Choctaw Asset Building assists tribal members in education
The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (CNO) has an exceptional resume of tailoring specialized services to help tribal members help themselves. Choctaw Asset Building (CAB) is exemplar of this fact, as it rewards participants for learning sustainable money management.
Built on the foundations of Individual Development Accounts (IDA), Choctaw CAB serves as a connection to anti-poverty efforts from the tribe.
Through CAB, participants who save money for integral life expenditures are awarded funds from the tribe matched at an exponential rate. CNO will match three-to-one funds designated for buying a first home, and two-to-one on monies allocated toward starting/expanding a small business or attending college/vocational school.
This opportunity is especially valuable to students, as they are essentially being paid to save money and learning sustainable money management in the process. “It is a wonderful program,” stated IDA Coordinator Dawn Hix, whose previous experience as an educator has brought her firsthand knowledge of the need for this service.
Curnutt
CAB’s educational aspect is making an identifiable impact in the lives of tribal members. One such student is Callie Curnutt, a sophomore at Carl Albert State College and the 2013-14 Miss Choctaw Nation.
Curnutt, who is on track for an Allied Health degree funded solely on scholarships makes note that having the extra funds provided by her effort through CAB are an ideal way to bridge the gap some scholarships leave between orientation and graduation.
“I still have a lot of CAB money left to use; that makes me feel good to know I can finish my degree without having to take out a bank loan,” stated Curnutt, who will be carrying this degree towards a Physical Therapist Assistant program upon graduation.
“It also taught me money management skills,” mentioned Curnutt, as she brought up the aspect of CAB designed to instill a sustainable mindset to tribal members. For participants in CAB are required to attend 12 hours of financial literacy training, which teaches debt reduction, savings planning and credit management. “You learn a critical life skill,” she declared.
“By providing a form of educational funding while teaching such an essential life skill, CAB has really been an advantage to our SAP students,” stated Choctaw Nation Scholarship Advisement Program (SAP) Director Jo McDaniel. SAP students like Curnutt are great examples of how using services provided by CNO can lead to sustainable betterment of lives of tribal members, according to McDaniel.
CAB is made possible in part by the Assets for Independence Grant hosted by the Department of Health and Human Services, which funded the first iteration of CAB in 2009. Upon being awarded the $800,000 grant, Choctaw Nation contributed $1 million of tribal funds to assure the effort made a substantial impact on tribal members.
CAB’s grant is on the last year of its five-year cycle and has aided over 220 Choctaws. Recognizing that success, CNO desired to continue the process by applying for and earning a second grant in 2012, CAB2, which will ensure the opportunities continue.
“The more tribal members we serve, the better,” stated Hix as she spoke of securing the second iteration of the initiative and planning to apply for a third. “This program is an excellent program. I can guarantee that I will apply for the second grant portion,” echoed Curnutt.
CAB is a sub program of Choctaw Career Development. These two programs work in tandem in the hope that lessons taught by one, will lead to success in the other. Skills obtained via CAB, combined with those learned through Career Development can make for a prosperous way of life for many Choctaws.
There is no blood quantum requirement for tribal members to take advantage of CAB. Potential participants must only commit to any of the three saving purposes, meet certain income requirements and reside within Oklahoma, Arkansas or Texas. Contact CAB online or by calling 800.522.6170 for more information and application.