6
S moke S ignals
OCTOBER 15, 2017
Minors’ trust fund study wraps up
Financial literacy classes
to be offered in 2018
By Danielle Frost
Smoke Signals staff writer
Whether one looks at college ath-
letes turning pro, a person receiving
an inheritance or lottery winners,
the influx of sudden, substantial
wealth can spell disaster in the
hands of those who are inexperi-
enced with managing large sums
of money.
The same can hold true for young
Grand Ronde Tribal members who
receive their trust funds, approxi-
mately $100,000 or more, when they
turn 21.
Hoping to find ways to help these
young adults effectively manage
their “21 Money,” as it is common-
ly known, Tribal Council tasked
General Manager David Fullerton
to have staff assess the current
program and develop a plan to help
educate youth about their disburse-
ments beforehand.
Planning Director Rick George
served as project lead, which includ-
ed holding a series of community
meetings and researching the topic.
“There were a couple of really
obvious findings. … the first being,
people want the opportunity to have
more financial planning assistance,”
George said. “They don’t feel enough
is provided now. People who are now
in their late 20s or early 30s, or as
they look toward next generations,
would like those families to have
more opportunities to increase fi-
nancial literacy. Virtually everyone
identified that as being a need.”
Beginning in the fall of 2018,
Tribal members and families will
receive financial literacy education,
beginning from the time children
are in preschool. Existing staff will
be utilized to teach the curriculum,
which will be developed by nonprofit
group ONABEN, which stands for
Our Native American Business Net-
work, with roots in Oregon.
Locally, Grand Ronde Tribal mem-
ber Bryan Mercier serves on ONA-
“There were a couple of really
obvious findings. … the first being,
people want the opportunity
to have more financial
planning assistance.”
~ Planning Director Rick George
BEN’s board of directors.
There also will be a social media
component for Tribal members who
do not live locally so that they can
learn virtually.
George said that a monitoring and
assessment program will be devel-
oped, with ONABEN’s leadership,
to help track whether increased
financial literacy has been achieved.
According to its website, ONA-
BEN was founded in 1991 by four
Oregon Tribes that wanted to “em-
power aspiring entrepreneurs in
their communities and to help grow
a private business sector on their
Reservations.”
Today, the organization has devel-
oped a wide range of “culturally spe-
cific” business curriculum, programs
and personal assistance that focuses
on increasing access to financing
information and building positive
business relationships.
“Our goal is to provide resources
that will move community members
forward in achieving long-term
self-sufficiency and economic stabili-
ty for themselves and their families,”
said Veronica Hix, ONABEN execu-
tive director. “We believe that com-
munity members are motivated by
the experiences of other community
members, so we will also provide
some communications assistance
along the way, and develop success
stories that will help to market the
program over time.”
Last spring, a questionnaire was
provided to gather input from Tribal
members during community out-
reach meetings. Questions included
if they had already received the
money or were expecting to receive
Ad created by George Valdez
it soon, how it was spent, if they
would do anything differently now,
and if there were any suggestions
to improve the Trust program.
Those who wanted to have a more
in-depth conversation were encour-
aged to provide contact information
so Tribal staff could follow up with
them privately.
The first meeting, held last spring
in Grand Ronde, included more
than 80 people. In addition to the
questionnaires, there were breakout
sessions with small groups, who
talked amongst themselves and
brainstormed ideas for improving
the program.
Three other meetings were held
in Portland, Eugene and Salem.
Additionally, about a dozen Tribal
members provided George with com-
ments in person, through e-mail or
over the phone.
George said that his research
found that many Tribes across the
United States provide minor trust
programs and some that are very
wealthy award up to a $1 million.
“They have seen crisis happen to
those who are not ready,” he said.
Another consensus reached from
the meetings was that the Tribe
could improve communicating to
members that there are tax require-
ments involved and offer prepara-
tion assistance, George said.
“A lot of people don’t know that,
a lot get caught up with tax liabili-
ties,” he said.
Other groups came up with a list
of resources they would like to see
provided to each young person, both
before and after they receive their
funds.
“There are [also] concerns that
funds are being provided to Tribal
members who are in situations
where a large amount of money
could contribute to at-risk behav-
iors,” George said. “There is a lot
of concern about that. In that vein,
the small breakout groups who dis-
cussed that issue gave ideas of how
to better manage the program.”
Recommendations included requir-
ing a high school diploma or GED,
extending the age at which funds are
provided or staggering the payments.
Other Tribes, with the goal of
wanting to prevent tragedies, broke
the funding into smaller chunks and
put conditions on it. The thinking
behind that was sometimes when
you are 25, you look at things a
little differently than at 18 or 21,
George said.
Tribal Council Vice Chair Chris
Mercier, who has served for 13
years, said in his blog that the Trust
Fund issue has come up several
times.
“Right now, I would add that we
need more data: I would genuinely
be curious to know what percentage
of our new 21s actually ‘blow’ the
money, spend it wisely or some-
where in between,” he said. “I am
not sure if I buy into this absolute
mentality of ‘it’s their money to do
as they please,’ because, as men-
tioned in my blog, do we not have a
responsibility to our Tribal members
who are ill-equipped to handle this?
What if some 21 year old is trans-
ferring his money to one of those
African bankers, and is open about
it? I think it is a far more compli-
cated issue than some would like to
acknowledge.”
Additionally, George said he ad-
vised Tribal Council members that if
they want to understand how funds
were being used, they need an up-
dated standard.
“If you don’t have that, there are
no metrics to measure outcomes,”
George said. “The 1996 ordinance
provides the only set of expectations
for what council wanted, and why
it authorized financial incentives
for Tribal members. The intent
of council is that funds be used to
help Tribal members financially, as
they turn 21, with education and
similar benefits, and that intent is
consistent with its stated goal of
self-sufficiency.”
Also identified for review is how
the programs are administered in-
ternally.
“The Tribe is supposed to look at
these programs every year,” George
said. “We identified through the
Member Benefits Department where
we can do things better.”
Plans include revising and updat-
ing the website and redoing materi-
als that are sent out regarding the
money.
George said he is hopeful that the
changes will have a positive effect
on Tribal members.
“We don’t expect to eliminate
unwise use of funds, but if we can
help a few families, the impact is
big,” he said.
Fullerton said that a long-term
approach is needed to assess the
effectiveness of financial literacy
classes.
“It has the opportunity to be a
great tool,” Fullerton said. “The
question is, will the membership
engage? It’s up to the families to
take advantage of it, and it’s another
tool for the departments here to use,
even separate from the 21 Money,
and hopefully they see the intend-
ed impact. It’s a little bit of a leap
of faith, hoping people will engage
in the process, not only locally but
outside the area as well.”
Another theme that came out of
the meetings and interviews was one
of gratitude from Tribal members.
“For those who had used the mon-
ey to do things such as attend col-
lege, buy a car or purchase a house,
there is a material understanding
of what a benefit it is,” George said.
“Most people don’t have this.”
He said he is also hoping the pro-
cess helps improve communication
and outreach with membership as
a whole.
“I’m hoping we can identify oppor-
tunities to improve effectiveness of
internal communication to all mem-
bers,” George said.