New Web Resource for Native Financial Educators

Posted on May 18, 2016 by rblauvelt

In April, First Nations Development Institute and First Nations Oweesta Corporation announced the launch of a new financial education web portal at www.BNCweb.org. It serves as a resource center for Native financial education practitioners and educators.

The site contains our suite of financial education curricula, downloadable instructor guides, trainer tools, research and publications, and additional materials. The website also contains links to the My Green campaign, the investnativeonline.org website, and videos and materials that can assist financial educators.

All resources will be in a centralized location and will address topics such as Minor’s Trust Accounts (training resources, research, etc.), an online curriculum about investing for Native youth, and supplemental training resources. These efforts were funded by the Rose Foundation and Paul G. Allen Family Foundation.

First Nations Keynotes at Seminole Conference

Posted on July 18, 2013 by rblauvelt

The Native Learning Center affiliated with the Seminole Tribe of Florida invited First Nations Development Institute to present at its Fifth Annual Summer Conference – Strengthening Tribal Communities Into the Future – in Hollywood, Florida, on June 5, 2013.

First Nations Senior Program Officer Montoya Whiteman (Cheyenne-Arapaho) spoke during a general session to approximately 150 conference attendees. She discussed First Nations’ history and purpose, the organization’s current My Green financial education campaign, and the Building Native Communities Financial Series, specifically A Journey to Financial Empowerment.

Montoya Whiteman

Montoya noted that the opportunity to share First Nation’s work in this type of environment reinforces the importance of collaboration, and provides insight into demonstrated strategies, tools and research activities. “It also highlights the valuable resources that are free to Native communities and the public, and which are available through our First Nations website,” she added.

To learn more about research models and publications, visit http://www.firstnations.org and click on the “Knowledge Center” tab, or simply click here.

At First Nations, Montoya currently supports the organization’s Strengthening Native American Nonprofits Program through technical assistance, training, site visits, institutes, and webinars for improving nonprofit capacity and organizational effectiveness. She implements several U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women grants, as well the Housing and Urban Development One CPD Technical Assistance grant. Most recently, she has taken on responsibility for overseeing a new project that will expand First Nations’ work to urban Indians and organizations, beyond its normal focus on rural and reservation-based Native communities.

Trainers Are Trained to ‘Build Native Communities’

Posted on March 18, 2013 by rblauvelt

In January 2013, First Nations concluded another successful Building Native Communities train-the-trainer event in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We were joined by many of our friends from the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST), along with a high school financial-education teacher and representatives from tribal housing programs. It’s all part of our mission to provide financial education to Native American people so they can be financially empowered and better control their financial destinies.

As part of our work funded by FINRA Investor Education Foundation and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, First Nations provides Building Native Communities train-the-trainer events. First Nations often partners with the Office of the Special Trustee to conduct the train-the-trainer workshops. The goal of these workshops is to provide training for OST Fiduciary Trust Officers and other employees, and high school teachers who teach financial education to predominantly Native American students. First Nations is partnering with OST officers because they often provide financial education resources to their clients, many of whom are the recipients of Individual Indian Money (IIM) accounts or other tribal trust programs. In an ongoing partnership with high school teachers in McKinley County, New Mexico, First Nations also reached out to teachers who have participated in other First Nations youth financial-education programs such as the Invest Native online challenge and the Crazy Cash City reality fair.

At the recent training, we had 10 OST officers from all across the country, a high school teacher from McKinley County, and five other tribal employees from the Pueblo of Laguna and Pueblo of Nambe. The two-and-a-half day event took place at the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indian’s headquarters in Albuquerque. It served as an introduction to the Building Native Communities suite of workbooks and training materials including Financial Skills for Families participant workbook, 4^th edition, and the Investing for the Future workbook. The train-the-trainer workshop also served as a forum for financial educators to share ideas, resources, and experiences.

On the final day of the training, participants took part in First Nations’ money reality fair, the “$pending Frenzy,” which is designed to address the needs of Native American youth who will be receiving a large tribal per-capita or minor’s trust payment. The experiential learning model is designed to give kids a trial run at what it’s like to have a large sum of money and give them a chance to practice making smart spending decisions. The purpose of the simulation was to demonstrate to participants how to disseminate financial education topics in a fun and interactive way, and learn how the workshop could be offered to adult participants, as well.

Additionally, on the final day, the participants were required to practice-teach some of the lessons they learned over the past two days of training. On participant evaluations, many stated that this task was especially helpful, including one person who claimed: “It was very helpful to have us teach a practice session. It brought up issues we might not have anticipated when teaching a course for the first time.”

Many of the participants are already making plans to use the skills and information they acquired at the training. Some of these activities include facilitating a $pending Frenzy for high school students, making use of a presentation on managing expenses and modifying it for a youth financial fair presentation, and a housing entity employee creating informational materials for one-on-one counseling sessions.

“The training was packed with valuable information and it was a very engaging learning environment,” noted one participant on an evaluation form.

By Benjamin Marks, Research & Program Officer

Youth Savings Account Program Gathers Interest

Posted on March 18, 2013 by rblauvelt

To help youth learn the savings habit, First Nations Development Institute is partnering with two high schools and Pinnacle Bank in Gallup, New Mexico, to offer a Youth Savings Account (YSA) program for Native students.

In 2013, First Nations is working with financial education teachers at Gallup Catholic High School and Wingate High School. These instructors are teaching a financial literacy course called “Life on your Terms” based on First Nations’ Building Native Communities curriculum. To complement the lessons of the class, students will receive assistance opening up savings accounts at Pinnacle Bank. These savings accounts, referred to as Youth Savings Accounts, are custodial incentivized savings accounts for youth that teach positive savings and financial habits. A custodial account requires approval for all withdrawals by a custodian (which, in this case, is First Nations). First Nations provides an initial deposit amount of $50 in each student account, and students are encouraged to track the account balance and continue to make deposits.

If a student receives a passing grade for the financial literacy course and goes the entire semester without making any withdrawals, he or she is entered in a lottery to win $100, which will also be deposited into the account.

“Research suggests that having a savings account while in high school can lead to better financial management skills later in life,” stated Sarah Dewees, senior director of research, policy and asset building programs at First Nations. “We designed this program to help kids learn the savings habit, become comfortable with mainstream financial institutions, and start to build household assets.”

“Because of my experience designing and administering youth Individual Development Accounts and Children’s Savings Accounts, I was excited to work with FNDI to design this savings program specifically for high school students,” stated Christy Finsel, a consultant managing the Youth Savings Account program. “We appreciate the partnership of the local high schools and Pinnacle Bank.”

First Nations is supported in this effort by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. First Nations and its independent subsidiary First Nations Oweesta Corporation (a community development financial institution), work in partnership with Native American tribes and communities throughout the U.S. to assist them in designing and administering financial and investor education programs. Projects range from helping individuals and families understand the basics of financial management – opening and maintaining a bank account and using credit wisely – to helping individuals understand financial markets and a variety of financial instruments for borrowing and saving. We believe that learning how to manage finances ensures that Native people will be more likely to save and to challenge financial service providers to develop products that respond to their needs. Our programs result in increased investment levels and economic growth in Native communities.

By Benjamin Marks, Research and Program Officer