News

ONAC Newsletter, December 2018

ONAC Awarded A Grant By the Wells Fargo Foundation

In November 2018, ONAC was awarded a $250,000 grant by the Wells Fargo Foundation.  These funds allow ONAC to expand our programs to promote family financial security for American Indian and Alaska Native families through the Wells Fargo American Indian/Alaska Native Financial Capability Grant Program.  This grant will fund culturally-relevant and community-centric asset building services and programs through targeted outreach in Montana, Minnesota, North Carolina, Alaska, and Oklahoma.  The grant award will be directed to American Indians and Alaska Natives through a 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, and family emergency savings accounts programs.  The support from Wells Fargo Bank will also support ONAC’s Professional Development/Asset Program 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 Native asset building research and evaluation; promote Native Bank On efforts; and update and print ONAC-generated financial education booklets for our Children’s Savings Account program.  Additionally, with this support, ONAC will revitalize the national Native EITC/VITA Network of Native site practitioners and advocates.  If you would like to be added to the Native EITC/VITA distribution list, please email Patricia (Patsy) Schramm, the ONAC Native EITC/VITA Coordinator, at edgpj@aol.com.

ONAC Awarded An Administration for Native Americans SEDS Grant

In September 2018, ONAC was awarded an Administration for Native Americans SEDS grant.

ONAC received support to continue our programs to promote family financial security for American Indian families in Oklahoma through the Helping Native Families, in Oklahoma, to Build Assets Project.  This grant funds asset building services and programs in one of the most densely populated areas of Indian Country, including both urban and rural Native communities.  The grant award will be directed to Oklahoma American Indians through a two-pronged approach, including funding the Oklahoma 529 College Savings Plan $100.00 required opening account deposits of 270 Children’s Savings Accounts (CSAs) for Native youth, ages birth to 22, and the funding of 240 family emergency savings accounts for Native families.

The project is funded by a three-year, $375,000, Social and Economic Development grant from the Administration for Native Americans, awarded through the Administration for Children and Families.

“Children’s Savings Accounts, or CSAs, provide a nest egg of savings and can positively affect children’s educational development.  ONAC is administering the largest American Indian-led seeded CSA program in the country, funding 594 accounts to date, with nineteen CSA partners (tribes and Native nonprofits in Oklahoma),” said Christy Finsel (Osage), Executive Director of the Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition Inc. 

“This project will also help Native families with lower incomes open flexible savings accounts to buffer them in times of emergency, income fluctuation, or irregular expenses,” Finsel said.  “Such accounts will promote financial inclusion by providing a mechanism for Native families to connect to mainstream financial services that are safe and affordable.  With this funding, we will provide the initial opening account deposit and then the families can grow the accounts over time with their own deposits.  Emergency savings accounts, for any family, can be a step along the way towards family financial stability and economic mobility.”

The resources from the Administration for Native Americans will allow the Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition, and our Native partners, to continue to positively impact a number of American Indian citizens in Oklahoma.  Finsel added, “We are thankful and very excited about the Administration for Native American’s investment in Oklahoma Native communities and our Native-led asset building coalition.” 

40 BNC Train-the-Trainer Participants Certified to Teach Financial Education

From October 23-25, 2018, 40 individuals attended an ONAC-hosted BNC training in Oklahoma City, OK.   All the attendees were certified to teach the Building Native Communities financial education curriculum.  Such trainings are designed to provide Native-specific and culturally-relevant financial education training for those that teach financial education in Native communities.

Native-specific financial education trainings, such as BNC trainings, acknowledge the broader understanding Native communities have about assets, as assets not only being money but also sovereignty, kinship, Native languages and arts, natural resources, etc.  The training materials include culturally relevant examples and note the ways Native communities have been saving for generations.  Tribes and Native nonprofits may choose to integrate Native financial education into their other asset building programs.  

This training was sponsored by First Nations Development Institute, the Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition, Inc. (ONAC), Native Alliance Against Violence, Choctaw Asset Building, Bank2, and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Victim Services.  Thanks to all these sponsors.  We would not have been able to host this training without their support.

Successful 1:1 Fund Campaign to Support ONAC’s CSA Program

On November 27, 2018, the 1:1 Fund matched your ONAC CSA donation, dollar for dollar, up to $500.  During this campaign, ONAC raised $2,554.   With your support, ONAC met our goal for the day and has funds for 25 more CSAs. 

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.  ONAC uses these donations fund the $100 minimum opening account deposit required for each 529 account.   These funds allow ONAC to serve Native youth ages birth to 22.  Since 2014, ONAC has funded 624 CSAs.

Financial Education Resources for Youth

There are a variety of financial education resources available for youth.  Below are two options:

1).  First Nations Development Institute offers a $pending Frenzy financial education simulation kit.  This kit comes with everything you need to host a successful financial reality fair that will help prepare Native American youth to budget money. The $pending Frenzy financial reality fair was designed by First Nations Development Institute to offer Native youth an opportunity to practice handling a sum of money and to spend it wisely.  In the simulation, teens are given $40,000 in fake money and are required to make informed spending decisions to purchase a car, a house, groceries, and other items.   Students can practice visiting a bank to cash their check and deposit a share of their money into savings, and are also given the opportunity to learn about investing a portion of their money.  The full kit is available for $1,200 including free standard UPS ground delivery.  The kit comes with play money, a bill counter, booth materials, and a facilitator’s guide.  For more information, or to order a kit, contact (540) 371-5615.

2).  The Junior Achievement of Oklahoma has K-12^th grade curriculum that meet national and state education standards. “JA Finance Park”, for example, meets all 14 mandated financial literacy requirements for graduation in Oklahoma.  This is a highly interactive web-based program for 9^th-12^th graders. For more information, contact Jo Wise, OKC Regional Director, at jwise@jaok.org, (405) 300-1023. 

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. 

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

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.

ONAC Accepting Letters of Interest for Children's Savings Account and Emergency Savings Account Partners in Oklahoma

While ONAC continues to work with our existing nineteen CSA partners (tribes and Native nonprofits), the coalition is requesting letters of interest for additional tribal, Native nonprofit, and Indian Education program Children's Savings Account partners in Oklahoma.  Also, ONAC is accepting letters of interest for emergency savings account partners in Oklahoma.  The letters are due by December 3, 2018.  See below for more information.  If you have questions, please contact Christy Finsel, ONAC Executive Director, at (405) 401-7873 or cfinsel@oknativeassets.org.

