OWEESTA CORPORATION
Redefining Equity. Reclaiming Native Sovereignty. Together.
OWEESTA CORPORATION
EIN: 54-1970097
Mission
Oweesta'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 contributing to economic independence and strengthening sovereignty for all Native communities.
Ruling year
2000
CEO
Chrystel Cornelius
Main address
2432 Main St., 1st Floor
Longmont, CO 80501 USA
Formerly known as
First Nations Oweesta Corporation
EIN
54-1970097
Voluntarism
Community and economic development
Economic development
Rural development
Financial services
Population served
Indigenous peoples
NTEE code
Management \u0026 Technical Assistance (S02)
Economic Development (S30)
Nonprofit Management (S50)
IRS subsection
501(c)(3) Public Charity
IRS filing requirement
This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.
Tax forms
Communication
Affiliations
Programs and results
Reports and documents
Download annual reports Download other documentsWhat we aim to solve
Oweesta Corporation directly provides Native American communities the tools and capital support required for real and sustainable job creation, small business development, commercial real estate development, and affordable housing/home ownership, while also offering basic banking services and financial literacy training to “underbanked” Native American communities who have been historically targeted by predatory lending practices. We believe that when armed with the appropriate resources, Native peoples hold the capacity and ingenuity to ensure the sustainable, economic, spiritual and cultural well-being of their communities.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Institution Development
Oweesta assists certified and emerging Native CDFIs with individualized training, technical assistance, and systematic, multi-faceted program delivery. Our goal is to help create and sustain healthy and thriving Native CDFI operations.
Financial Education & Asset Building
Oweesta’s financial education program assists the development and integration of programs such as financial education, matched savings programs, and credit counseling. Our Building Native Communities: Financial Skills for Families curriculum offers a culturally appropriate training program to help Native organizations establish and sustain financial education programs from certified instructors with deep experience in Native communities.
Lending & Capitalization
As the only existing Native CDFI intermediary offering financial products and development services, Oweesta understands the crucial need for investment capital in Native CDFIs and seeks to create appropriate loan products that enable reinvestment of capital back into Native communities. Oweesta offers the following loan products to qualifying Native financial institutions:
Capital Loans
Small & Emerging Loans
Native Fresh Food Fund Loans
Start-Up Loans
Agricultural Loans
Working Capital Loans
Lines of Credit
As a lending intermediary, Oweesta is also supported by debt and equity investments which enhances our capitalization base to better serve Native communities across the nation.
Research, Policy & Advocacy
As a leader in the Native CDFI industry, Oweesta strives to inform potential investors, federal agencies, and the general public on the current industry climate. With our team of enthusiastic and qualified employees, we research and distribute several publications each year. In addition to researching needs, we analyze best practices within established Native CDFIs. By continuously analyzing our industry, we are able to better serve our Native CDFI clients.
Oweesta serves as a voice for Native communities to help inform policy that supports Native community development. By speaking out on relevant issues, we are able to effect change at state and federal levels to further not only our efforts, but the efforts of our clients to create healthy, thriving local economies. We encourage Native communities to join us in our advocacy work. It is within unity that we will find strength in our collective voice.
Where we work
Affiliations & memberships
NeighborWorks Member 2020
External reviews
Photos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of training workshops
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
Institution Development
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
First Nations Oweesta Corporation provides extensive and varied technical assistance and training programs, tailored to the specific needs of our NCDFI clients.
Number of financial literacy courses conducted
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Indigenous peoples, Ethnic and racial groups
Related Program
Financial Education & Asset Building
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Oweesta’s Financial Education and Asset-Building program works with NCDFIs to help them implement financial education programs and provides train the trainers on how to teach our curriculum.
Total dollar amount of loans issued
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Indigenous peoples
Related Program
Lending & Capitalization
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
As the only existing Native CDFI intermediary offering financial products and development services, Oweesta understands the crucial need for investment capital in Native CDFIs.
Number of loans issued
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Indigenous peoples
Related Program
Lending & Capitalization
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Owseeks seeks to create appropriate loan products that enables reinvestment of capital back into Native communities.
Number of participants attending course/session/workshop
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Indigenous peoples
Related Program
Financial Education & Asset Building
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Oweesta assists certified and emerging Native CDFIs with individualized training, technical assistance, and systematic, multi-faceted program delivery.
Number of hours of training
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Indigenous peoples
Related Program
Financial Education & Asset Building
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Our Building Native Communities: Financial Skills for Families curriculum offers a culturally appropriate training program to help Native organizations establish and sustain financial education.
