Rep Sanchez Takes $1,000 Away from People Who Need Water

Representative Tawna Sanchez has been a director at NAYA since 1996.  

NAYA's Audited Financial Statements can be viewed at the Department of Justice Charity website.

James Smith was the Assistant Director of Finance at NAYA and this is his google review.

“NAYA lost $477,552 in Net Assets in FY 18. Cash increased to $1,005,362, however, the assets it holds for NVN, NUIFC, and Canoe Family totals $420,891, $428,667 is restricted for IDA matching funds, deferred revenue (advanced payments received) increased to $318,397, and $103,634 belongs to KSCH & Sawash. The Audit notes a deficit in the Sawash reserve account of $23,724 and ends with reporting 4 significant deficiencies relating to incorrect, conflicting & missing required financial policies, subrecipient monitoring, and revenue recognition (the deficiency on policies may have been corrected during FY 19). NAYA had a FY 17 loss of $446,073 and ended the year with a cash balance of $444,206. After subtracting IDA Matching Funds $345,393, amounts for the Fiscal Sponsorship arrangements with Native Voice Network (NVN) and National Urban Indian Family Coalition (NUIFC) $273,182, and amounts belonging to the two NAYA companies, Sawash & KSCH, that provide low-income affordable housing, it leaves a negative cash balance for general operations. Additionally, in 2019, NAYA is expected to make a large payment on LT debt in the amount of $805,128. Fundraising costs are increasing at a faster rate than the revenue they generate. FY 17 costs increased by $59,830 from the prior year while special events revenue only increased by $35,768. FY16: My rating isn't about the staff or community. I have family and close friends who work or are clients of NAYA. The rating is for the leadership. We have a good thing here, don't mess it up. NAYA lost $160,660 for the year, which is not too bad. However, taking a closer look, NAYA took out an additional $150,000 from its line of credit to max it out at $500,000 while total liabilities increased by over $425,000. They probably had to offset the Coalition of Communities of Color spin-off in which NAYA paid $201,800, and had to refund a prior-year grant award of $214,664. The cash balance, $915,997, is a decrease of $270,121 from the prior year. However, $357,642 is restricted to IDA accounts, $230,273 restricted to Fiscal Sponsorship arrangements with NVN and NUIFC, which doesn't leave much remaining if NVN & NUIFC both suddenly spun off as CCC had done. On another note, the financials disclose a Related-Party Transaction in which NAYA entered into a professional services agreement with a firm owned by one of its Board members. Costs under this agreement totaled $20,163 for 2016. It doesn't look like we can expect pro bono or much volunteer work from, the current Board. Everyone wants a piece of the pie, hope they leave some for the community. FY 14: NAYA lost almost $1.26 million as reported on its most recent publicly available tax return. The tax return shows that this loss was primarily financed with cash and debt. NAYA is a good resource for the Portland Native American Community and the NAYA Board is responsible for ensuring a sustainable future by protecting its assets and providing proper financial oversight.”