Children’s Savings Account (CSA) Letter of Interest Request:

What is the Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition?

ONAC is a grassroots, Native-led nonprofit asset building coalition with a seventeen-year history of operating in Oklahoma.  As of February 2014, ONAC received IRS approval of tax exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, as well as determination that ONAC was classified as a public charity.

ONAC is one of several Native asset building coalitions nationally, and the only one serving our state and region. While still serving tribes and Native nonprofits in Oklahoma, ONAC has brought additional resources to our constituents through our work on a national level with our participation in asset building advisory groups, requests for non-lobbying administrative policy guidance at the federal level, and presentations at consultations and conferences. ONAC now reaches over 1,200 individuals via our distribution list.  We serve statewide and work on collective asset building activities with the federally recognized tribes, and Native nonprofits, in Oklahoma.

As a nonprofit, our mission 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 asset building strategies. We work with tribes and partners interested in establishing asset building initiatives and programs in Native communities. Such programs include financial education programs, homebuyer preparation, entrepreneurship, Children’s Savings Accounts, family Emergency Savings Accounts, credit builder/credit repair, and Voluntary Income Tax Assistance.

Our coalition administers four programs: 1) Native asset builder professional development, 2) Mini-grants to fund Native asset building projects in Oklahoma, 3) Children’s Savings Accounts (CSAs), and 4) Emergency Savings Accounts (ESAs). 

Current ONAC Children’s Savings Account Program Partners

Since 2014, ONAC has worked with nineteen partners to fund 594 ONAC Children’s Savings Accounts (CSAs) with funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation; First Nations Development Institute; the Osage Nation Foundation; individual, nonprofit, and corporate donors through the 1:1 Fund; and tribal donations.  ONAC distributed statewide request for letters of interest in March 2016 and May 2017 to all federally recognized tribes in Oklahoma, as well as to Native-led nonprofits.  In response to those letters and other outreach, the current ONAC CSA partners include the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes (Anadarko), United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians (Tahlequah), Osage Financial Resources, Inc. (Pawhuska), Citizen Potawatomi Community Development Corporation (Shawnee), Cherokee Nation Child Support Program (Tahlequah), Mvskoke Loan Fund (Okmulgee), Ponca Tribe Head Start (Ponca City), Kaw Nation (Kaw City), Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma (Wyandotte), American Indian Resource Center, Inc. (Tahlequah), BeLieving In Native Generations (Anadarko), Housing Authority of the Seminole Nation (Wewoka), Pawnee Tribe Title VI Elderly Meals Program (Pawnee), Scholarship Foundation Program of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation (Okmulgee), the Osage Nation Financial Assistance Department (Pawhuska), the Housing Authority of the Peoria Tribe of Indians in Oklahoma (Miami), the Modoc Tribe and the Modoc Housing Authority of Oklahoma (Miami), and Wyandotte Nation (Wyandotte).  ONAC is grateful to our funders and partners for the opportunity to open accounts with Native youth.

At this time, while ONAC continues to work with the nineteen CSA partners to open accounts, ONAC welcomes additional letters of interest, as we have secured funding, from several sources, to open accounts with additional partners.

Why is ONAC interested in funding Children’s Savings Accounts for youth?

We hope that this project will help youth have their own college savings account that can grow over time with potential deposits from their family, the child, and/or the tribe or Native nonprofit (it is not a requirement that the tribal or Native nonprofit partners deposit funds into the account though you are welcome to do so).  ONAC would like for these accounts to be a nest egg of savings for Native children to help them save for college or trade school costs.  There is recent research from the University of Kansas and Washington University in St. Louis that suggests that “youth who expect to graduate from a four-year college and have designated a portion of their savings for college are approximately four times more likely to attend college than youth who have no account.” With such research in hand, ONAC believes that Children’s Savings Accounts can make a difference in the lives of children.  With this program, we wish to help support Native youth’s future plans.

What are the criteria for partnership?

·      Eligible partners include Tribes, Native nonprofits, or Indian Education programs located in Oklahoma, that are willing to work with ONAC to open Children’s Savings Accounts with Native youth.  If you have questions about eligible partners, please contact Christy Finsel, ONAC Executive Director, at 405-401-7873.

Target Population for the Letter of Interest:

Partners should choose a specific group of youth for which you wish to open the accounts (the youth may be ages birth to age 22). When sending your letter of interest to ONAC, please determine a target population for which you wish to open the accounts.  For example, you may wish to propose that you would open accounts for all youth in your tribal after-school program, Head Start class, Native language immersion school, or for a certain number of youth being served by your tribally-administered child support program.   If you are administering a Voluntary Income Tax Assistance site, you may wish to propose that you would open accounts for the youth of the parents you serve.  For those administering a tribal food program, you may wish to work with a certain number of grandparents raising grandchildren to open Children’s Savings Accounts for their grandchildren.  If you manage a Summer Youth Employment program, you may wish to open accounts for all the youth in the program.   For those of you managing a housing program, you could open accounts with the families of those you serve.  If you offer an Individual Development Account (matched savings account) program, financial education, family emergency savings account, or credit builder/credit repair program for adults, you could offer Children’s Savings Accounts for the children of the parents in the program.

What does ONAC provide with this partnership?

With each account, ONAC provides the required $100.00 minimum opening deposit.  The accounts are parent-owned accounts, generally opened through the Oklahoma 529 College Savings Plan.  (ONAC has also funded twelve accounts, through the Missouri 529 College Savings Plan, for tribal citizens of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, who live in Missouri).  ONAC also provides each child with a piggy bank, certificate celebrating their participation in the program, a Native-specific financial education activity booklet, art supplies for an art project at the account opening events, and organic gardening seeds to promote food security (as ONAC promotes that assets are not only financial, but also a broad array of other Native assets such as sovereignty, education, family, kinship, natural resources, Native languages, etc.).  ONAC has funding to provide honorariums for local Native artists that are invited to work with the youth on an art project at the account-opening events (the youth are invited to draw pictures of assets they value).

