News

With mini-grant funding from the Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition, Inc., the Mvskoke Loan Fund purchased a “Spending Frenzy” game kit offered by First Nations Development and facilitated a “Spending Frenzy” financial education simulation for thirty-five Native students.  Twenty of the middle school students who participated in the simulation and attend the Eufaula Dormitory, a school established by the Muscogee (Creek) Nation in 1892, will receive $100 account opening deposits for emergency savings accounts.  Accounts will be opened at First Family Federal Credit Union.  Students will take a field trip to the credit union headquarters    

To learn more about this mini-grant project funded by ONAC, with support of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, please see this video produced by Mvskoke Media: https://youtu.be/D9sssV7REHQ.

Congratulations to Christopher Coburn, CEO, Mvskoke Loan Fund, and his team for their successful work on this project. 

ONAC Conference A Success!

ONAC's 2017 Annual Conference was a success!  This year, with our constituents' support, ONAC hosted our most-attended conference to date.  On July 18th, 102 participants attended the conference.  Special thanks to all the conference speakers and other conference participants.  ONAC was grateful to the tribal leaders in attendance: Caddo Nation of Oklahoma Chairman Tamara Francis-Fourkiller, Governor Bill Anoatubby of the Chickasaw Nation, Wichita and Affiliated Tribes President Terri Parton, and Muscogee (Creek) Principal Chief James Floyd.  ONAC would like to thank our conference sponsors: Chickasaw Nation Community Development Endeavor, LLC, San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, Osage Casino, Publishing Concepts, LLC, AARP Oklahoma, Tovar and Wheeler Consulting, LLC, as well as our conference donor, the OKC Dodgers Baseball Foundation. 

ONAC Has Funded 438 CSAs to Date!

On July 19, 2017, ONAC and the Osage Nation Financial Assistance Department, located in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, met with parents to open CSAs for youth and young adults, ages 16-22, who are participating in the Osage Nation Summer Youth Employee Program, as well as accounts for siblings of the youth employees.  A total of twenty-nine accounts were opened that night.  The Osage Nation Foundation made a grant award to ONAC to fund twenty-five of those accounts for Osage youth up to age 18. The remaining accounts were funded with grant funds from First Nations Development Institute, with support of the Ford Foundation.  A follow-up account opening event will be held on July 31, 2017, for the summer youth employees.  It is anticipated that additional accounts will be opened that night.  ONAC thanks the Osage Nation Foundation, First Nations Development Institute, and the Ford Foundation, as well as the Osage Nation Financial Assistance Department and the parents and applicants who completed account applications!

ONAC Presented About Children’s Savings Account Program at the World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education 2017 in Toronto, Ontario

Christy Finsel (Osage), ONAC’s Executive Director, was honored to have been selected to present a session at the World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education (WIPCE) 2017.  The session, “Children’s Savings Accounts: An Asset Building Tool to Promote Reconciliation and Level the Asset Building Playing Field,” was held on Wednesday, July 26, 2017.  The session focused on ONAC’s Children’s Savings Account program, which is being implemented by ONAC and the coalition’s sixteen tribal and Native nonprofit partners.  ONAC shared the state of the field of Native CSAs, offered compelling research for CSAs in any community, facilitated conversation about similar savings programs, and explored ways in which attendees could offer children’s savings programs at home.  The theme of WIPCE 2017 is “A Celebration of Resilience.”  According to WIPCE coordinators, “the role and impacts of Indigenous Education in truth and reconciliation around the world is a key focus of the conference theme.  In 2015, Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission issued its final report including 94 Calls to Action.  The Truth and Reconciliation movement is international.  The 2017 WIPCE conference will explore the ways in which Indigenous people around the world are interacting with similar movements and how resiliency is playing a major role in the revitalization of our diverse cultures.”  For more information about WIPCE 2017, go to http://www.wipce2017.com/about2.html.

ONAC Newsletter, July 2017

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.

