$pending Frenzy Kits Have Arrived!

Posted on November 18, 2015 by rblauvelt

First Nations Development Institute (First Nations) is very excited to announce the release of the highly anticipated $pending Frenzy kit! The kit comes with everything you need to host a successful financial reality fair that will help prepare Native American youth for their “Big Money” (also known as a minor’s trust payment). Several satisfied customers have already ordered kits and begun implementing the popular financial simulation event in their home communities.

“Demand for the $pending Frenzy has been huge since its inception about five years ago,” stated chief architect of the kit, financial education consultant Shawn Spruce. “Moreover, the new kits now make the program scalable, allowing us to reach a much wider audience of Native youth.”

The $pending Frenzy financial reality fair was designed by First Nations to offer youth expecting a large minor’s trust payment an opportunity to practice handling a substantial lump 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.

Surveys from $pending Frenzy events held in Native communities across the nation have revealed that more than 90% of participants found the event useful and believed they could use the information from the event to assist them in managing their money.

Since the first pilot of the $pending Frenzy with Seneca Nation youth in 2011, First Nations has helped facilitate the financial simulation about two dozen times in 12 different states and 18 unique communities across the country. In total, nearly 1,400 Native youth have participated in the event and learned to better manage their minor’s trust payments. Tribes, community organizations, schools and others have been in… well, a frenzy for the simulation! To keep up with the demand of the $pending Frenzy, First Nations answered the call by producing an all-in-one, do-it-yourself kit.

The box kit comes with everything you need to host a successful simulation, complete with all booth materials, a facilitator’s guide, stacks of play money, a professional bill counter, budgeting cards, $pending Frenzy merchandise and more! The all-inclusive kit can be yours for $1,200 and is sent free of charge to your door.

To place an order or to ask a question about the kit, please contact Sarah Dewees by phone at (540) 371-5615 or email at sdewees@firstnations.org.

By Benjamin Marks, First Nations Senior Research Officer

Navajo Nation & CFPB Aim at Illegal Tax-Refund Scheme

Posted on July 17, 2015 by rblauvelt

For many low-income families in Gallup, New Mexico, the tax refund they receive at the beginning of the year can help make ends meet and pay for important expenses. Unfortunately, tax preparers look forward to those tax refunds, too – and to siphoning off a portion of a taxpayer’s refund for their own profit.

Research that First Nations Development Institute (First Nations) conducted in 2012 documented a range of unfair, deceptive and abusive financial practices conducted by tax preparers in the city of Gallup, which borders the Navajo Nation and where nearly half the population is Native American.

During the 2012 tax season, First Nations conducted mystery shopper visits to tax preparation firms in Gallup and other New Mexico border towns. We documented a range of problems with tax time loans, including steering people toward high-cost, refund-anticipation loans or check products when a simple deposit into a bank account would have saved the taxpayer money. More significantly, First Nations documented one case in which a taxpayer was extended a loan against her tax refund even though the company had already received the tax refund from the IRS. “They gave her a loan against money that was rightly hers, and didn’t bother to tell her that her refund had already been paid to them by the IRS,” shared Shawn Spruce, a consultant and taxpayer advocate who conducted the mystery shopper visit with the taxpayer. “We suspected that it wasn’t an isolated incident and contacted authorities.” A single mother with three dependents, the taxpayer eventually filed a complaint against the company through the New Mexico Office of the Attorney General.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is a federal agency that helps consumer finance markets work by making rules more effective, by consistently and fairly enforcing those rules, and by empowering consumers to take more control over their economic lives. First Nations shared our mystery shopper reports with key investigative staff at the CFPB in the spring of 2013. “We appreciate First Nations for bringing their report to our attention. The report was troubling and the bureau’s investigation confirmed many of the findings,” stated CFPB’s Samuel Gilford. The CFPB has the ability to subpoena records from financial firms if they suspect a pattern of potentially illegal activity.

On April 14, 2015, the CFPB announced that, together with the Navajo Nation, it is taking action against S/W Tax Loans, Inc., a company that they claim operated an illegal tax-refund scheme. The scheme was based on tax-preparation franchises steering low-income consumers, including many citizens of the Navajo Nation, toward high-cost refund-anticipation loans. A proposed order, if approved by the court, would result in roughly $438,000 in total consumer redress and require the defendants to pay $438,000 in civil penalties for their unfair, deceptive and abusive practices.

