The American Indian College Fund (College Fund) announced today a $70 million, 7-year plan to expand its support for Native American college students.
The funds come from Yield Giving, a foundation established by Mackenzie Scott. According to a press release, the plan was developed in collaboration with the Native students, tribal college and university presidents, community members, and the College Fund’s board of trustees.
The College Fund will grow its programs for TCU scholarships, college success coaching, wellness and academic resources, internships, career assessment, and mentoring. It also strengthens student pathways from college to careers, expands a family-friendly campus initiative, and strengthens culturally reflective wellness programs.
It will also direct funds to Tribal colleges for faculty development, institutional capacity, cultural and environmental programming, curriculum, research, governance training, and increased community awareness through multimedia public education and public service campaigns.
Cheryl Crazy Bull, President and CEO of the American Indian College Fund, said listening to community needs was essential to designing a plan that will have a sustained impact on Native communities.
“This gift gives us more very welcome resources to build on our history of success with supporting Native students and tribal communities,” Crazy Bull said in a press release. “We built this plan by listening first. By pairing scholarships with culturally relevant support programs and institutions, Native students graduate and enter careers to serve their communities. We know a teacher can change lives, and a health-care worker can save them. Both professions require a college degree.”
Scott’s investment comes amid ongoing chronic federal and philanthropic underinvestment in Indian Country. Less than 1% of U.S. philanthropic investment serves Indian Country, while federal investments reverted to pre-pandemic levels of underfunding despite the government’s trust and treaty obligations.
Underfunding contributes to a college completion gap in Indian Country, with U.S. Census data showing currently only 16% of American Indian and Alaska Native adults have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared with 33% nationally.
College Fund research shows its scholars graduate and enter careers at a rate 1.5 times higher with support beyond scholarships. Investing in students and tribal colleges is a wise public investment, with every dollar spent on TCUs netting taxpayers a $1.60 return, according to Building Local Economies of Scale: The Impact of Tribal Colleges and Universities in Rural America, a study published last year by the American Indian Higher Education Consortium.
College graduates have better economic outcomes, earn higher salaries, and communities generate more tax revenue while spending less on assistance and health programs.
