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Oweesta Corporation
2432 Main Street, 1st Floor
Longmont, CO 80501
303.774.8838
info@oweesta.org
Oweesta is an equal opportunity employer and provider. We do not discriminate, learn more here: Title VI, Section 504.
ABOUT OWEESTA
Oweesta is the longest standing Native CDFI intermediary offering financial products and development services exclusively to Native CDFIs and Native communities. Specifically, Oweesta provides training, technical assistance, investments, research, and policy advocacy to help Native communities develop an integrated range of asset-building products and services, including financial education and financial products.
Asset-building tools stimulate reservation economies by providing tribal members the opportunity to acquire financial management skills and build and accumulate assets through small business creation, homeownership, education, and much more.
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OWEESTA AND NORTHWEST AREA FOUNDATION HOSTING ACCESS TO CAPITAL CONVENING FOR NATIVE CDFIS
SEATTLE, WA – This week, over 40 representatives from 20 Native Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) will participate in a Capital Access Convening in Seattle, Washington on May 23rd and 24th through First Nations Oweesta Corporation’s Native CDFI Capital Access Initiative, supported through the generosity of Northwest Area Foundation. The goal of the Native CDFI Capital Access Initiative is to enhance participating organizations’ capacity to secure capital, directly responding to unsatisfied financing demand within Indian Country.
The Access to Capital Convening is a two-day event that includes collaborative discussions on effective strategies for accessing capital and networking strategies with intentional partnering entities. The first day focuses on collaboration among peer organizations, learning from industry leaders, and navigating partnerships with foundations and investors. On the second day, the participating Native CDFIs will unite with national, regional, local foundations and investors, as well as nonprofit groups traveling from Hawaii. “We are honored to host an unprecedented event to bring Native CDFIs, Hawaiian nonprofit organizations, funders, and investors together, nurturing long-lasting relationships that increase capital access in Native communities,” says Chrystel Cornelius, Executive Director of First Nations Oweesta Corporation.
First Nations Oweesta Corporation is proud to partner with many strong organizations supporting Native communities, including a key partnership with the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement/Pacific Island Philanthropy Connection. This event is also supported by Northwest Area Foundation, Marguerite Casey Foundation, KeyBank, Corporation for Enterprise Development, Administration for Native Americans, and others.
First Nations Oweesta Corporation was created 18 years ago to address the lack of capital and financial infrastructure holding back economic development in Native communities recognized by its parent organization, First Nations Development Institute. First Nations Oweesta Corporation’s mission is to provide opportunities for Native people to develop financial assets and create wealth by assisting in the establishment of strong, permanent institutions and programs that contribute to economic independence and strengthened sovereignty for all Native communities. For more information, visit www.oweesta.org.
Founded in 1934 and based in St. Paul, MN, the Northwest Area Foundation supports organizations anchored in the culture of the people they serve and dedicated to expanding economic opportunity in under-resourced communities. Its grantees work to build on the entrepreneurial spirit, strong community ties, and untapped potential within communities of Native Americans, communities of color, immigrants, refugees, and rural areas. The work of grantees advances good jobs and financial capability across the Foundation’s region, which includes the eight states of Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon, and more than 75 Native nations. For more information, visit www.nwaf.org.
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Paul Bachleitner, Communications Director
pbachleitner@nwaf.org or 303.774.7836 x213
Oweesta Welcomes New Chief Financial Officer
First Nations Oweesta is pleased to announce that we have hired a new Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Florence Ludka, for the organization. Florence will be responsible for the oversight of all finance related activities and the management of finance staff.
As CFO and part of the senior leadership team, Ms. Ludka will work closely with colleagues to develop and implement forward looking strategic investment and asset management strategies, corporate policy, short and long term financial plans and projections, and development and monitoring of program and fund budgets.
Prior to joining the First Nations Oweesta team, Ms. Ludka worked for the Traverse City Convention and Visitors Bureau (Traverse City Tourism) in Traverse City, Michigan for over 16 years as the Director of Finance and Technology. During her tenure at Traverse City Tourism, Ms. Ludka procured expertise and experience in non-profit accounting, compliance and auditing practices. In addition, Ms. Ludka possesses extensive IT experience in CRM/database management, administration, coaching and training.