ONAC has generated all the necessary forms and will work with the partner to customize the letter to parents/guardians.  Prior to the events, ONAC pays for all the necessary printing.  Christy Finsel, ONAC Executive Director, brings all the supplies to the account-opening events and works with the parents to complete the applications.  After the account-opening event, ONAC writes a check for $100.00 for each child’s account and directly mails the checks and applications to the 529 College Savings Plan.  ONAC gathers the evaluations and program data, and tracks information about numbers of accounts opened, such as the ages of the youth, tribal affiliation, if the families are living at or below 200% of the federal poverty level (not always a requirement for family participation, ONAC funding dependent), gender, and qualitative data about the parental hopes for the accounts. 

What do the partners provide with this partnership?

The partners host the account-opening events in their local communities.  Partners market the ONAC account-opening event and invite those they serve to attend.  Generally, the partners host the events in a tribal community center, or in their office or program facility, and pay for any rental costs associated with reserving the space for the account-opening event.  Budget depending, the partner may also provide snacks or a meal at the account-opening events for the families.  Partners work with ONAC to invite a local tribal artist to attend the event and work with the youth on the art project.  Sometimes, for families that do not have all their needed information to complete the applications at the account-opening events, the partners will help the families complete the forms after learning more about the forms during the account-opening event.  (If needed, ONAC is available by phone, post-event, to help remaining families complete their applications). The partners may collect remaining applications and mail them to ONAC so ONAC can write the checks and send the final materials to the 529 plan.  Also, ONAC requests that partners help distribute follow-up evaluation surveys to the families.

For the Letter of Interest, Please Include the Following:

1) Name of tribe, Native nonprofit, or Indian Education program in Oklahoma interested in partnering with ONAC on this Children’s Savings Account (CSA) pilot project.

2) Contact information for contact at the tribe, Native nonprofit, or Indian Education program (name, title, mailing address, phone number, and email address).

3)  Short description of the target population of youth for which you propose to work with ONAC to open Children’s Savings Accounts.   Please provide brief general information about the ages of the children, the program or department they are served by, if they live in a certain geographic area, general social/economic information, etc.

4)  Number of accounts would you like to open with the target population.

You may email your letter to Christy Finsel, ONAC Executive Director, at cfinsel@oknativeassets.org.  Letters are due by December 3, 2018.  ONAC appreciates your consideration of this partnership!

Emergency Savings Account (ESA) Letter of Interest Request:

History of the Emergency Savings Account (ESA) Program

To date, ONAC has provided grant funding to tribes and Native nonprofits to administer ESAs.  Thus far, 240 ESAs have been funded in Oklahoma with ONAC grant funding.

Currently, ONAC has funds to open ESAs directly with Native families and tribal and Native nonprofits, similar to how we administer our Children’s Savings Account (CSA) program.   Instead of awarding grants to tribes and Native nonprofits to administer the program directly, ONAC is available to partner with the tribes and Native nonprofits and to work with them to open ESAs at account opening events throughout Oklahoma.  ONAC provides $300.00 per account.  The accounts may be opened by American Indians ages 14 and older.  If the partner has a financial institution they work with that will offer fee free accounts, ONAC can work with those financial institutions to hold the accounts.  If a fee free savings or checking account is needed, with an online account application and online banking services, ONAC will work with Bank2 to hold the ESAs.  

Why is ONAC interested in funding Emergency Savings Accounts for Native families?

We hope that this project will help Native families to have their own emergency savings account that can grow over time with potential deposits from their family and/or the tribe or Native nonprofit (it is not a requirement that the tribal or Native nonprofit partners deposit funds into the account though you are welcome to do so). ESAs provide a buffer in times of income fluctuation, changes in employment, natural disasters, a home repair emergency, increases in student school expenses, etc. Also, with a safe and affordable bank account, those receiving tax refunds, after having their taxes prepared for free at Voluntary Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites, will have a bank account to hold their refund.  The emergency savings accounts help address the lack of emergency savings among Native populations.  According to data from a 2017 report from the FINRA Investor Education Foundation and First Nations Development Institute, 31% of American Indian/Alaska Native respondents reported that they were certain they could not come up with $2,000 if a need arose in the next month; this represents the lowest emergency savings rate across all major populations.  With this program, ONAC wishes to help Native families open and initially fund an ESA.

What are the criteria for partnership?

·      Eligible partners include Tribes or Native nonprofits located in Oklahoma, that are willing to work with ONAC to open Emergency Savings Accounts with Native families.  If you have questions about eligible partners, please contact Christy Finsel, ONAC Executive Director, at 405-401-7873.

Target Population for the Letter of Interest:

Partners should choose a specific group of American Indian account owners for which you wish to open the accounts (ages 14 and older). When sending your letter of interest to ONAC, please determine a target population for which you wish to open the accounts.  For example, you may wish to propose that you would open accounts for all adults in your tribal workforce development program, financial education course, parents with children in your Native language immersion school, or for a certain number of adults being served by your housing authority or tribally-administered child support program.   If you are administering a Voluntary Income Tax Assistance site, you may wish to propose that you would open accounts for those you serve, on a first-come, first-serve basis.  For those administering a tribal food program, you may wish to work with a certain number of grandparents raising grandchildren to open ESAs for the grandparents.  If you manage a Summer Youth Employment program, with youth ages 14 and older, you may wish to open accounts for all the youth in the program. If you offer an Individual Development Account (matched savings account) program or credit builder/credit repair program for adults, you could offer ESAs for all the adults in the program.

What does ONAC provide with this partnership?

With each account, ONAC will provide a $300.00 opening deposit.  The accounts are owned by the account owner in the family and are not custodial accounts (so no name of the tribe or Native nonprofit on the accounts).  ONAC has generated all the necessary forms and will work with the partner to customize the letter to the families.  Prior to the events, ONAC pays for all the necessary printing.  Christy Finsel, ONAC Executive Director, brings all the supplies to the account-opening events and works with the parents to complete the applications.  After the account-opening event, ONAC writes a check for $300.00 for each family’s account.  ONAC gathers the evaluations and program data, and tracks information about numbers of accounts opened, such as the ages of the account owner, tribal affiliation, if the families are living at or below 200% of the federal poverty level (not a requirement for family participation for this specific source of funding to ONAC), gender, and qualitative data about the account owner’s hopes for the account.  Based upon need for accounts, per partner, and availability of funding for the accounts, ONAC will allocate a specific number of accounts per partner.  If, for some reason, the partners do not use all of their allocated accounts, the accounts will be reallocated to other partners for use after a mutually agreed upon amount of time.