Hours of expertise provided
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Indigenous peoples
Related Program
Institution Development
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Oweesta assists certified and emerging Native CDFIs with individualized training, technical assistance, and systematic, multi-faceted program delivery.
Number of jobs created and maintained
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Indigenous peoples, Ethnic and racial groups
Related Program
Lending & Capitalization
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
The number of jobs created or retained through our loan program.
Number of households that obtain/retain permanent housing for at least 6 months
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Indigenous peoples
Related Program
Lending & Capitalization
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
The number of affordable housing units created through our loan program.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
As the nations premier intermediary for Native community development financial institutions (CDFI), Oweesta (from the Mohawk word for money) helps build strong Native institutions and programs through professional services designed to build local capacity, provide powerful tools for Native community development and promote economic sovereignty. Oweesta's mission is to provide opportunities for Native people to develop assets and create wealth by assisting in the establishment of strong, permanent institutions and programs, contributing to economic independence and strengthening sovereignty for all Native communities.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Oweesta provides training, technical assistance, investments, research and 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, home ownership, education, etc. Through this approach, Native communities across the country are beginning to emerge from the cycle of dependency that has spanned generations, and are building healthy reservation economies with the goal of achieving economic sovereignty.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Oweesta is a well-established, high-performing Native CDFI that maximizes community development impacts in Native communities by engaging in strategic partnerships and by strategically deploying scarce resources in severely distressed and impoverished Tribal communities. Oweesta maximizes leveraging of its equity position with debt capital investments and actively minimizes capital costs to support below-market financing to NCDFIs. While serving the very lowest income communities in the nation and providing high-risk, unsecured loans to NCDFIs, Oweesta has established a strong financial position and has only experienced one loan loss of $10,000 as compared to over $42 million of loans deployed nationwide.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Oweesta has provided 2,372 hours of direct technical assistance (TA) to our clientele in 2022. We have granted 2,108,259 in direct funds to our Native CDFI (NCDFI) industry. Additionally, we have closed 21,135,000 in loans during 2022.
Financials
Financial documents
Download audited financialsRevenue vs. expenses: breakdown
Liquidity in 2022 info
0.50
Months of cash in 2022 info
30.7
Fringe rate in 2022 info
17%
Funding sources info
Assets & liabilities info
OWEESTA CORPORATION
Revenue & expensesFiscal Year: Jul 01 - Jun 30
SOURCE: IRS Form 990
OWEESTA CORPORATION
Balance sheetFiscal Year: Jul 01 - Jun 30
SOURCE: IRS Form 990
The balance sheet gives a snapshot of the financial health of an organization at a particular point in time. An organization's total assets should generally exceed its total liabilities, or it cannot survive long, but the types of assets and liabilities must also be considered. For instance, an organization's current assets (cash, receivables, securities, etc.) should be sufficient to cover its current liabilities (payables, deferred revenue, current year loan, and note payments). Otherwise, the organization may face solvency problems. On the other hand, an organization whose cash and equivalents greatly exceed its current liabilities might not be putting its money to best use.
Fiscal Year: Jul 01 - Jun 30
SOURCE: IRS Form 990
This snapshot of OWEESTA CORPORATION’s financial trends applies Nonprofit Finance Fund® analysis to data hosted by GuideStar. While it highlights the data that matter most, remember that context is key – numbers only tell part of any story.
