit http://oknativeassets.org.            

# # #

ONAC Newsletter, July 2016

ONAC 2016 Conference

On July 12, 2016, ONAC held our 2016 Conference in Oklahoma City at the Oklahoma History Center.  Ninety-eight individuals registered to attend and eighty-three were in attendance.   This was our most attended conference to date. 

ONAC appreciates all those who participated in the conference.  Assistant Chief Lewis Johnson, of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, conducted the tribal welcome.  We then heard updates from ONAC and remarks from the Oklahoma Native Caucus Co-Chairs (Representatives Dan Kirby and Seneca Scott); Vincent G. Logan, Special Trustee, Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST); Lillian Sparks Robinson, Commissioner, Administration for Native Americans; Shawn Spruce, a consultant working with First Nations Development Institute; and Mashell Sourjohn, Associate State Director of Community Outreach.  After lunch, we took a wonderful on-site special tour of the Oklahoma Historical Society American Indian Collections led by Bill Welge, Matt Reed, and two other staff members from the Oklahoma Historical Society.  We then heard from several constituents about their family emergency savings account projects (Michael and Tami Lowery of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma and Dawn Stover of the Native Alliance Against Violence), as well as from Sarah Sattelmeyer of The Pew Charitable Trusts, and Patricia Hart of New America.   After the afternoon break, three ONAC mini grantees (Thunder Whitecloud of the Mvskoke Loan Fund, Tina Pollard of Citizen Potawatomi Community Development Corporation, and Ted Moore of the Kaw Nation) shared updates about their projects.  We then had a Children’s Savings Account panel where we heard from John Blue, Secretary of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Kara Pasqua Whitworth (Director) and Christina Bowlin (CSA Coordinator) of the Office of Child Support Services of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, and Cynthia Logsdon Assistant Director of the Citizen Potawatomi Community Development Corporation.  We ended the day with updates from Sharon Gordon-Ribeiro, Field Office Director-OKC of HUD; Pamela Charles, Sr. Stakeholder Relationship Manager of the IRS; and Cindy Carter Renfro, Native American Liaison of the U.S. Small Business Administration.   ONAC followed the conference sessions with a reception.  Thank you to all the speakers who shared their Native asset building expertise. 

ONAC is grateful to our conference sponsors, AARP Oklahoma and Choctaw Asset Building, as well as First Nations Development Institute, with support of the Ford Foundation, for grant support of this conference.  Additionally, we thank Catherine Bryan (First Nations) and Dawn Hix (Choctaw Asset Building) who staffed the registration table; ONAC Board Members (Anna Knight, Terry Mason Moore,

Elizabeth Ricketts, Dawn Hix, and Cynthia Logsdon) and Advisory Committee Members (Shay Smith, Ed Shaw, Christy Estes, and Lahoma Simmons); the Oklahoma Historical Society staff and volunteers; and all the constituents who traveled to participate in the day.  We are grateful for your support of the coalition and excited about Native asset-building efforts in Oklahoma!

Children’s Savings Account Pilot Updates 

The third of our confirmed CSA partners, the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, has opened a total of forty-eight ONAC Children’s Savings Accounts for youth enrolled in a financial education program they provided, as well as for children who attend their Early Childhood Learning Center.   They held a Family and College Savings Plan Night at their Early Childhood Learning Center on June 3, 2016.   During that event, they scheduled storytelling, a Native arts project, supervised playtime, and dinner.   At the end of the evening, they provided bounce houses for the children in their gym.  

With their strong outreach efforts, their grants office opened Children’s Savings Accounts with Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma parents/guardians.  NAC provided children with $100 for their account, made payable either to the Oklahoma 529 College Savings Plan or MOST-Missouri’s 529 College Savings Plan (as their tribal members live in both states given their close location to the Oklahoma and Missouri borders).  Additionally, ONAC provided each child with a piggy bank, ONAC generated Native-specific financial education booklet, a certificate celebrating their account, and gardening seeds and gardening directions to promote the idea that we are building multiple culturally-relevant assets, including food cultivation/food sovereignty.  Building from ONAC’s belief that assets are not only money, at the Family and College Savings Plan Night, the youth were invited to create a piece of artwork that expressed their understandings of assets.  With parental permissions, ONAC will use artwork from several of the youth, to create a desk calendar to promote the idea of building assets throughout the year.  A big thank you to Chief Glenna J. Wallace who attended and encouraged the parents and children to save for the future; the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma’s Grants Department (Tami Lowery and Michael Lowery); the Early Childhood Learning Center Director (Bobbie Ahrens) and staff; Wellness Center Director (Ron Wallace) and staff; Ryan Frieze of the IT Department; and those who volunteered with them to make the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma CSA pilot a great success!  