What do the partners provide with this partnership?

The partners host the account-opening events in their local communities.  Partners market the ONAC account-opening event and invite those they serve to attend.  Generally, the partners host the events in a tribal community center, or in their office or program facility, and pay for any rental costs associated with reserving the space for the account-opening event.  Budget depending, the partner may also provide snacks or a meal at the account-opening events for the families. ONAC requests that partners help distribute follow-up evaluation surveys to the families.

For the Letter of Interest, Please Include the Following:

1) Name of tribe or Native nonprofit in Oklahoma interested in partnering with ONAC on this Emergency Savings Account (ESA) pilot project.

2) Contact information for contact at the tribe or Native nonprofit (name, title, mailing address, phone number, and email address).

3) Short description of the target population of Native families for which you propose to work with ONAC to open Emergency Savings Accounts.   Please provide brief general information about the ages of the potential account owners, the program or department they are served by, if they live in a certain geographic area, general social/economic information, etc.

4)  Number of accounts would you like to open with the target population.

You may email your letter to Christy Finsel, ONAC Executive Director, at cfinsel@oknativeassets.org. Letters are due by December 3, 2018.  ONAC appreciates your consideration of this partnership!

Elliott, W., & Beverly, S. (2010).  The role of savings and wealth in reducing “wilt” between expectations and college attendance (CSD Working Paper 10-01).  St. Louis, MO: Washington University, Center for Social Development.  

On October 23-25, 2018, ONAC successfully provided a BNC training in Oklahoma City for forty participants.

BNC trainings are designed to provide Native-specific and culturally-relevant financial education training for those teach financial education in Native communities.   If you are new to teaching financial education, this is a great way to receive certification, so you may more confidently teach classes in your tribal communities.  For those already teaching classes, this training is designed to help you refresh your skills and have access to updated curriculum materials.  On the final day of the training, participants are invited to take a test so they may be a certified Building Native Communities trainer.

Native-specific financial education trainings, such as BNC trainings, acknowledge the broader understanding Native communities have about assets, as assets not only being money but also sovereignty, kinship, Native languages and arts, natural resources, etc.  The training materials include culturally relevant examples and note the ways Native communities have been saving for generations.  Tribes and Native nonprofits may choose to integrate Native financial education into their other asset building programs.  

This training was sponsored by First Nations Development Institute, the Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition, Inc. (ONAC), Native Alliance Against Violence, Choctaw Asset Building, Bank2, and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Victim Services.  Thanks to all these sponsors.  Also, thanks to the trainer, Shawn Spruce, and all the training participants!

News Release

Contact:

Christy Finsel, cfinsel@oknativeassets.org

(405) 401-7873

October 19, 2018                                                           

Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition, Inc. (ONAC) to Continue to Offer Children’s Savings Accounts and Family Emergency Savings Accounts with Tribes and Native Nonprofits in Oklahoma

Oklahoma City, OK - The Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition, Inc. (ONAC) received support to continue their programs to promote family financial security for American Indian families in Oklahoma through the Helping Native Families, in Oklahoma, to Build Assets Project.  This grant will fund culturally-relevant and community-centric asset building services and programs in one of the most densely populated areas of Indian Country, including both urban and rural Native communities.  The grant award will be directed to Oklahoma American Indians through a two-pronged approach, including funding the Oklahoma 529 College Savings Plan $100.00 required opening account deposits of 270 Children’s Savings Accounts (CSAs) for Native youth, ages birth to 22, and the funding of 240 family emergency savings accounts for Native families.

The project is funded by a three-year, $375,000, Social and Economic Development grant from the Administration for Native Americans, awarded through the Administration for Children and Families.

“Children’s Savings Accounts, or CSAs, provide a nest egg of savings and can positively affect children’s educational development.  ONAC is administering the largest American Indian-led seeded CSA program in the country, funding 594 accounts to date, with nineteen CSA partners (tribes and Native nonprofits in Oklahoma),” said Christy Finsel (Osage), Executive Director of the Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition Inc. 

“This project will also help Native families with lower incomes open flexible savings accounts to buffer them in times of emergency, income fluctuation, or irregular expenses,” Finsel said.  “Such accounts will promote financial inclusion by providing a mechanism for Native families to connect to mainstream financial services that are safe and affordable.  With this funding, we will provide the initial opening account deposit and then the families can grow the accounts over time with their own deposits.  Emergency savings accounts, for any family, can be a step along the way towards family financial stability and economic mobility.”

The resources from the Administration for Native Americans will allow the Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition, and our Native partners, to continue to positively impact a number of American Indian citizens in Oklahoma.  Finsel added, “We are thankful and very excited about the Administration for Native American’s investment in Oklahoma 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 Administration for Native Americans: The Administration for Native Americans promotes self-sufficiency for Native Americans by providing discretionary grant funding for community-based projects, and training and technical assistance to eligible tribes and Native organizations.  For more information, visit https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ana/about.

ONAC Newsletter, October 2018

ONAC 2018 Conference on June 5, 2018 Was a Success

The Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition (ONAC) held our annual conference on June 5, 2018.   Ninety-one individuals attended.  We wish to thank the following sponsors and supporters:  AARP Oklahoma, Osage Casino, Chickasaw Nation Community Development Endeavor, LLC, Choctaw Asset Building, Publishing Concepts, LLC, Cherokee Nation Commerce Services, First Nations Development Institute, and the Native Alliance Against Violence.  

Throughout the day we held five conference sessions.  They included an opening welcome by President Terri Parton; information about the work of the coalition over the past year, presented by Christy Finsel; acknowledgement of the ONAC leadership committee and board members, as well as other supporters and partners; and a session on tribal leader reflections on Native asset building by John “Rocky” Barrett, Chairman, Citizen Potawatomi Nation; Terri Parton, President, Wichita and Affiliated Tribes; and Kay Rhoads, Principal Chief, Sac and Fox.  Additionally Michael Sherraden, George Warren Brown Distinguished University Professor and Director of the Center for Social Development, Washington University in Saint Louis, presented data about Children’s Development Accounts/Children’s Savings Accounts, as well as the state of the field and hopes for the future for asset development in Native communities.  After lunch, Mashell Sourjohn, Associate Director of Community Outreach at AARP Oklahoma, shared resources available to tribal citizens.  Then, the Chickasaw Nation Community Development Endeavor, LLC, facilitated a listening session on New Market Tax Credits.  Following that session, Vincent Palacios, Research Analyst, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, presented poverty and demographic trends for Native populations in Oklahoma.  After an afternoon break, the final conference speakers, Michelle Tinnin, Native American Program Specialist of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; Pamela Charles, Sr. Stakeholder Relationship Manager of the IRS; Cindy Carter, Native American Liaison of the U.S. Small Business Administration; Aracely Panameno, Director, Latino Affairs at the Center for Responsible Lending; and Nancy Bainbridge, Senior Vice President, Bank2, provided upcoming event announcements and resources.

