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Native American colleges have been called "under-funded miracles" and "economic lifelines" for U.S. Indian reservations.
There are 30 tribal colleges--all founded by Indians to fight high rates of poverty, educational failure and cultural loss. These colleges created the non-profit American Indian College Fund to raise desperately-needed scholarship, endowment and operating monies.
For the 1998-1999 academic year, the College Fund distributed more than $3 million in scholarships--a record $100,000 to each college--directly supporting at least 6,000 students.
About 85 percent of tribal college students live at or below the poverty level. Nearly 30,000 students attend the 30 colleges, which are located mostly on poor, isolated reservations and operate in trailers, converted warehouses and abandoned buildings.
Based in Denver, Colorado, the College Fund has raised a total of more than $35 million since 1989. This support comes from 200 corporations and foundations and 90,000 individuals.
Tribal college presidents created the College Fund in 1986 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The Fund is similar to the United Negro College Fund-just as UNCF supports historically-Black colleges, the American Indian College Fund supports only tribally-controlled colleges.
As young, poor schools, tribal colleges struggle to build endowments essential for stability and accreditation. By asking donors to become "honorary alumni," the Fund has built an endowment of $6.5 million. The Fund has a national awareness campaign of television and magazine public service announcements, created with the theme "Educating the mind and spirit." The tribal colleges offer Indian students a form of higher education that includes both traditional academics as well as Native culture. For example, students take courses like biology alongside those in Indian language. Statistics show this dual education works. While fewer than 10 percent of Indian students graduate from public colleges, more than 40 percent of tribal college graduates pursue further education. Another 50 percent find jobs. "Without question," the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching reported in 1997, "the most significant development in American Indian communities since World War II was the creation of tribally-controlled colleges." How do I receive funding from the American Indian College Fund? The American Indian College Fund raises money for the 30 tribal colleges which are located across the United States. The money the College Fund raises is distributed to these colleges as scholarships for students attending the tribal colleges. The College Fund itself does not provide individual scholarships or applications. Go To Page: 1 2
The copyright of the article The American Indian College Fund in Financial Aid is owned by Shauna Zamarripa. Permission to republish The American Indian College Fund in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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