This year, we are honored to hear from Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby, Wichita and Affiliated Tribes President Terri Parton, Muscogee (Creek) Nation Principal Chief James Floyd, Miriam Jorgensen (Research Professor and Director Native Nations Institute at the University of Arizona and Research Director of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development), Gary Mottola (FINRA Investor Education Foundation), Mashell Sourjohn (AARP Oklahoma), Irving Faught (Oklahoma Securities Commission), Steven Shepelwich (Federal Reserve Bank), Nikki Pieratos (Center for Indian Country Development), Bobby Yandell (Housing Authority of the Choctaw Nation), Elijah McIntosh (Muscogee (Creek) Nation Secretary of the Nation and Commerce), Rebecca Stone (Housing Authority of the Seminole Nation), Georgia Dick and Wyman Kirk (AIRC, Inc.), Debra Echo-Hawk and Danielle Wheatley (Pawnee Nation Title VI Elderly Meals Program), Tina Pollard (Citizen Potawatomi Community Development Corporation), Michelle Tinnin (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development), Pam Charles (Internal Revenue Service), and Cindy Carter Renfro (U.S. Small Business Administration).   We will also have a listening session on New Market Tax Credits with Dakota Cole and board members of the Chickasaw Nation Community Development Endeavor, LLC. 

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:

• 8:30 a.m. Registration and Breakfast (Doors will open at the Oklahoma History Center at 8:00 a.m.)

• 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Conference (During lunch, we will have a silent auction)

• 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Networking Reception and Membership Drive

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 access the agenda and to register, please 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 number of rooms.  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 July 18^th.

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.

Thank you to the following conference sponsors and donors: The Chickasaw Nation Community Development Endeavor, L.L.C., Osage Casino, AARP Oklahoma, Publishing Concepts, L.L.C., Tovar & Wheeler, LLC, and the OKC Dodgers Baseball Foundation.

ONAC Children’s Savings Account (CSA) Program Updates 

On June 15, 2017, the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma held a second College Savings Plan Night.  ONAC and staff from the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma worked with parents to open additional accounts.  A big thank you to Chief Glenna J. Wallace; the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma’s Grants Department (Tami Lowery and Michael Lowery); the Early Childhood Learning Center Director (Stacie Frieze) and staff; and Wellness Center Director (Ron Wallace) and staff.  They all made this event a success!  

The Osage Nation Foundation generously awarded ONAC a grant of $2,500 to fund 25 CSAs for Osage youth served by the Osage Nation Financial Assistance Department.  ONAC is grateful to the Foundation for this funding.   In July 2017, the Osage Nation Financial Assistance Department will hold an account opening event for youth in their Summer Youth Employment Program.  

ONAC Attends Meetings in June

ONAC attended a day of the Oklahoma Securities Commissions’ STARS Teacher Institute in Hulbert, Oklahoma, to learn more about their program.  ONAC also attended the Sovereignty Symposium in Oklahoma City and a Children’s Development Account Conference in St. Louis, Missouri, at Washington University in St. Louis.  We appreciated the opportunity to participate in these events, share information about ONAC, and to continue to meet others interested in Native assets building efforts.

ONAC to Present About Children’s Savings Account Program at the World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education 2017 in Toronto, Ontario

Christy Finsel (Osage), ONAC’s Executive Director, is honored to have been selected to present a session at the World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education (WIPCE) 2017.  The session, “Children’s Savings Accounts: An Asset Building Tool to Promote Reconciliation and Level the Asset Building Playing Field,” will be held on Wednesday, July 26, 2017.  The session will focus on ONAC’s Children’s Savings Account program, which is being implemented by ONAC and the coalition’s sixteen tribal and Native nonprofit partners.  ONAC will share the state of the field of Native CSAs, offer compelling research for CSAs in any community, facilitate conversation about similar savings programs, and explore ways in which attendees could offer children’s savings programs at home.  The theme of WIPCE 2017 is “A Celebration of Resilience.”  According to WIPCE coordinators, “the role and impacts of Indigenous Education in truth and reconciliation around the world will be a key focus of the conference theme.  In 2015, Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission issued its final report including 94 Calls to Action.  The Truth and Reconciliation movement is international.  The 2017 WIPCE conference will explore the ways in which Indigenous people around the world are interacting with similar movements and how resiliency is playing a major role in the revitalization of our diverse cultures.”  For more information about WIPCE 2017, go to http://www.wipce2017.com/about2.html.

