Native Asset Building Initiative

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Asset building is an approach to overcoming poverty that emphasizes the value of sound family budgeting, money management, savings, and investment in long term assets. The Office of Community Services (OCS) and the Administration for Native Americans (ANA) have partnered to increase access to and awareness of asset building opportunities in Native American communities. OCS and ANA are program offices within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF). OCS and ANA will accept applications to establish and administer asset building projects with a focus on Assets for Independence (AFI) projects. The AFI focus of each project requires that eligible participants are given access to matched savings accounts, called Individual Development Accounts (IDA), in which participants save earned income for the purchase of a home, for business capitalization, or to attend higher education or training. Grantees will provide an array of additonal supports and services to enable low-income individuals and families to become economically self-sufficient for the long term. Additonal services offered to participants may include financial literacy education, credit counseling, coaching on money management and consumer issues, business support, home ownership support services, and other supportive services that enable them to become more financially secure. The IDA portion of the project is funded by OCS. ANA funds may be used to pay for costs associated with project administration and to provide other asset-building strategies. Under the funding opportunity announcement (FOA), applicants will submit 1 application that identifies a single work plan and 2 budgets, that is, a budget for each award. Successful applicants will receive an OCS-AFI award and an ANA-SEDS award.

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