The complaint states that the tax-preparation firm illegally steered vulnerable consumers to high-cost products and illegally and grossly understated the loans’ annual percentage rates. Most importantly, the complaint alleges that the tax firm unfairly failed to disclose the availability of consumers’ tax refunds. They failed to disclose to more than 1,500 consumers that their tax refunds had been received from the IRS and were already being processed by the company. Instead, when these consumers inquired about the status of their refund, they persuaded the consumers to take out a second or third refund-anticipation loan. As a result, many consumers were led to pay a substantial finance charge for an unnecessary high-interest loan.

“We are concerned with asset stripping and predatory lending,” shared Michael E. Roberts, president of First Nations Development Institute. “We applaud the efforts of the Navajo Nation and the CFPB to stop the abuse of low-income taxpayers.”

By Sarah Dewees, First Nations Senior Director of Research, Policy and Asset-Building Programs

Muckleshoot High School Gets Jump on Financial Literacy Month

Posted on March 18, 2015 by rblauvelt

Although April is officially designated “National Financial Literacy Month,” many tribes have already started hosting financial education and money management workshops for their youth. Most recently, faculty members at Muckleshoot Tribal High School, in partnership with the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST), organized two back-to-back financial education workshops for 30 of juniors and seniors.

Most of the students were Muckleshoot tribal members and beneficiaries of the tribe’s minors’ trusts. Tribal members are required to complete a senior portfolio of various projects and activities. They are required to complete 15 activities, including two that focus on savings/investment and budgeting.

First Nations’ financial education consultant Shawn Spruce led two workshops in February that helped students meet these requirements. The first workshop focused on financial skills development and fraud awareness. Students learned about goal-setting and budgeting, using a bank account, basic investing, homeownership, and fraud prevention.

Shawn helped develop the second experiential workshop, $pending Frenzy, approximately three years ago. $pending Frenzy encourages creative interactions with bankers and other financial institutions while educating tribal youth about money and responsibility. Shawn carefully tailors each workshop to meet the specific needs of each tribe and/or tribal community. To date, he has helped organize more than two dozen $pending Frenzy financial skills simulations.

At Muckleshoot Tribal High School, he worked closely with English Teacher Rick Ancheta and OST Fiduciary Trust Officer Marianne Jones to help educate young tribal members on the value of saving, managing personal finances, and healthy credit practices. Approximately 20 volunteers participated in $pending Frenzy, managing various merchant booths such as a shopping mall, car dealer, grocery store and even the IRS.

Financial education classes and workshops need to keep youth interested to be effective. “Teens relate well to experiential learning opportunities like the $pending Frenzy,” says Shawn. “They figure out pretty quickly the costs of living on your own and the importance of avoiding impulsive purchases. Moreover, they seem to appreciate the uniqueness of a financial education program tailored specifically to the needs of Native youth.”

One student who participated wrote this afterward: “Speaking for myself and many other students, I have to say having Shawn come to our school was really wise. Being that many of us are going to receive our trust fund, we learned how we can budget and manage our money but also how fast it can go. I can’t thank you enough for providing the chance for us to attend this workshop. It was a great learning experience.”

It is never too early to get started on the path to financial literacy. For more information about hosting a $pending Frenzy workshop in your community, please contact First Nations Program Consultant Shawn Spruce at agoyopi@gmail.com.

By Sarah Hernandez, First Nations Program Coordinator

Money Smarts Training Presented to BIA Staff

Posted on March 18, 2015 by rblauvelt

Fraud occurs when someone unlawfully misrepresents information, facts or events for financial gain, and according to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Investor Education Foundation, it’s a big problem in America. Each year eight in 10 Americans are solicited with a potentially fraudulent offer such as a phony charity fundraiser or bogus disaster-relief effort. About $50 billion is lost to fraud annually in this country and, sadly, elders are 34% more likely to be targets than middle-age individuals.

Native-led nonprofit First Nations Development Institute (First Nations) and the FINRA Investor Education Foundation have teamed up to see that Native Americans don’t fall prey to scams by creating the Fighting Fraud 101 campaign. On February 4, 2015, Cherokee Agency Bureau of Indian Affairs employees had a chance to learn more about the exciting awareness campaign as part of an interactive financial skills workshop.