Early next year, ONAC will distribute information about our 2019 conference.  We welcome all to attend.

ONAC Children’s Savings Account and Family Emergency Savings Account Program Updates 

·      As of October 2018, ONAC has funded 594 Children’s Savings Accounts (CSAs) and 240 Emergency Savings Accounts (ESAs).  

·      While ONAC continues to work with the existing nineteen CSA partners (tribes and Native nonprofits), the coalition is requesting letters of interest for additional tribal, Native nonprofit, and Indian Education program partners in Oklahoma.  The letters are due by December 3, 2018.  See below for more information.  If you have questions, please contact Christy Finsel, ONAC Executive Director, at (405) 401-7873 or cfinsel@oknativeassets.org.

Children’s Savings Account (CSA) Letter of Interest Request:

What is the Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition?

ONAC is a grassroots, Native-led nonprofit asset building coalition with a seventeen-year history of operating in Oklahoma.  As of February 2014, ONAC received IRS approval of tax exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, as well as determination that ONAC was classified as a public charity.

ONAC is one of several Native asset building coalitions nationally, and the only one serving our state and region. While still serving tribes and Native nonprofits in Oklahoma, ONAC has brought additional resources to our constituents through our work on a national level with our participation in asset building advisory groups, requests for non-lobbying administrative policy guidance at the federal level, and presentations at consultations and conferences. ONAC now reaches over 1,200 individuals via our distribution list.  We serve statewide and work on collective asset building activities with the federally recognized tribes, and Native nonprofits, in Oklahoma.

As a nonprofit, our mission 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 asset building strategies. We work with tribes and partners interested in establishing asset building initiatives and programs in Native communities. Such programs include financial education programs, homebuyer preparation, entrepreneurship, Children’s Savings Accounts, family Emergency Savings Accounts, credit builder/credit repair, and Voluntary Income Tax Assistance.

Our coalition administers four programs: 1) Native asset builder professional development, 2) Mini-grants to fund Native asset building projects in Oklahoma, 3) Children’s Savings Accounts (CSAs), and 4) Emergency Savings Accounts (ESAs). 

Current ONAC Children’s Savings Account Program Partners

Since 2014, ONAC has worked with nineteen partners to fund 594 ONAC Children’s Savings Accounts (CSAs) with funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation; First Nations Development Institute; the Osage Nation Foundation; individual, nonprofit, and corporate donors through the 1:1 Fund; and tribal donations.  ONAC distributed statewide request for letters of interest in March 2016 and May 2017 to all federally recognized tribes in Oklahoma, as well as to Native-led nonprofits.  In response to those letters and other outreach, the current ONAC CSA partners include the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes (Anadarko), United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians (Tahlequah), Osage Financial Resources, Inc. (Pawhuska), Citizen Potawatomi Community Development Corporation (Shawnee), Cherokee Nation Child Support Program (Tahlequah), Mvskoke Loan Fund (Okmulgee), Ponca Tribe Head Start (Ponca City), Kaw Nation (Kaw City), Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma (Wyandotte), American Indian Resource Center, Inc. (Tahlequah), BeLieving In Native Generations (Anadarko), Housing Authority of the Seminole Nation (Wewoka), Pawnee Tribe Title VI Elderly Meals Program (Pawnee), Scholarship Foundation Program of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation (Okmulgee), the Osage Nation Financial Assistance Department (Pawhuska), the Housing Authority of the Peoria Tribe of Indians in Oklahoma (Miami), the Modoc Tribe and the Modoc Housing Authority of Oklahoma (Miami), and Wyandotte Nation (Wyandotte).  ONAC is grateful to our funders and partners for the opportunity to open accounts with Native youth.

At this time, while ONAC continues to work with the nineteen CSA partners to open accounts, ONAC welcomes additional letters of interest, as we have secured funding, from several sources, to open accounts with additional partners.

Why is ONAC interested in funding Children’s Savings Accounts for youth?

We hope that this project will help youth have their own college savings account that can grow over time with potential deposits from their family, the child, and/or the tribe or Native nonprofit (it is not a requirement that the tribal or Native nonprofit partners deposit funds into the account though you are welcome to do so).  ONAC would like for these accounts to be a nest egg of savings for Native children to help them save for college or trade school costs.  There is recent research from the University of Kansas and Washington University in St. Louis that suggests that “youth who expect to graduate from a four-year college and have designated a portion of their savings for college are approximately four times more likely to attend college than youth who have no account.” With such research in hand, ONAC believes that Children’s Savings Accounts can make a difference in the lives of children.  With this program, we wish to help support Native youth’s future plans.

What are the criteria for partnership?

Eligible partners include Tribes, Native nonprofits, or Indian Education programs located in Oklahoma, that are willing to work with ONAC to open Children’s Savings Accounts with Native youth.  If you have questions about eligible partners, please contact Christy Finsel, ONAC Executive Director, at 405-401-7873.

Target Population for the Letter of Interest:

Partners should choose a specific group of youth for which you wish to open the accounts (the youth may be ages birth to age 22). When sending your letter of interest to ONAC, please determine a target population for which you wish to open the accounts.  For example, you may wish to propose that you would open accounts for all youth in your tribal after-school program, Head Start class, Native language immersion school, or for a certain number of youth being served by your tribally-administered child support program.   If you are administering a Voluntary Income Tax Assistance site, you may wish to propose that you would open accounts for the youth of the parents you serve.  For those administering a tribal food program, you may wish to work with a certain number of grandparents raising grandchildren to open Children’s Savings Accounts for their grandchildren.  If you manage a Summer Youth Employment program, you may wish to open accounts for all the youth in the program.   For those of you managing a housing program, you could open accounts with the families of those you serve.  If you offer an Individual Development Account (matched savings account) program, financial education, family emergency savings account, or credit builder/credit repair program for adults, you could offer Children’s Savings Accounts for the children of the parents in the program.

