Education: A Cornerstone of Self-Sufficiency

Each year through our AIEF program, we fund critical college scholarships for Native American students. We evaluate over 1,000 scholarship applications annually, and the outcome of this process is astounding. Each year, 90-95 percent of the students awarded complete the college year. Comparatively, the norm for completion among all Native students across the U.S. is about 21% each year. So, why do AIEF scholars fare so well?

• Our scholarship selection committee with decades of combined experience in Native education
• Our keen understanding of the barriers to education faced by Native students
• Our targeting of “best bet” students who are truly motivated to complete a college degree
• Our selection of students with  a strong track record of overcoming obstacles

One need only read Joni’s story or Aaron’s story to understand just how much motivation and determination count for college success. We focus our selections on students who are average performers academically but who have a history of overcoming obstacles. We believe that resilience and motivation are key characteristics of students who succeed in college. Our AIEF scholarship program creates opportunity and improves access to college for some students who may not have thought they are college “material.”

For the 2013-14 academic year, we evaluated nearly 1,200 applications from college-bound Native American students, the majority of whom live on a reservation or in a remote border town. Of these, we selected and awarded scholarships for 150 undergraduate and 37 graduate students. As always, we wish this year’s cohort of scholars the very best success.

Education is one of the most important cornerstones of self-sufficiency and a good quality of life. It is a crucial factor in addressing the long-term challenges facing Indian country. For this reason, we invest a large amount of our resources toward Native American education and assist thousands of students from pre-kindergarten through college and career, nearly 45,000 in 2012 alone.

Our AIEF services run the gamut from supporting Head Start programs to improving literacy to fostering career and life skills through job training programs on the reservations. We provide school supplies, backpacks and back-to-school clothing for students attending underfunded BIE schools and other schools hard hit by budget cuts. We assist tribal colleges, trade schools and four-year universities with high proportions of Native students. And we award scholarships for non-traditional students such as those returning to college after a long absence, GED students and older people attending college for the first time.

We thank all of our donors and supporters for your generous and heartfelt support of Native American students and brighter futures.