Ms. Ludka holds an MBA from the University of Michigan, a Bachelor of Science in public accounting and an Associates of Science in technical accounting. Ms. Ludka completed her undergraduate studies at Lake Superior State University where she later returned as an adjunct accounting faculty member teaching accounting principles, intermediate accounting, auditing, advanced accounting and federal taxation. Currently, Ms. Ludka is in her second year of a six-year Ojibwe language pane immersion program.
Ms. Ludka is an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians in Michigan.
New Class of Opportunity Fellows Welcomed to Birmingham
BIRMINGHAM, AL, March 8, 2017— BBVA Compass and Opportunity Finance Network on Tuesday welcome their inaugural class of 25 Opportunity Fellows to Birmingham for a three-day training session where they’ll explore how to lead the change necessary to give underserved communities equal access to capital. First Nations Oweesta Corporation’s Heather Rademacher Taylor is one of the professionals selected for the program
“We are honored to have Heather Rademacher Taylor selected to participate in this prestigious program,” said Chrystel Cornelius, Executive Director of First Nations Oweesta Corporation.
BBVA Compass and Opportunity Finance Network joined forces in October to develop the Opportunity Fellows Program. The program is designed to boost the leadership ranks and spur the transformation of Community Development Financial Institutions, or CDFIs, which are critical engines of opportunity in low-income communities. Nationally recognized experts in the field of community development chose the 25 Opportunity Fellows from nearly 100 highly qualified applicants, and together they represent emerging, mid-career and executive-level professionals from CDFIs across the country. Heather Rademacher Taylor was selected to participate in the Emerging level.
“This innovative and robust leadership program brings together participants with different levels of experience with a common goal: to increase opportunity for all people and in all communities across the country,” said Pam Porter, Executive Vice President, Strategic Consulting at OFN. “We congratulate the 25 Opportunity Fellows, and we thank BBVA Compass for recognizing the impact this program will have and for its generous support.”
The Opportunity Fellows Program provides nine months of training with world-class experts in leadership and racial equity from the University of Alabama Collat School of Business and Race Matters Institute. The program kicks off this week at the BBVA Compass headquarters in Birmingham, where participants will engage in interactive activities and experiences, and will learn from other leaders in microfinance. They will also spend time with experts to better understand the patterns and causes behind the growing inequity in racial and ethnic minorities, as well as tour the Innovation Depot business incubator.
“We could not be more proud of this leadership program, and of these participants,” said BBVA Compass Director of Corporate Responsibility and Reputation Reymundo Ocañas. “We know that by investing in their future, we’re investing in the future of all of our communities. These are the leaders of organizations who put capital to work directly in low- to moderate-income communities. The idea is to arm them with the tools and skills they need to flourish in this impactful field of community-oriented finance.”
A complete list of participants is available at: http://ofn.org/opportunity-fellows
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About First Nations Oweesta Corporation
About First Nations Oweesta Corporation First Nations Oweesta Corporation was created 16 years ago to address the lack of capital and financial infrastructure holding back economic development in Native communities as recognized by its parent organization, First Nations Development Institute. First Nations Oweesta Corporation’s mission is to provide opportunities for Native people to develop financial assets and create wealth by assisting in the establishment of strong, permanent institutions and programs that contribute to economic independence and strengthened sovereignty for all Native communities. For more information, visit oweesta.org.
About BBVA Compass
BBVA Compass is a Sunbelt-based financial institution that operates 672 branches, including 344 in Texas, 89 in Alabama, 75 in Arizona, 62 in California, 45 in Florida, 38 in Colorado and 19 in New Mexico. BBVA Compass ranks among the top 25 largest U.S. commercial banks based on deposit market share and ranks among the largest banks in Alabama (2nd), Texas (4th) and Arizona (5th). BBVA Compass was recently named Best Digital Bank in North America by global finance magazine Euromoney and the best regional bank in the South & West and best mobile app in Money magazine’s 2015-2016 list of the Best Banks in America. Additional information about BBVA Compass can be found at bbvacompass.com, by following @BBVACompassNews on Twitter or visiting newsroom.bbvacompass.com.