What does ONAC provide with this partnership?

With each account, ONAC provides the required $100.00 minimum opening deposit.  The accounts are parent-owned accounts, generally opened through the Oklahoma 529 College Savings Plan.  (ONAC has also funded twelve accounts, through the Missouri 529 College Savings Plan, for tribal citizens of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, who live in Missouri).  ONAC also provides each child with a piggy bank, certificate celebrating their participation in the program, a Native-specific financial education activity booklet, art supplies for an art project at the account opening events, and organic gardening seeds to promote food security (as ONAC promotes that assets are not only financial, but also a broad array of other Native assets such as sovereignty, education, family, kinship, natural resources, Native languages, etc.).  ONAC has funding to provide honorariums for local Native artists that are invited to work with the youth on an art project at the account-opening events (the youth are invited to draw pictures of assets they value).

ONAC has generated all the necessary forms and will work with the partner to customize the letter to parents/guardians.  Prior to the events, ONAC pays for all the necessary printing.  Christy Finsel, ONAC Executive Director, brings all the supplies to the account-opening events and works with the parents to complete the applications.  After the account-opening event, ONAC writes a check for $100.00 for each child’s account and directly mails the checks and applications to the 529 College Savings Plan.  ONAC gathers the evaluations and program data, and tracks information about numbers of accounts opened, such as the ages of the youth, tribal affiliation, if the families are living at or below 200% of the federal poverty level (not always a requirement for family participation, ONAC funding dependent), gender, and qualitative data about the parental hopes for the accounts. 

What do the partners provide with this partnership?

The partners host the account-opening events in their local communities.  Partners market the ONAC account-opening event and invite those they serve to attend.  Generally, the partners host the events in a tribal community center, or in their office or program facility, and pay for any rental costs associated with reserving the space for the account-opening event.  Budget depending, the partner may also provide snacks or a meal at the account-opening events for the families.  Partners work with ONAC to invite a local tribal artist to attend the event and work with the youth on the art project.  Sometimes, for families that do not have all their needed information to complete the applications at the account-opening events, the partners will help the families complete the forms after learning more about the forms during the account-opening event.  (If needed, ONAC is available by phone, post-event, to help remaining families complete their applications). The partners may collect remaining applications and mail them to ONAC so ONAC can write the checks and send the final materials to the 529 plan.  Also, ONAC requests that partners help distribute follow-up evaluation surveys to the families.

For the Letter of Interest, Please Include the Following:

1) Name of tribe, Native nonprofit, or Indian Education program in Oklahoma interested in partnering with ONAC on this Children’s Savings Account (CSA) pilot project.

2) Contact information for contact at the tribe, Native nonprofit, or Indian Education program (name, title, mailing address, phone number, and email address).

3)  Short description of the target population of youth for which you propose to work with ONAC to open Children’s Savings Accounts.   Please provide brief general information about the ages of the children, the program or department they are served by, if they live in a certain geographic area, general social/economic information, etc.

4)  Number of accounts would you like to open with the target population.

You may email your letter to Christy Finsel, ONAC Executive Director, at cfinsel@oknativeassets.org.  Letters are due by December 3, 2018.  ONAC appreciates your consideration of this partnership!

Emergency Savings Account (ESA) Letter of Interest Request:

History of the Emergency Savings Account (ESA) Program

To date, ONAC has provided grant funding to tribes and Native nonprofits to administer ESAs.  Thus far, 240 ESAs have been funded in Oklahoma with ONAC grant funding.

Currently, ONAC has funds to open ESAs directly with Native families and tribal and Native nonprofits, similar to how we administer our Children’s Savings Account (CSA) program.   Instead of awarding grants to tribes and Native nonprofits to administer the program directly, ONAC is available to partner with the tribes and Native nonprofits and to work with them to open ESAs at account opening events throughout Oklahoma.  ONAC provides $300.00 per account.  The accounts may be opened by American Indians ages 14 and older.  If the partner has a financial institution they work with that will offer fee free accounts, ONAC can work with those financial institutions to hold the accounts.  If a fee free savings or checking account is needed, with an online account application and online banking services, ONAC will work with Bank2 to hold the ESAs.  

Why is ONAC interested in funding Emergency Savings Accounts for Native families?

We hope that this project will help Native families to have their own emergency savings account that can grow over time with potential deposits from their family and/or the tribe or Native nonprofit (it is not a requirement that the tribal or Native nonprofit partners deposit funds into the account though you are welcome to do so). ESAs provide a buffer in times of income fluctuation, changes in employment, natural disasters, a home repair emergency, increases in student school expenses, etc. Also, with a safe and affordable bank account, those receiving tax refunds, after having their taxes prepared for free at Voluntary Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites, will have a bank account to hold their refund.  The emergency savings accounts help address the lack of emergency savings among Native populations.  According to data from a 2017 report from the FINRA Investor Education Foundation and First Nations Development Institute, 31% of American Indian/Alaska Native respondents reported that they were certain they could not come up with $2,000 if a need arose in the next month; this represents the lowest emergency savings rate across all major populations.  With this program, ONAC wishes to help Native families open and initially fund an ESA.

What are the criteria for partnership?

Eligible partners include Tribes or Native nonprofits located in Oklahoma, that are willing to work with ONAC to open Emergency Savings Accounts with Native families.  If you have questions about eligible partners, please contact Christy Finsel, ONAC Executive Director, at 405-401-7873.

Target Population for the Letter of Interest:

Partners should choose a specific group of American Indian account owners for which you wish to open the accounts (ages 14 and older). When sending your letter of interest to ONAC, please determine a target population for which you wish to open the accounts.  For example, you may wish to propose that you would open accounts for all adults in your tribal workforce development program, financial education course, parents with children in your Native language immersion school, or for a certain number of adults being served by your housing authority or tribally-administered child support program.   If you are administering a Voluntary Income Tax Assistance site, you may wish to propose that you would open accounts for those you serve, on a first-come, first-serve basis.  For those administering a tribal food program, you may wish to work with a certain number of grandparents raising grandchildren to open ESAs for the grandparents.  If you manage a Summer Youth Employment program, with youth ages 14 and older, you may wish to open accounts for all the youth in the program. If you offer an Individual Development Account (matched savings account) program or credit builder/credit repair program for adults, you could offer ESAs for all the adults in the program.