Cherokee Agency BIA staff at training were, L to R, Denny Rochester, Heather McNichols, Renee Bible, Tony Cabe, Lisa Parker, Kelcye Cook, Kim Chiltoskie, and Brooke Brown

Sarah Dewees is the Senior Director of Research, Policy and Asset-Building Programs at First Nations and helped design a Fighting Fraud 101 toolkit to assist Native communities that could be especially susceptible to fraud. She warns that big payouts have focused a lot of attention toward Indian Country in recent years and that technology in the form of text messages, social media and email has made communities that were previously isolated and remote, like much of Indian Country, more accessible to fraudsters.

“There are definitely some at-risk Native communities right now,” Dewees said. “We’ve seen a number of highly publicized legal settlements resulting in payouts to Native people across the country. Not to mention ongoing per-capita and allotment income from sources such as gaming, leasing, and oil and gas revenues. Our goal is to work within Native communities to ensure that tribes and individuals are not targeted by fraudsters and scammers looking to exploit these windfalls.”

The three-hour workshop was offered in both morning and afternoon sessions and included detailed information on budgeting, financial recordkeeping, retirement planning and basic investing in addition to fraud awareness and prevention. Engaging learning activities were featured to reinforce key topics and concepts. One particularly interesting exercise tested recordkeeping and organizational habits by challenging participants to estimate how quickly and efficiently they could collect critical personal information and documents such as birth certificates, past years’ income tax returns, a current retirement account statement, and even the total amount they spent on holiday gifts last year.

“We’re thrilled our staff is able to receive this type of training onsite,” noted Agency Superintendent Darlene Whitetree and Deputy Superintendent Ruth McCoy. “Sound financial skills are crucial to the success of our employees both in the workplace and outside. Moreover, we encourage our staff to share this information with their families and others who might benefit from gaining a clearer understanding of finance.”

For more information on how you can join the Fighting Fraud 101 campaign or to request free fraud-fighting materials, contact First Nations Programs Consultant Shawn Spruce at agoyopi@gmail.com or (505) 247-8861. You can dowload the Fighting Fraud 101 pamphlet at this link: http://www.firstnations.org/knowledge-center/predatory-lending.

By Shawn Spruce, First Nations Programs Consultant

Nearly 200 Kids Participate in Colville $pending Frenzy

Posted on March 18, 2015 by rblauvelt

Financial education classes and workshops are mandatory for tribal youth residing on the Colville Indian Reservation in north-central Washington. In early January 2015, 193 students at Lake Roosevelt High School participated in a $pending Frenzy workshop.

In 2012, First Nations partnered with the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST) to offer the $pending Frenzy with Colville youth. The $pending Frenzy is an interactive financial education workshop that allows tribal youth to practice budgeting and spending a large lump sum of money. Developed by consultant Shawn Spruce and First Nations Development Institute, the workshop’s popularity has skyrocketed over the past three years and more than a dozen tribes have adapted the $pending Frenzy model for their tribal youth.

At Lake Roosevelt High School, students received $40,000 in play money to pay for real-world-like expenses such as rent, utilities, car payments and insurance. Additionally, students learned to budget money for educational expenses such as tuition and books.

Students also learned how to manage their Individual Indian Money (IIM) accounts, which they can access when they turn 18. They learned about current IIM interest rates versus commercial banking interest rates, what their account options are, and how to best manage their monies.

Tribal leaders and educators on the Colville Indian Reservation have experimented with a number of different financial literacy models for tribal youth. According to Fiduciary Trust Officer Margie Hutchinson, “The $pending Frenzy has been the most effective model so far. Students and teachers love it. In fact, we are planning more workshops in April and May for our other high school students.”

More and more tribes like the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Indian Reservation are making financial education classes and workshops mandatory for tribal youth. For more information about hosting a $pending Frenzy workshop in your community, please contact First Nations Program Consultant Shawn Spruce at agoyopi@gmail.com.