Kaw Nation Completed their ONAC-Funded Mini-Grant Project

In 2016, the Kaw Nation conducted a financial education workshop for twenty Kaw Nation students between the ages of 12-17.  During the workshop, staff from Eastman National Bank and City National Bank, as well as Stephen Coit, a Fiduciary Trust Officer with the Office of Special Trustee for American Indians, presented financial education content to the Native youth participants.  Kaw students traveled from Tahlequah, Newkirk, and Ponca City, Oklahoma, as well as Augusta, Kansas, to attend the classes.  Upon completion of the classes, with ONAC mini grant funding for CSAs, the Kaw Nation provided each youth with $135 to be used to open or fund a savings account at a bank or credit union or an account held through the Oklahoma 529 College Savings Plan.  The youth had an opportunity to earn more money for their savings accounts by participating in an essay contest (the essay contest was funded by ONAC mini grant funding).   The Kaw Nation Tribal Youth Program chose the essay topic. The students were asked: How can you use the information you have obtained from the Kaw Nation ONAC Financial Workshop to reach your future financial goals?  Essay rules and applications were made available to all students at the conclusion of the workshop.  Three City National Bank employees read and selected the three winning essays.   The essay winners were awarded a total of $500 in prize money, with a $300 1^st place prize, $150 2^nd place prize, and a $50 3^rd place prize (awarded $3,500).

ONAC Announces Three New ONAC Mini-Grant Awardees

In April 2017, ONAC released our third request for proposals (RFP) to fund Native asset building projects in Oklahoma.  This grant was made possible with support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.  We received eight excellent applications from tribal governments and tribal programs based in Oklahoma.  ONAC awarded a total of $7,000 in new mini-grant funds to three ONAC constituents, with support of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.  An additional $500 was reallocated from a current grantee, the Native Alliance Against Violence (NAAV), to one of the new grantees, the Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma.  NAAV had a change to their project plan and was in a position to generously fund five family emergency savings accounts for the Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma from their ONAC grant funds.

ONAC is excited to work with the three new awardees as they continue to offer Native asset building projects to those they serve.  As needed, ONAC is available to provide free training and technical assistance to the grantees as they implement their asset building programs.

Since 2014, ONAC has funded sixteen mini-grant projects with a total of $53,000 in grant funding. 

Below is information about the three new ONAC mini-grant awardees and their projects:

The Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma

The purpose of the Modoc Financial Services Savings Program is to encourage twenty tribal families to save money for emergency and long-term goals.  The program wishes to introduce these twenty families to the banking industry and help the tribal members learn how to manage             their money.  Each family will be provided with $100 for a savings account opening deposit (awarded a total of $2,000, with $1,500 from ONAC and $500 from current ONAC-funded mini-grant awardee Native Alliance Against Violence). 

The Housing Authority of the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma

The purpose of their six-week Educational Financial Course, taught by an instructor from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Financial Coaching Program, is to educate their tenants about building financial security.  Their classes will focus on educating tenants on how to budget their monthly finances in order to live below their means so that they can save for a rainy day.  Although this may be challenging, it will empower their families to maintain independence and self-sufficiency, even in a financial emergency.  The point of this fund is to prevent their tenants from having to add to their debt in times of need.  The twenty-five families that complete at least five of the six weeks of the budgeting class will receive $100, per family, for an opening account deposit at Tulsa Teachers Credit Union.  As a follow-up, the financial coach will remain in contact with the families (every 30 to 60 days) to assist with any budgeting issues (awarded $3,500). 

Absentee Shawnee Housing Authority

The purpose of the Match Savings Account program will be to provide current and/or future participants in their Home Ownership/Lease to Own programs with an opportunity to open a savings account to help offset the costs of a housing emergency or emergencies that may affect their housing needs.  At least eight families will receive up to $250 in match funds, for their savings deposits, to help them grow the funds in their emergency savings account (awarded $2,000).