ONAC to Speak at the LEAD Conference

ONAC will speak at the upcoming First Nations Development Institute LEAD Conference to be held September 27-29, 2016, in Tulsa, Oklahoma.   Ms. Finsel, of ONAC, will provide general Native Children’s Savings Account program design information, as well as specifics about the ONAC Children’s Savings Account program.  Two ONAC CSA partners, the Cherokee Nation Office of Child Support Services and the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, will present information about their partnerships with ONAC to offer CSAs.  For more information, or to register, go to https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/?eventid=1823021.

ONAC Awards One New Mini Grant in July 2016

ONAC announces that it has awarded an ONAC mini grant to the Housing Authority of the Seminole Nation.  This grant was made possible with support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

In January 2016, ONAC released our second request for proposals (RFP) to fund Native asset building projects in Oklahoma.  We received excellent applications from tribal governments and tribal programs based in Oklahoma.  At the time, ONAC received an application from the Housing Authority of the Seminole Nation but was not able to fund the grant until our second grant installment from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation arrived.  ONAC is excited to work with their housing authority as they continue to offer Native asset building projects to their tribal members.  If needed, ONAC is available to provide free training and technical assistance to them as they implement their asset-building program.  Congratulations to the Housing Authority of the Seminole Nation on this award.

The Housing Authority of the Seminole Nation will assist ten families with starting an Emergency Savings Account, as part of a matched savings account program, to help them to become more self-sufficient and move towards homeownership.  This grant will allow the housing authority to develop a core curriculum to help prevent foreclosure and send staff to foreclosure prevention and credit and budgeting training.  By June 2017, ten families will have opened emergency savings accounts with the initial deposit money ($200 per family) provided through this grant (awarded $3,500). 

ONAC Welcomes Donations, Sponsorships, Memberships, and Endowment Support

As part of our efforts to sustain and grow the coalition, ONAC welcomes donations, sponsorships, and memberships.  We are also interested in beginning an endowment. 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 appreciates your support!

ONAC Announces New Board Member

ONAC welcomes a new board member, Cynthia Logsdon.  She will join the board as a Board Director.  Mrs. Logsdon has a long history of supporting ONAC and providing leadership to the coalition.  Most recently, she was a member of the ONAC Advisory Committee.  Cindy is the Assistant Director of the Citizen Potawatomi Community Development Corporation in Shawnee, Oklahoma.  We are thankful for her service to ONAC!

Thank you for your asset building efforts and for your support of ONAC!

We invite you to attend the 2017 Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition (ONAC) Conference.  ONAC will release the 2017 Conference date by early 2017.    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. At the end of the day, we will have a networking reception and provide ONAC membership information. We invite you to participate in this interactive conference. Who should attend the conference? Those interested and engaged in Native asset building. 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 Administration for Children and Families, and others interested in tribal asset building in Oklahoma to attend. Conference Schedule: 9:00 a.m. Registration and Breakfast 9:15 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Conference 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Networking Reception and Membership Drive Agenda: Agenda is forthcoming.		What is ONAC?   The Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition (ONAC) is a nonprofit 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 security of tribal citizens. What is ONAC’s role with Native asset building? ONAC is working with constituents and partners to increase the number of Native asset building opportunities such as: financial education programs credit builder programs Individual Development Account programs (matched savings) homeownership and foreclosure prevention programs children's savings programs entrepreneurial programs free tax preparation at Voluntary Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites, etc. Questions? If you have any questions about ONAC or the 2017 ONAC Conference, please contact Christy Finsel, ONAC Executive Director, at cfinsel@oknativeassets.org or at (405) 401-7873