By Sarah Hernandez, First Nations Program Coordinator

Show Me the Money! $pending Frenzy at Northwest Native Asset-Building Summit

Posted on January 12, 2015 by rblauvelt

First Nations Program Consultant Shawn Spruce, left, assists a participant at the $pending Frenzy

In November 2014, Native community leaders from across the nation gathered at the Northwest Native Asset-Building Summit in Minneapolis, Minnesota. First Nations Development Institute (First Nations) was honored to be a part of the summit and present its “$pending Frenzy” workshop to conference attendees. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Native American Programs and the Red Lake Reservation Housing Authority, the Northwest Native Asset-Building Summit focused on asset-building innovations in Indian Country and strategies for advancing economic opportunity around people and place.

The $pending Frenzy workshop is based on experiential learning principles – the belief that youth learn by doing. Students learn how to use a bank to cash their check, and then are asked to make decisions about buying a car, buying a home, and balancing their wants and needs while budgeting their money. Unexpected emergencies and opportunities are presented to the youth in the form of “Cards of Fate,” which help them learn to plan for unexpected life events. An increasing number of tribes are providing minor’s trust payouts, or “18 Money,” for their youth. In response to demand from tribes who were struggling with how to prepare their youth for this once-in-a-lifetime event, First Nations developed the $pending Frenzy financial education model.

The interactive and dynamic $pending Frenzy was provided to tribal programs from across the country that are working towards incorporating asset-building into their economic development strategies. The $pending Frenzy workshop trained participants on how to conduct their own workshop in their home communities, and then let them go on a frenzy of their own. Participants were provided with play money and then were asked to make a series of budgeting decisions over a two-hour period. The participants had a lot of fun experiencing this interactive event, and several planned to take the program back to their home communities.

First Nations was honored to participate in two other workshops at the Northwest Native Asset-Building Summit, including one on Volunteer Income Tax Assistance programs and one on Children’s Savings Account programs. First Nations thanks the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Native American Programs and Red Lake Reservation Housing Authority for inviting us to be a part of this important event.

By Tawny Wilson, First Nations Program Officer

Crow Nation Financial Workshops Help Make Sense of Tribal Land Buy-Back Program

Posted on January 9, 2015 by rblauvelt

What do you get when you combine an innovative and informative financial skills workshop with other financial information geared toward a special land buy-back program? You get lots of attendees – more than 200 – who are highly interested and engaged landowners and their families!

In November 2014, First Nations Development Institute (First Nations) worked with the U.S. Interior Department’s Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians, the Crow Nation, and the FINRA Investor Education Foundation to offer a series of financial skills workshops designed to assist landowners on the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana. The full day of outreach also included presentations by senior advisors from the newly formed Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations (LBBP). Information booths were provided by the Office of the Special Trustee, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), and the Crow Tribe to provide assistance to landowners with questions about their offer packets from the Land Buy-Back Program and related issues.

The financial skills workshop was developed in response to demand from certain tribes who wished to prepare their members for the Land Buy-Back Program opportunity. The Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations was established by the Interior Department to implement the land-consolidation provisions of the Cobell settlement agreement. The settlement provided for a $1.9 billion Trust Land Consolidation Fund to consolidate fractional land interests across Indian Country and will ultimately affect approximately 150 unique reservations that have fractional interests. The Land Buy-Back Program allows interested individual owners to receive payments for voluntarily selling their land. All interests sold are restored to tribes, which helps to keep Indian lands in trust for tribal communities.

The financial skills workshop offered information about buy-back readiness plans, budgeting and spending plans. Another very important aspect featured information to protect landowners from various types of financial fraud they could be targeted for, such as investment fraud and other related scams. Materials were provided to assist individuals and families with identifying different types of fraud, recognizing risk factors, spotting persuasion tactics, and knowing what to do if one becomes a victim. Money tips and skills like record-keeping, organization, consumer savviness, and avoiding “big money mistakes” were also hot topics. (To see more about the FINRA Investor Education Foundation/First Nations effort to prevent financial fraud, visit http://org2.salsalabs.com/o/5855/t/0/blastContent.jsp?email_blast_KEY=1310510.)

First Nations Consultant Shawn Spruce explained: “It was wonderful to see such a fantastic turnout of over 200 landowners. People were really excited to be there and feedback following the event was extremely positive. Of course none of this would have been possible without so many great partners to help bring us all together.”

There are several more land buy-back events planned in 2015, and First Nations plans to coordinate with the Office of the Special Trustee, the BIA and the Land Buy-Back Program to continue their outreach and training on avoiding fraud and successfully planning for windfall payments.