Congratulations to these grantees!

To help ONAC fund the additional applicants, and provide technical assistance to them for their projects, as well as to administer Children’s Savings Accounts for those applicants that proposed to work with youth, please consider making a donation to ONAC.  To make a donation, go to http://oknativeassets.org/donate.   Thank you for considering this request.

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.

            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 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 support of ONAC!

ONAC thanks the Tribal Business Journal for covering this story on "Fighting Financial Distress."

The story notes recently released research by FINRA and First Nations Development Institute, as well as the work of ONAC and our constituents to build assets in our communities. 

To read the story, please go to http://tribalbusinessjournal.com/news/fighting-financial-distress/.

The Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition, Inc.

Announces Three New ONAC Mini-Grant Awards

June 20, 2017.  We, the Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition, Inc. (ONAC), announce that we have awarded three additional ONAC mini-grants.  Since 2014, ONAC has awarded a total of sixteen grants, totaling $53,000. 

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 April 2017, ONAC released our third request for proposals (RFP) to fund Native asset building projects in Oklahoma.  This grant was made possible with support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.  We received eight excellent applications from tribal governments and tribal programs based in Oklahoma.  ONAC awarded a total of $7,000 in new mini-grant funds to three ONAC constituents, with support of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.  An additional $500 was reallocated from a current grantee, the Native Alliance Against Violence (NAAV), to one of the new grantees, the Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma.  NAAV had a change to their project plan and was in a position to generously fund five family emergency savings accounts for the Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma from their ONAC grant funds.

ONAC is excited to work with the three new awardees as they continue to offer Native asset building projects to those they serve.  As needed, ONAC is available to provide free training and technical assistance to the grantees as they implement their asset building programs.

Below is information about the three new OANC mini-grant awardees and their projects:

The Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma

The purpose of the Modoc Financial Services Savings Program is to encourage twenty tribal families to save money for emergency and long-term goals.  The program wishes to introduce these twenty families to the banking industry and help the tribal members learn how to manage their money.  Each family will be provided with $100 for a savings account opening deposit (awarded a total of $2,000, with $1,500 from ONAC and $500 from current ONAC-funded mini-grant awardee Native Alliance Against Violence). 

The Housing Authority of the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma

The purpose of their six-week Educational Financial Course, taught by an instructor from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Financial Coaching Program, is to educate their tenants about building financial security.  Their classes will focus on educating tenants on how to budget their monthly finances in order to live below their means so that they can save for a rainy day.  Although this may be challenging, it will empower their families to maintain independence and self-sufficiency, even in a financial emergency.  The point of this fund is to prevent their tenants from having to add to their debt in times of need.  The twenty-five families that complete at least five of the six weeks of the budgeting class will receive $100, per family, for an opening account deposit at Tulsa Teachers Credit Union.  As a follow-up, the financial coach will remain in contact with the families (every 30 to 60 days) to assist with any budgeting issues (awarded $3,500). 

Absentee Shawnee Housing Authority

The purpose of the Match Savings Account program will be to provide current and/or future participants in their Home Ownership/Lease to Own programs with an opportunity to open a savings account to help offset the costs of a housing emergency or emergencies that may affect their housing needs.  At least eight families will receive up to $250 in match funds, for their savings deposits, to help them grow the funds in their emergency savings account (awarded $2,000).

Congratulations to these grantees!

For more information about the Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition, Inc., please go to http://oknativeassets.org. 

To help ONAC fund the additional applicants, and provide technical assistance to them for their projects, as well as to administer Children’s Savings Accounts for those applicants that proposed to work with youth, please consider making a donation to ONAC.  To make a donation, go to http://oknativeassets.org/donate.   Thank you for considering this request.

ONAC Newsletter, April 2017

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.

