PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Contact: Kim Hayes, (301) 585-1131, kim@oweesta.org

To Meet Dire Needs in Native Communities and Honor Financial Literacy Month, Policy Makers Should Expand Native Financial Education, Asset Building

April 29, 2009, Washington, DC // Seeking to “raise the noise level about the financial education needs in Native communities,” a coalition of Native and asset building leaders brought their recommendations  to help improve financial literacy and decrease predatory lending and other financial threats to Native people during the Native Financial Education Coalition's (NFEC) 5th Annual Policy Briefing.
 
This event, held in the  Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing room, brought together practitioners, advocates and policymakers to collaborate on ways to expand financial education and asset building opportunities in historically underserved American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian communities.  Held annually to commemorate Financial Literacy Month, this year’s briefing hosted these diverse participants to discuss policies that will help to prepare Native consumers to face today’s economic times. 

“There is a dire need to expand financial education and asset building opportunities for Native people living both on and off-reservation,” said NFEC Chair Elsie Meeks, who is also the CEO of Oweesta Corporation, the coordinator for NFEC. The Annie E. Casey Foundation sponsored the event.

Meeks and Oweesta’s Director of Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development, Tracey Fischer, presented the following NFEC Policy Recommendations to gathered attendees:
 
1. Expand Financial Education Opportunities
2. Combat Predatory Lending
3. Improve Institutional Infrastructure
4. Maximize the ‘Take Home’ Amount of Tax Benefits
5. Expand Savings Opportunities

Further details about these policy recommendations are available at NFEC’s website: www.nfec.info/policy  

New Study Released, CEO Receives Warm Goodbye
The briefing also included presentation of a new study, “Borrowed Time:  Use of Refund Anticipation Loans among EITC Filers in Native Communities” by Leslie Parish, Center for Responsible Lending. This study notes that the growing use of RALs is striping assets from Native communities. A one-to-two week loan can cost a Native person 50 to 500 percent APR, depending on the total fee and loan term.

Leaders of national organizations around the country also took the time to honor Meeks, who is stepping down as Chair of NFEC and CEO of Oweesta to accept the nomination for the USDA Rural Development Director for South Dakota.  Her colleagues cited her dedication and enthusiasm for Native financial literacy as the flame that kept the movement alive and recognized that work she began will continue to grow and flourish thanks to her efforts.

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About NFEC
The Native Financial Education Coalition (NFEC) is a group of local, regional and national organizations and government agencies working together to achieve its common goal of promoting financial education in Native communities. Started by the U.S. Department of the Treasury in 2000, the now independent Native Financial Education Coalition seeks to exchange information, forge partnerships, identify and develop strategies for policy advocacy, outreach, and training, and identify gaps in information about financial education needs.

NFEC membership is open to any organization working on or interested in improving personal finance skills in Native communities.  OWEESTA Corporation currently serves as the fiscal agent and coordinator of the Coalition.

About Oweesta
Oweesta (http://www.oweesta.org) is a certified Native CDFI intermediary, providing Native communities with loans, investments, technical assistance, training and community development information.  Its mission is to provide opportunities for Native people to develop assets and create wealth by assisting in the establishment of strong, permanent institutions and programs, leading to economic independence and strengthening sovereignty for all Native communities.