By Tawny Wilson, First Nations Program Officer

Communicating Money Smarts: An Interview with Brian Ross, Director of Financial Education for OST

Posted on January 9, 2015 by rblauvelt

Brian Ross (Cherokee) is OST's new director of financial education

Growing up in Adair County in rural northeastern Oklahoma, Brian Ross was a shy, soft-spoken teen until a high school speech class changed his life forever.

“My parents forced me to take speech to get me out of my shell and build confidence,” he confides. “I hated it at first, but once I got in there and became comfortable speaking I discovered that speech gave me a forum and an outlet for self-expression. Moreover, I realized the power of communication and how it could make a positive difference not only in my life, but also within my family and my community.”

Jump ahead a couple of decades and Brian has made good use of the skills he honed in his youth by serving Indian Country within the U.S. Interior Department’s Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians, or OST. As OST’s recently appointed Director of Financial Education, Brian has plenty of opportunities to communicate responsible money management. The new position, created by Special Trustee Vince Logan, has raised the bar in terms of OST’s longstanding commitment to financial education, especially programs targeted to Native youth. Brian describes his job as part of a multi-faceted strategy to expand financial education opportunities throughout Indian Country and beyond, including:

Building a unique platform from which to launch various financial education initiatives such as youth outreach, curriculum, and financial coaching.
Supporting OST’s extensive field staff with financial education train-the-trainer workshops and related resources.
Providing financial education for OST employees who serve as ambassadors and must set good examples in the communities they serve.
Establishing a recognizable brand that effectively conveys OST’s mission of fostering financial education.
Creating lasting synergy with partners that include tribal governments, nonprofits, schools, and other federal agencies dedicated to financial education.

These topics are personal to Brian. As a child he witnessed tremendous poverty and what he calls needless suffering in one of the poorest counties in Oklahoma. And while he acknowledges that financial hardships can be a personal choice, he believes the underlying cause is often a lack of knowledge and available resources. Later, while attending college, he became frustrated by the fact that no financial education services existed for students and he was forced to seek out his own financial role models. One of these individuals was his Cherokee grandmother.

“My grandmother had only a fourth-grade education when she was forced to leave school and go to work,” he explains. “She grew up poor like so many in those days and her parents couldn’t afford to buy her a new dress to go to church. She had to wear a potato sack instead. But she understood the value of a dollar and taught me to be conservative with my money because you never know when you might need it for something important. I hope I can set an example that inspires my 14-year-old son in the same way.”

In addition to money smarts, Brian also encourages young people to pursue their dreams. He followed his dreams in his early 20s when he moved to California to explore an acting career. The experience provided another opportunity to tap into his love for communication and culminated in credited roles in several feature films as well as a brief stint on the soap opera “The Young and the Restless.”

Brian has come a long way from the timid student who shuddered the first time he had to speak in public. When asked to provide any tips for others who struggle with formal presentations, he offered the following advice:

“I speak best when I’m able to tell personal stories. People relate to them better, especially the stories that they can see themselves in. It’s also important not to focus on yourself, the presenter, but on your audience instead. Focusing on yourself is distracting, but when you care about your audience and they can see it, you become a dynamic speaker.”

On a final note, Brian points out that, just like with public speaking, there are no magical solutions to handling money wisely. Furthermore, he says OST will not create any new financial education concepts or gimmicks with any of the aforementioned initiatives.

“A budget is a budget,” he explains. “Nothing we invent will take the place of hard work and personal responsibility, but we will strive to present the best tools available to assist people in making smart financial choices. I’d also like to point out that OST has a fiduciary responsibility to people with Individual Indian Money (IIM) accounts and tribal leaders, but we don’t stop there because not everyone has an IIM account. I’m available to talk to anyone any time about financial education and I’ll even provide my cell number. I also encourage people to learn what’s available. Whether you are a tribal leader, an individual OST beneficiary, or any other member of Indian Country, we want to work with you and are building our resources with that in mind. OST plans to show up at every venue in 2015 in a big way.”

Interested in partnering with OST to bring financial education to you community? For more information feel free to contact Brian directly on his cell at (918) 977-0848 or by email at brian_ross@ost.doi.gov.