This year, we are honored to hear from Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby, Wichita and Affiliated Tribes President Terri Parton, Muscogee (Creek) Nation Principal Chief James Floyd, Miriam Jorgensen (Research Professor and Director Native Nations Institute at the University of Arizona and Research Director of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development), Gary Mottola (FINRA Investor Education Foundation), Mashell Sourjohn (AARP Oklahoma), Irving Faught (Oklahoma Securities Commission), Steven Shepelwich (Federal Reserve Bank), Nikki Pieratos (Center for Indian Country Development), Bobby Yandell (Housing Authority of the Choctaw Nation), Thunder Whitecloud (Mvskoke Loan Fund), Rebecca Stone (Housing Authority of the Seminole Nation), Georgia Dick and Wyman Kirk (AIRC, Inc.), Debra Echo-Hawk and Danielle Wheatley (Pawnee Nation Title VI Elderly Meals Program), Tina Pollard (Citizen Potawatomi Community Development Corporation), Michelle Tinnin (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development), Pam Charles (Internal Revenue Service), and Cindy Carter Renfro (U.S. Small Business Administration).   We will also have a listening session on New Market Tax Credits with Dakota Cole and board members of the Chickasaw Nation Community Development Endeavor, LLC. 

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:

• 8:30 a.m. Registration and Breakfast (Doors will open at the Oklahoma History Center at 8:00 a.m.)
  
• 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Conference (During lunch, we will have a silent auction)
  
• 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Networking Reception and Membership Drive
  

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 access the agenda and to register, please 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 number of rooms.  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 July 18^th.

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.

Thank you to the following conference sponsors and donors: The Chickasaw Nation Community Development Endeavor, L.L.C., Osage Casino, AARP Oklahoma, Publishing Concepts, L.L.C., and the OKC Dodgers Baseball Foundation.

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

To date, ONAC has funded 415 Children’s Savings Accounts.  The Housing Authority of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, under the leadership of their Executive Director, Rebecca Stone, opened ONAC CSAs for youth living in their housing stock on March 31, 2017.  The account-opening event was held at the Enoch Kelly Haney Center on the campus of the Seminole State College.  At the event, Seminole artist, Enoch Kelly Haney, encouraged the Seminole youth to follow their dreams and presented slides of his artwork.  The youth drew pictures of assets that they value.  During the same event, bankers met with the families to discuss the next steps for them to open family emergency savings accounts.  ONAC awarded a mini grant to the Housing Authority of the Seminole Nation to fund the emergency savings accounts.

ONAC Seeks Proposals for Native Asset Building Projects in Oklahoma

Grant Overview

The Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition (ONAC) is pleased to announce this April 2017 Request For Proposals (RFP) to help fund Native asset building projects in Oklahoma. ONAC, with support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation will award a total of $7,000 in mini grants to Oklahoma grantees for emergency savings projects.  The mini grants will average $3,500 each. Some awards may be slightly higher or lower than this average. The grant period is for 9.5 months beginning June 1, 2017, and ending March 14, 2018.

The emergency savings account program funds may be utilized for the initial account deposit money for your participants and other related program costs. While this is not a grant requirement, the family emergency savings accounts may be linked to other asset building programs you already administer such as financial education, entrepreneurship development, elder meal, seed saving, foreclosure prevention and homeownership preparation, matched savings account, credit builder/credit repair, Children’s Savings Account, and free tax preparation assistance.

The funding for family emergency savings account programs will help Native families, with lower incomes, to open flexible savings accounts, at a bank or credit union, to buffer them in times of emergency, income fluctuation, or irregular expenses. 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, you may 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. 

Depending upon the numbers of participants you wish to serve with a family emergency savings account program, you could, for example, provide the initial opening deposit of $50.00 each for 70 accounts or you could fund fewer accounts with more money (as an example of the latter, with a $3,500 project budget, you could fund six family emergency savings accounts at $500.00 each and then use the remaining $500.00 for other program expenses). Depending upon the participants you serve, you can design your family emergency savings account program to meet local community needs. For this program, ONAC does not require that you make the bank accounts custodial with the name of your tribe or Native nonprofit on the account.