About OFN
Opportunity Finance Network (OFN), the leading national network of private financial institutions, creates growth that is good for communities, investors, individuals, and the economy. Members of OFN are community development financial institutions (CDFIs) that deliver responsible lending to help low-wealth and low-income communities join the economic mainstream. Through 2015 OFN’s network originated $48 billion in financing in urban, rural, and Native American communities. This financing has helped to create or maintain more than 1,044,000 jobs, start or expand nearly 191,000 businesses and microenterprises, and support the development or rehabilitation of nearly 1.5 million housing units and 9,800 community facility projects. For more information, visit ofn.org.
11th Annual EITC Awareness Day
The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and other important refundable tax credits, including the Premium Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, and American Opportunity Tax Credit are federal tax refunds available to millions of low to moderate income individuals and families. The IRS estimates that up to 25 percent of eligible taxpayers nationwide neglect to claim the credit because they do not know these credits exist.
To learn more about EITC and other refundable tax credits, or find the location near you, call the IRS at 1-800-906-9887, or visit www.irs.gov/eitc to determine if you qualify by answering a few questions using the EITC Assistant.
How can you raise awareness in your community? Here are 5 ways from the Get It Back Campaign and Center for Economic Development to raise EITC Awareness:
Help people find out how much their EITC could be worth
KeyBank Partnership
OWEESTA AND NORTHWEST AREA FOUNDATION HOSTING ACCESS TO CAPITAL CONVENING FOR NATIVE CDFIS
Chrystel Cornelius of First Nations Oweesta Corporation Awarded Local Economy Fellowship, Joins North American Leadership Network
Oakland, CA – Thirty-six leaders representing innovative community and economic development solutions in 29 U.S. and Canadian cities have been selected to the Business Alliance for Local Living Economy’s (BALLE) fourth cohort of Local Economy Fellows.
These are leaders with fierce love for their communities – a love that they’re each putting to work in ways that bring equity, opportunity, capital, and support to small local businesses and the diverse populations in every community they serve.
Locally, Chrystel Cornelius, Executive Director of First Nations Oweesta Corporation in Longmont, Colorado, was named to the fellowship. Chrystel is empowering Native American communities, using a CDFI model to build wealth and economic independence among tribal communities across the U.S.
“The leaders selected for this cohort represent the direction we believe we need to go as a nation and as a planet,” said BALLE Executive Director Michelle Long. “Each of the 2016 Fellows are working to bring more accountability, personal relationships, and compassion to business. Collectively we see in this group the seeds of an economic system that serves life, rather than the other way around.”
The BALLE Local Economy Fellowship is the only program of its kind in North America focused on advancing local economies. This immersive, 18-month program equips local economy innovators with leadership and capacity-building skills, a peer network of leaders and funders across North America, and a national platform illuminating their models for other communities. By building this network and offering a curriculum of transformative personal and professional development, BALLE aims to catalyze the emergence of an equitable new economy.
BALLE Local Economy Fellows are selected based on their vision, leadership, and their roles as strategic connectors of thousands of local businesses.
Given what we know about the power of small businesses in North America – they are proven to increase local civic engagement, create 60-90 percent of net new jobs in the U.S. and Canada, and represent about half of U.S. and Canadian GDP (about $9.5 trillion) – it is no exaggeration to say that BALLE Fellows and leaders like them are transforming the bedrock of our economy.
The 2016 cohort directly serves more than 52,400 local businesses. Four fellows working through regional governments or focused on leveraging public dollars and policy – a new focus area of the BALLE Fellowship program – impact an additional 471,200 businesses through their work.
Other focus areas of this cohort include leaders who are advancing entrepreneurship and opportunity in under-resourced communities and communities of color, advancing cooperative development and worker ownership, transitioning post-coal Appalachia, and bringing conversations about well-being, equity, and health to board rooms, funding models, and networks of small businesses.
“BALLE Local Economy Fellows aren’t waiting for big government or big business to step in and fix all that ails a dying system – instead they are working to change economies right where they are, starting with the tools and resources they have: human capital, resourcefulness, and an entrepreneurial spirit,” said Shawn Escoffery, Director of the Strong Local Economies Program for the Surdna Foundation.
The BALLE Local Economy Fellowship is made possible in partnership with the Christiano Family Fund, Kalliopeia Foundation, Kendeda Fund, NoVo Foundation, One 4 All (a donor advised fund of Proteus Fund), Surdna Foundation, Swift Family Foundation, two anonymous donors, and many generous individual supporters.