By Shawn Spruce, First Nations Programs Consultant

Protecting Native Money: How to Avoid Financial Fraud

Posted on November 17, 2014 by rblauvelt

Financial fraud is far too common in Native American communities, and is a growing problem with the recent increase in tribal lawsuit settlements with the federal government. First Nations Development Institute has partnered with the FINRA Investor Education Foundation to produce a pamphlet that can help people protect themselves from common financial fraud techniques.

Over the past five years more than $1 billion in tribal trust settlements have been reached, including the Keepseagle and Cobell class-action legal settlements. Many of these settlements have resulted in payments to individual tribal members, which makes them targets for fraudsters who follow a simple strategy: They go where the money is. The FINRA Investor Education Foundation is collaborating with First Nations to help reach the recipients of these trust fund settlements, as well as other tribal members who may be targeted for their wealth.

The pamphlet, titled “Fighting Fraud 101: Smart Tips for Investors,” is designed to appeal to individuals, members of tribal investment committees, and retirees. It lists some common fraud tactics, such as the “Social Consensus” tactic that lead you to believe that your savvy friends and neighbors may have already invested in a product. With the “Source Credibility” tactic, a fraudster may falsely suggest they have worked with other tribal investment committees or helped people manage lump sum payouts from tribal lawsuits to try to gain trust. The pamphlet also teaches several techniques to avoid being taken advantage of and how to report suspicious behavior.

“We are honored to be able to collaborate with several national partners, including the FINRA Investor Education Foundation and the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians, to provide financial education for tribal members,” said First Nations President Michael Roberts.

First Nations representatives Sarah Dewees and Shawn Spruce spoke at an October 29, 2014, Federal Trade Commission event titled “Fraud Affects All Communities.” The purpose of this meeting was to highlight the range of consumer, financial and investor fraud techniques that affect diverse communities.

“A lot of people aren’t aware that financial fraud is a big problem on many Indian reservations,” said Sarah Dewees, senior director of research, policy and asset-building programs. “I am happy we have been able to continue our work with the FINRA Investor Education Foundation and the Office of the Special Trustee to help community members protect themselves against financial fraud.”

A copy of the pamphlet can be viewed in First Nations’ online Knowledge Center at http://www.firstnations.org/knowledge-center/predatory-lending/research. To order printed copies, you can email info@firstnations.org.

By Sarah Dewees, First Nations Senior Director of Research, Policy and Asset-Building Programs

Folks in a “Frenzy” at First Nations L.E.A.D. Conference

Posted on November 17, 2014 by rblauvelt

First Nations Development Institute held its 19th Annual Leadership and Entrepreneurial Apprenticeship Development (L.E.A.D.) Conference at the Tulalip Resort Casino on Sept. 24-26 this year. Over 175 participants came to learn more about a range of topics related to economic development on Indian reservations. One conference track was dedicated to Youth Development and featured many innovative youth programs that support youth employment, education and financial empowerment.

Shawn Spruce

On Friday, Sept. 26, financial educator Shawn Spruce conducted a “Spending Frenzy” training workshop that was designed to help tribal colleges, CDFIs (Community Development Financial Institutions), internship programs, and Boys and Girls Clubs offer financial education programs.

The Spending Frenzy is designed for youth and provides participants with a pile of play money and lets them go on a spending frenzy where they can make a series of financial decisions related to buying a car, buying a home, and paying for life’s expenses. Participants travel between stations where they are asked to make a payment using the play money and record that payment in a ledger. The goal is to finish the workshop with all the bills paid and some money left over. The first stop is at the Big Money Bank, but people are often disappointed when they learn they also have to visit the IRS and pay taxes on their income.

Shawn plays the "taxman" at the IRS stop

“People have been asking us to offer a training so they can learn how to conduct this workshop in their home community,” said Shawn, who is a financial educator and a First Nations consultnt. “There is a lot of demand for financial education that is interactive, fun and relevant to the lives of Native youth. Kids love to learn in a hands-on setting, and the Spending Frenzy offers that.”

More than 30 practitioners from programs across North America participated in the training. Staff from First Nations and Chief Dull Knife College helped work at the stations and conduct the workshop.

A participant studies her expenses

“We are honored that so many people are interested in this interactive financial education program,” said Sarah Dewees, senior director of research, policy and asset-building programs at First Nations. “We look forward to hearing more about how our partners implement this program in their home communities.”