If you would like to talk through any of your asset building program ideas, please contact Christy Finsel, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition, at (405) 401-7873, or email her at cfinsel@oknativeassets.org.

Deadline

The grant applications are due by May 15, 2017. ONAC will review the grant applications and make the award determinations, awarding up to $7,000 total, for this round of grant recipients. ONAC will send the award notifications by May 31, 2017. A list of awardees will be posted on the ONAC website. ONAC will send the grant payments to the grant recipients.

Eligibility

Eligible applicants include:

• Tribal governments based in Oklahoma;
  
• Tribal programs based in Oklahoma; or
  
• Native-led organizations based in Oklahoma (over 50% of the board members must be Native).
  

If applicants are not a tribal government, 501(c)(3), a 7871, or Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), they must have a fiscal sponsor. We do not require federal recognition for tribal governments, however, you must have, at a minimum, proof of state recognition.

Application

All applicants must fully complete the ONLINE grant application. To access the application, please go to http://www.oknativeassets-apply.org. You will be asked to establish a username and password for the application.

Help

If you need technical assistance with the online grant application, please contact Christy Finsel, Executive Director, Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition Inc., at cfinsel@oknativeassets.org or (405) 401-7873.

The deadline for applications is May 15, 2017, at 5:00 p.m. Central Time.

Please Note: The online system automatically closes at 5:00 p.m. CST and applications not completely submitted by that time will be rejected by the system. Please allow plenty of time for submitting online. Proposals that are incomplete or are received after the deadline will not be considered. No exceptions will be permitted.

Save the Date: Asset Building Summit May 10-17, 2017, Albuquerque, NM

HUD’s Office of Native American Programs is pleased to announce, “Asset Building: A Pathway to Economic Self-Determination III” May 10-11, 2017 at the Isleta Resort, Albuquerque, New Mexico. The conference will focus on asset building innovations in Indian Country and strategies for advancing economic opportunity around people and place. There is no charge to attend.   During the summit, Christy Finsel, of ONAC, will present a workshop on creating youth savings programs and also speak about lessons learned on an asset building keynote panel.  Here is a link to the registration information: http://www.cvent.com/events/asset-building-a-pathway-to-economic-self-determination-iii/event-summary-76da63ff40a342d08ce271b1e2bfee07.aspx. 

AARP Oklahoma Accepting AARP OK Indian Elder Honors Nominations

The deadline for AARP OK Indian Elder Honors Nominations is May 1^st.   Nominations may be made online at  www.aarp.org/NDNElders.  The AARP Oklahoma Indian Elder Honors will be held October 3, 2017.

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.

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 support of ONAC!

ONAC Seeks Proposals for Native Asset Building Projects in Oklahoma

Grant Overview

The Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition (ONAC) is pleased to announce this April 2017 Request For Proposals (RFP) to help fund Native asset building projects in Oklahoma. ONAC, with support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation will award a total of $7,000 in mini grants to Oklahoma grantees for emergency savings projects.  The mini grants will average $3,500 each. Some awards may be slightly higher or lower than this average. The grant period is for 9.5 months beginning June 1, 2017, and ending March 14, 2018.

The emergency savings account program funds may be utilized for the initial account deposit money for your participants and other related program costs. While this is not a grant requirement, the family emergency savings accounts may be linked to other asset building programs you already administer such as financial education, entrepreneurship development, elder meal, seed saving, foreclosure prevention and homeownership preparation, matched savings account, credit builder/credit repair, Children’s Savings Account, and free tax preparation assistance.

The funding for family emergency savings account programs will help Native families, with lower incomes, to open flexible savings accounts, at a bank or credit union, to buffer them in times of emergency, income fluctuation, or irregular expenses. 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, you may 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. 

Depending upon the numbers of participants you wish to serve with a family emergency savings account program, you could, for example, provide the initial opening deposit of $50.00 each for 70 accounts or you could fund fewer accounts with more money (as an example of the latter, with a $3,500 project budget, you could fund six family emergency savings accounts at $500.00 each and then use the remaining $500.00 for other program expenses). Depending upon the participants you serve, you can design your family emergency savings account program to meet local community needs. For this program, ONAC does not require that you make the bank accounts custodial with the name of your tribe or Native nonprofit on the account.