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Business model indicators
| Profitability info | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted surplus (deficit) before depreciation | $595,525 | $2,075,710 | $969,746 | $7,779,721 | $2,934,806 |
| As % of expenses | 33.0% | 44.9% | 32.9% | 183.0% | 42.0% |
| Unrestricted surplus (deficit) after depreciation | $590,125 | $2,070,310 | $964,345 | $7,774,771 | $2,934,806 |
| As % of expenses | 32.6% | 44.7% | 32.7% | 182.7% | 42.0% |
| Revenue composition info | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total revenue (unrestricted & restricted) | $2,551,913 | $8,309,019 | $4,121,071 | $12,724,322 | $8,550,611 |
| Total revenue, % change over prior year | 20.9% | 225.6% | -50.4% | 208.8% | -32.8% |
| Program services revenue | 20.6% | 8.8% | 22.6% | 9.5% | 12.3% |
| Membership dues | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Investment income | 0.8% | 1.1% | 2.7% | 0.2% | 0.3% |
| Government grants | 54.5% | 18.6% | 6.4% | 1.9% | 40.7% |
| All other grants and contributions | 24.1% | 71.6% | 68.3% | 88.5% | 46.8% |
| Other revenue | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Expense composition info | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total expenses before depreciation | $1,804,045 | $4,623,749 | $2,948,061 | $4,250,292 | $6,993,861 |
| Total expenses, % change over prior year | 7.0% | 156.3% | -36.2% | 44.2% | 64.6% |
| Personnel | 46.1% | 22.3% | 39.3% | 34.5% | 28.1% |
| Professional fees | 14.2% | 6.5% | 6.9% | 6.4% | 11.4% |
| Occupancy | 1.9% | 1.0% | 1.6% | 0.7% | 0.1% |
| Interest | 4.3% | 4.3% | 7.4% | 2.7% | 5.7% |
| Pass-through | 8.3% | 50.9% | 22.0% | 50.6% | 40.5% |
| All other expenses | 25.2% | 14.9% | 22.8% | 5.1% | 14.2% |
| Full cost components (estimated) info | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total expenses (after depreciation) | $1,809,445 | $4,629,149 | $2,953,462 | $4,255,242 | $6,993,861 |
| One month of savings | $150,337 | $385,312 | $245,672 | $354,191 | $582,822 |
| Debt principal payment | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Fixed asset additions | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total full costs (estimated) | $1,959,782 | $5,014,461 | $3,199,134 | $4,609,433 | $7,576,683 |
Capital structure indicators
| Liquidity info | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Months of cash | 25.9 | 18.3 | 40.0 | 33.7 | 30.7 |
| Months of cash and investments | 36.7 | 24.7 | 42.9 | 50.5 | 37.3 |
| Months of estimated liquid unrestricted net assets | 26.2 | 15.6 | 28.5 | 41.7 | 30.4 |
| Balance sheet composition info | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | $3,892,211 | $7,053,640 | $9,820,943 | $11,935,582 | $17,887,719 |
| Investments | $1,630,061 | $2,471,099 | $728,025 | $5,937,338 | $3,837,816 |
| Receivables | $5,894,912 | $14,811,879 | $18,930,610 | $28,806,908 | $41,684,655 |
| Gross land, buildings, equipment (LBE) | $97,625 | $97,625 | $97,625 | $97,625 | $97,625 |
| Accumulated depreciation (as a % of LBE) | 83.9% | 89.4% | 94.9% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| Liabilities (as a % of assets) | 56.1% | 64.1% | 66.4% | 60.7% | 68.6% |
| Unrestricted net assets | $3,961,936 | $6,032,246 | $6,996,591 | $14,771,362 | $17,706,168 |
| Temporarily restricted net assets | $1,067,551 | $2,721,393 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Permanently restricted net assets | $0 | $0 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Total restricted net assets | $1,067,551 | $2,721,393 | $2,907,780 | $3,595,643 | $2,196,283 |
| Total net assets | $5,029,487 | $8,753,639 | $9,904,371 | $18,367,005 | $19,902,451 |
Key data checks
| Key data checks info | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Material data errors | No | No | No | No | No |
Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Documents
CEO
Chrystel Cornelius
Chrystel Cornelius is the President & CEO of the Oweesta Corporation, a national Native CDFI intermediary.
Ms. Cornelius has worked with Native communities the entirety of her professional career, with more than 26 years of direct experience working within the Native economic development field. She is an enrolled member of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin and a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians located in North Dakota.
Chrystel Cornelius is a founding steering committee member for the Native CDFI Network (NCN). Ms. Cornelius is also a former board member of Opportunity Finance Network (OFN), is a current board member of the Community Reinvestment Fund (CRF) and holds the position of Board Chair for the Red Feather Development Group. She is a BALLE Fellow and Skoll Fellow and recipient of the 27th Heinz Award for the Economy.
Ms. Chrystel Cornelius attained a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota.
Number of employees
Source: IRS Form 990
OWEESTA CORPORATION
Officers, directors, trustees, and key employeesSOURCE: IRS Form 990
Compensation data
OWEESTA CORPORATION
Highest paid employeesSOURCE: IRS Form 990
Compensation data
OWEESTA CORPORATION
Board of directorsas of 03/10/2023
Board of directors data
Jeff Bowman
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Robin Danner
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Robin Danner
Homestead CDC
Susan Hammond
Four Directions Development Corporation
Derek Valdo
AMERIND Risk
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
-
Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 03/08/2023GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
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- Letter of Determination
- Officer and/or Employee data for 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018
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