Commerce Services

Securing and enhancing the financial well being of people, businesses and communities

Family and Community Asset Building

Consumer Asset Building

– Homeownership down payment and closing cost grants (MAP)

– Long-term self-sufficiency counseling– Budget counseling– Credit coaching– Individual Development Accounts (youth and adults)– Volunteer Tax Assistance Program– Financial education workshops – community and employer

based

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Family and Community Asset Building

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Entrepreneurial Development

- Capacity building workshops

- Business planning

- Retail incubator

- Household budgeting & credit repair

- Artist incubator (Cherokee Arts Center)

- Artist marketing/sales (Spider Gallery)

- Hands-on business management and ownership

training (Kawi Café)

- www.cherokeebids.org – procurement preference

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Cherokee Nation Economic Development Trust Authority

• Certified CDFI - 1998

• Affordable financing– Commercial lending– Small consumer lending– Foreclosure prevention

• $6+ Million portfolio

• 800+ Clients

Commercial Loan Program

5 Year Impact

• Created or retained 635 jobs

• $5.7 million small business loans

• Capacity building training over 8,000 participants

Benefits

• Flexible lending criteria

• Special low-income micro and youth programs

• Low cost financing• In-house loan

servicing

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Small Business Workshops

• Marketing• Government Contracting• 8a and HubZone Certifications• Website Design• How to do Business with Cherokee Nation• Understanding Bonds• Analyzing Financials

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Business Planning

• Workshop taught over the course of several weeks

• Each session focuses on a specific section of the business plan

• Commerce currently uses both Indianpreneurship and Core Four curriculum

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Certified Indian Owned Businesses

• Increase Certified Indian-owned Businesses’ access to CN procurement opportunities

• Increase competitiveness and sustainability of Certified Indian-owned Businesses

• One-on-one training for Certified Indian-owned Businesses

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Business Coaching

• Produces better loan participants• Establishes a relationship between

Commerce Services and the borrower• Assesses the individual needs of the small

business owner• Works with business owners to detect

changes in the economy and their market

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Procurement Assistance

• Aids with Cherokee Nation procurement opportunities

• Stresses the importance of growing business and diversifying customer base

• Commerce Services partners with Native American Business Enterprise Center to notify vendors of federal and state procurement opportunities

Consumer Loan Program

Impact• Over $3 Million

loaned in the last 4 years

• Continued significant growth

• Deterioration of credit histories and debt to income ratios

Benefits• Affordable alternative

to high-cost, short-term financing

• Budget and credit counseling pre and post loan

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Community Tourism

Facilitates start-up, expansion, and sustainability of Indian-owned tourism businesses, including individualized assistance and financing

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Community Tourism - Providing Economic Development Tools

• Cherokee National Holiday

• Arts on the Avenue

• Cherokee Hills Scenic Byway

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Cherokee Arts Center

An artist incubator providing creativity space and equipment to help artists generate income and share their skills.

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Arts Center Impact• 50 artists have completed the Native Artist

Professional Development curriculum• Artists have used the Arts Center to teach 86

classes YTD, ex. silversmithing, pottery, weaving, life drawings, assemblage, beading

• $16,275 earned by artists holding classes at the Arts Center YTD

• YTD, Arts Center equipment has been used close to 500 times in addition to its usage for classes

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Retail Incubator

• Subsidized retail space located in historic downtown Tahlequah

• Individualized business coaching

• Marketing assistance

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Kawi Cafe• Hands on

entrepreneurial training ground

• Business plan development

• Classroom style business training

• 8 graduates year to date

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The Spider Gallery

• Increasing the market for Cherokee artists

• Bringing Cherokee art to the forefront

• Supplementing artists’ income

• $31,700 income to artists YTD

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Self Sufficiency Programs

• Mortgage Assistance

• Personal Financial Education Classes

• Credit Coaching

• Individual Development Accounts

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Mortgage Assistance ProgramImpact

• Since 2008, Financial Assistance provided to 1,200 first time homebuyers

• Foreclosure rate of MAP clients lower than Oklahoma average

• Includes short-term financial coaching

• All recipients obtain non-predatory mortgages

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Credit CoachingLong Term Counseling

• One on one financial analysis

• Spending plan• Saving plan• Debt reduction strategies• Credit repair• Comprehensive referrals

Impact

• 549 families completed counseling and obtained non-predatory mortgages

• None lost to foreclosure• Credit scores increased an

average of 29 points• 32% of families reduce

debt to income ratio

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Community Financial Education

• 6,500 participants in last 5 years –adults and youth

• CNE Gaming Employees – Saving gaming licenses and jobs

• Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University, Homebuyers Training, Managing a Bank Account, Developing a Spending Plan, Negotiating with Creditors, Managing a Banking Relationship, Reviewing Your Credit Report

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Individual Development Accounts

• 1st Native IDA – 1997• Adult and youth matched savings• Recently incorporated with Mortgage Assistance Program• 200+ individuals currently participating

– Home rehabilitation– Home purchase– Post secondary education– Business start up or expansion

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OK Native Assets Coalition

Cherokee Nation was a founding partner of this 501(c)3 organization whose mission is to build and support a network of Native people dedicated to increasing self sufficiency through financial education and asset building programs.

www.oknativeassets.org

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• ONAC represents a consortium of Oklahoma tribes and partners interested in establishing asset-building initiatives and programs in Native communities.

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What ONAC Provides Constituents:• Asset building resources, models, and strategies • Annual conference• Forum to discuss tribal, local, state, or federal asset building

policies• Opportunities to connect with Native and non-Native asset

building practitioners• Outreach to OK tribal leaders, tribal governments, and other

OK based Native organizations• Training and capacity building for designing and implementing

asset building programs• Mini grants for Native asset building projects

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