If you would like to talk through any of your asset building program ideas, please contact Christy Finsel, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition, at (405) 401-7873, or email her at cfinsel@oknativeassets.org.

Deadline

The grant applications are due by May 15, 2017. ONAC will review the grant applications and make the award determinations, awarding up to $7,000 total, for this round of grant recipients. ONAC will send the award notifications by May 31, 2017. A list of awardees will be posted on the ONAC website. ONAC will send the grant payments to the grant recipients.

Eligibility

Eligible applicants include:

• Tribal governments based in Oklahoma;
  
• Tribal programs based in Oklahoma; or
  
• Native-led organizations based in Oklahoma (over 50% of the board members must be Native).

If applicants are not a tribal government, 501(c)(3), a 7871, or Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), they must have a fiscal sponsor. We do not require federal recognition for tribal governments, however, you must have, at a minimum, proof of state recognition.

Application

All applicants must fully complete the ONLINE grant application. To access the application, please go to  http://www.oknativeassets-apply.org/grant-application. You will be asked to establish a username and password for the application.

Help

If you need technical assistance with the online grant application, please contact Christy Finsel, Executive Director, Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition Inc., at cfinsel@oknativeassets.org or (405) 401-7873.

The deadline for applications is May 15, 2017, at 5:00 p.m. Central Time.

Please Note: The online system automatically closes at 5:00 p.m. CST and applications not completely submitted by that time will be rejected by the system. Please allow plenty of time for submitting online. Proposals that are incomplete or are received after the deadline will not be considered. No exceptions will be permitted.

 

As of April 1, 2017, ONAC has funded 415 Children’s Savings Accounts.  The Housing Authority of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, under the leadership of their Executive Director, Rebecca Stone, opened ONAC CSAs for youth living in their housing stock on March 31, 2017.  The account-opening event was held at the Enoch Kelly Haney Center on the campus of the Seminole State College.  At the event, Seminole artist, Enoch Kelly Haney, encouraged the Seminole youth to follow their dreams and presented slides of his artwork.  The youth drew pictures of assets that they value.  During the same event, bankers met with the families to discuss the next steps for them to open family emergency savings accounts.  ONAC awarded a mini grant to the Housing Authority of the Seminole Nation to fund the emergency savings accounts.

Photo Description: Seminole artist, Enoch Kelly Haney, and Seminole youth at an ONAC CSA account-opening event hosted by the Housing Authority of the Seminole Nation.  Photo by Ann Sherman. 

Christy Finsel, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition, Inc., was invited to participate in Native Access to Capital, Credit and Approaches that Increase Financial Security: A Roundtable Discussion.  The roundtable was held yesterday, February 14, 2017, in the Cash Room at the Main Treasury Building on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. 

The welcome was provided by Beverly Ortega Babers, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Management & Budget and Point of Contact for Tribal Consultation, U.S. Department of the Treasury. 

Annie Donovan, Director of the U.S. Treasury Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, provided the opening remarks. 

From Oklahoma, Christy Finsel was joined by Shane Jett, Executive Director and CEO of Citizen Potawatomi Community Development Corporation, as one of the twenty-seven invited roundtable participants. 

Miriam Jorgensen, Research Professor and Director of Native Nations Institute at the University of Arizona, and Research Director of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, presented material from the newly released Access to Capital and Credit in Native Communities Report. 

To view the recorded roundtable discussion, go to: https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/Video-Audio-Webcasts/Pages/Webcasts.aspx.  From there, you can click on the recording, Native American Access to Capital Roundtable, from February 14, 2017.

Here are links to the “Access to Capital and Credit in Native Communities Report” (ACC Report) and its companion report the “Access to Capital and Credit in Native Communities: A Data Review.” 

ONAC thanks the CDFI Fund and the Department of the Treasury for the opportunity to participate in this event. 

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!