What does ONAC provide with this partnership?

With each account, ONAC will provide a $300.00 opening deposit.  The accounts are owned by the account owner in the family and are not custodial accounts (so no name of the tribe or Native nonprofit on the accounts).  ONAC has generated all the necessary forms and will work with the partner to customize the letter to the families.  Prior to the events, ONAC pays for all the necessary printing.  Christy Finsel, ONAC Executive Director, brings all the supplies to the account-opening events and works with the parents to complete the applications.  After the account-opening event, ONAC writes a check for $300.00 for each family’s account.  ONAC gathers the evaluations and program data, and tracks information about numbers of accounts opened, such as the ages of the account owner, tribal affiliation, if the families are living at or below 200% of the federal poverty level (not a requirement for family participation for this specific source of funding to ONAC), gender, and qualitative data about the account owner’s hopes for the account.  Based upon need for accounts, per partner, and availability of funding for the accounts, ONAC will allocate a specific number of accounts per partner.  If, for some reason, the partners do not use all of their allocated accounts, the accounts will be reallocated to other partners for use after a mutually agreed upon amount of time.

What do the partners provide with this partnership?

The partners host the account-opening events in their local communities.  Partners market the ONAC account-opening event and invite those they serve to attend.  Generally, the partners host the events in a tribal community center, or in their office or program facility, and pay for any rental costs associated with reserving the space for the account-opening event.  Budget depending, the partner may also provide snacks or a meal at the account-opening events for the families. ONAC requests that partners help distribute follow-up evaluation surveys to the families.

For the Letter of Interest, Please Include the Following:

1) Name of tribe or Native nonprofit in Oklahoma interested in partnering with ONAC on this Emergency Savings Account (ESA) pilot project.

2) Contact information for contact at the tribe or Native nonprofit (name, title, mailing address, phone number, and email address).

3) Short description of the target population of Native families for which you propose to work with ONAC to open Emergency Savings Accounts.   Please provide brief general information about the ages of the potential account owners, the program or department they are served by, if they live in a certain geographic area, general social/economic information, etc.

4)  Number of accounts would you like to open with the target population.

You may email your letter to Christy Finsel, ONAC Executive Director, at cfinsel@oknativeassets.org. Letters are due by December 3, 2018.  ONAC appreciates your consideration of this partnership!

Next 1:1 Fund Campaign to Support ONAC’s CSA Program Scheduled for November 27, 2018

ONAC is celebrating the accomplishments of our children. That’s why, on November 27, 2018, the 1:1 Fund will match your ONAC CSA donation, dollar for dollar, up to $500! The 1:1 Fund will have a match cap of $4,000 per partner for this day (ONAC is a 1:1 Fund partner).  On November 27^th, to donate, please go to: https://give.classy.org/ONAC.  Thank you for your support!

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.  ONAC uses these donations fund the $100 minimum opening account deposit required for each 529 account.   These funds allow ONAC to serve Native youth ages birth to 22. 

ONAC Organizing a Building Native Communities (BNC) Training in Oklahoma With First Nations Development Institute, October 23-25, 2018

BNC trainings are designed to provide Native-specific and culturally-relevant financial education training for those teach financial education in Native communities.   If you are new to teaching financial education, this is a great way to receive certification, so you may more confidently teach classes in your tribal communities.  For those already teaching classes, this training is designed to help you refresh your skills and have access to updated curriculum materials.  On the final day of the training, participants are invited to take a test so they may be a certified Building Native Communities trainer.

Native-specific financial education trainings, such as BNC trainings, acknowledge the broader understanding Native communities have about assets, as assets not only being money but also sovereignty, kinship, Native languages and arts, natural resources, etc.  The training materials include culturally relevant examples and note the ways Native communities have been saving for generations.  Tribes and Native nonprofits may choose to integrate Native financial education into their other asset building programs.  

This training is sponsored by First Nations Development Institute, the Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition, Inc. (ONAC), Native Alliance Against Violence, Choctaw Asset Building, Bank2, and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Victim Services.  Thanks to all these sponsors.  We would not be able to host this training without your support.

Sixty participants are registered to attend, representing twenty tribes, as well as non-Native nonprofits, state programs, and others.  We will plan to offer another training in the future, as we have a wait-list for this one.

Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma Completes ONAC-Funded Mini-Grant Project

The purpose of the Modoc Financial Services Savings Program was to encourage fifteen tribal families to save money for emergency and long-term goals.  The program introduced these fifteen families to the banking industry and helped the tribal members learn how to manage their money.  Each family was provided with $100 for a savings account opening deposit.

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. 

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

  

Information on Pathways Home Train-The-Trainers

The National American Indian Housing Council (NAIHC) will provide their Pathways Home trainings to tribal housing professionals in the same communities that  First Nations Oweesta Corporation will be offering down payment assistance. Combined, the two programs hope to increase homebuyer readiness and get more individuals across the finish line into homeownership.

The first Pathways Home train-the trainer session will be held in Bangor, Maine on November 5-9. The training is open to all tribes. Information on registering for the event can be found at naihc.net.  Additional trainings will be offered in other locations in the future.  To learn more, check with NAIHC.  Once tribal housing professionals are certified at the end of our training, they will then be able to provide homebuyer education directly to individuals looking to purchase a home.

Earlier this year, NAIHC updated and re-launched its widely-used “Pathways Home” curriculum through the help of federal grants and other tribal and private donors. The Pathways Home course was designed specifically for Native communities, by helping Native American homebuyers overcome the unique complexities and challenges of homeownership on sovereign tribal lands.

The Pathways Home curriculum consists of a train-the-trainer course for tribal housing and financial professionals, and materials for prospective homebuyers. It addresses a range of issues facing both American Indians and Alaska Natives, including credit repair, financial management and budgeting, finding a home, applying for a loan, predatory lending, and foreclosure. It also highlights opportunities including manufactured housing, the Section 184 Indian Home Loan Guarantee Program, and homeownership opportunities on trust lands.

Training: "Building Native Communities: Financial Skills for Families"

You are invited to attend a First Nations Development Institute Building Native Communities (BNC) train-the-trainer on October 23-25, 2018, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  

This free of charge training, organized by the Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition, Inc. (ONAC), is co-sponsored by First Nations Development Institute, ONAC, the Native Alliance Against Violence, Choctaw Asset Building, Bank2, and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Victim Services. 

BNC trainings are designed to provide Native-specific and culturally relevant financial education training for those who will then teach (or already do teach) financial education to Native communities.   If you are new to teaching financial education, this is a great way to receive certification, so you may more confidently teach classes in your tribal communities.  For those already teaching classes, this training is designed to help you refresh your skills and have access to updated curriculum materials.  On the final day of the training, participants are invited to take a test so they may be a certified Building Native Communities trainer.  

Native-specific financial education trainings, such as BNC trainings, acknowledge the broader understanding Native communities have about assets, as assets not only being money but also sovereignty, kinship, Native languages and arts, natural resources, etc.  The training materials include culturally relevant examples and note the ways Native communities have been saving for generations.  Tribes and Native nonprofits may choose to integrate Native financial education into their other asset building programs.   

Register HERE  

Who Should Attend this Native-Specific Financial Education Training? 

Tribal leaders, tribal program directors and other staff, Native nonprofits, Native asset building practitioners, college students interested in helping to teach financial education in their tribal communities or at ONAC Children’s Savings Account opening events, tribal housing authorities, domestic violence advocates, state agencies, federal programs, inter-tribal organizations, financial institutions, and others interested in utilizing Native-specific financial education curriculum.  

Training Sponsors: 

This training is sponsored by First Nations Development Institute, the Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition, Inc. (ONAC), Native Alliance Against Violence, Choctaw Asset Building, Bank2, and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Victim Services.  

Training Location: 

The training will be held at the Oklahoma City Community College, located at 7777 South May Avenue, Oklahoma City, OK 73159.   The training room is located in the campus library, the Keith Leftwich Memorial Library, room 407.  During the training, we will provide a handout of nearby restaurants where training participants may choose to eat lunch.   There are two elevators available in the library, if needed to help participants access the training room.   The community college recommends that training participants park in Parking Lot B, by the library, and enter the library through the north doors.  Lot B may be accessed from SW 74^th Street.  Here is a link to the campus map: http://myatlascms.com/map/?id=468#!s/key=Library?m/65276.

Training Schedule: 

Tuesday, October 23, 2018 

   8:00 a.m. Registration

   8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Training 

Wednesday, October 24, 2018 

     8:30 a.m. –4:30 p.m. Training

Thursday, October 25, 2018

     8:30 a.m.–3:00 p.m.  Training and Certification Testing 

Registration Fee: This 2018 Building Native Communities train-the-trainer is free of charge to participants.  Sponsors are covering the costs to provide this training opportunity, as part of their efforts to reduce training costs for Native communities.

Hotel Rate:  Hampton Inn located at 920 S.W. 77^th Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73139.  To make a reservation under the reduced ONAC room rate of $89.00 a night plus tax, call: (405) 602-3400 and provide the rate code C-ONA.   If you have any questions regarding the room rate and reservations, contact Christy Finsel, ONAC Executive Director, at (405) 401-7873.  The hotel provides a complimentary hot/cold buffet breakfast.  Free self-parking is available onsite.  The hotel is 2.6 miles away from the Oklahoma City Community College. 

Questions? 

If you have any questions about this Native financial education training, please contact Christy Finsel, ONAC Executive Director, at cfinsel@oknativeassets.org or at (405) 401-7873. 

Register HERE 

Thank you to the donors who contributed to ONAC's 1:1 Fund campaign last week.  With your support, on Friday evening, we exceeded our campaign goal of $5,000 and raised funds for 51 Children's Savings Accounts for Native youth.   Every donation made a difference.  Thank you donors!  Given the demand for accounts from our nineteen partners, we really appreciated your help to make college savings accounts a reality for Native youth. 

The next 1:1 ONAC campaign will be November 27, 2018.  On that day, the 1:1 Fund will match your donations to the ONAC Children's Savings Account program, dollar for dollar, up to $500 per donation. 

In the interim, if you wish to donate to ONAC's CSA program, without a match, please go to https://give.classy.org/ONAC.

Thank you!

Christy and the ONAC Leadership 

 

ONAC 2018 Conference Follow-Up

Thank you for your attendance at the ONAC Conference yesterday.   ONAC was grateful for your participation.  We appreciated you sharing your day with the coalition.  99 individuals registered to attend and 91 were in attendance.  

ONAC is grateful to all the speakers who shared their asset building expertise.  There was a lot of information shared yesterday.  Special thanks to President Terri Parton, Principal Chief Kay Rhoads, Chairman John "Rocky" Barrett, Dr. Michael Sherraden, Tewanna Edwards, Mashell Sourjohn, Dakota Cole, Vincent Palacios, Michelle Tinnen, Pamela Charles, Cindy Carter, Aracely Panameno, and Nancy Bainbridge.

Thank you also to Governor Edwina Butler-Wolfe for her attendance and to Tewanna Edwards for generously donating the framed prints for the conference raffle.  Also, a big thank you to The Journal Record, and reporter Molly Fleming, for publishing a story about the conference yesterday.  

ONAC held the conference with the generous support of our 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.  Without their support, we would not have held the conference. 

We know that most all of you traveled at least several hours to join us yesterday.  ONAC really appreciates your asset building efforts and your participation in the coalition.  We were honored that you joined us!

Yesterday was a busy day.  We would be happy to follow-up with you about conversations that we were not able to finish yesterday; needs/suggestions you have for the coalition; distribution of information about events you plan to hold in the future; interest your tribe, nonprofit, corporation, etc. may have in partnering with ONAC on Native asset building initiatives; ways you would like to strengthen the coalition; etc.  Please feel free to be in-touch. 

This morning, we heard back from First Nations Development Institute.  They are available to provide a trainer for the Building Native Communities financial education train-the-trainer on October 23-25, 2018.  We will likely hold the training in Oklahoma City.  ONAC will send more information to you soon about the event and sponsors.  Please save the date.  If you are interested in partnering with ONAC to bring this training to OK, including with helping with outreach to your tribe or program, please let us know.