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7.28.08 | $10,000 grant expands scholarship opportunities to all seven of Montana’s tribal colleges
While no stranger to the state of Montana’s seven tribal colleges, the American Indian College Fund’s first interaction with the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation occurred when they applied for a grant toward funding scholarships in the state. With a strong emphasis on supporting education initiatives, particularly those that benefit Montanans, the Foundation proved a good fit for the organization’s grant request.
Vicky Stott, Director of Foundations and Programs, discovered the Washington Foundation through an online foundation directory, which includes a comprehensive donor database. Appearing to be a good match with their mission, she and a coordinator went through the Foundation’s online application process through dpwfoundation.org. With an extremely busy schedule of working with over 30 tribal colleges in the U.S., Stott happily preferred the ease of the online process. "It allows us to get through the application work that much faster. We appreciated that capability on the Washington Foundation website,” said Stott.
The specific grant awarded by the Foundation is for scholarships to American Indian students attending tribal colleges in Montana. The funding for the scholarships will be divided evenly among the state’s seven tribal colleges –Blackfeet Community College, Chief Dull Knife College, Fort Belknap College, Fort Peck Community College, Little Big Horn College, Salish Kootenai College and Stone Child College. Scholarship announcement, application and recipient selection will be administered through each individual college. Scholarships will be awarded for the Fall 2008 semester.
Mike Halligan, Executive Director of the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation, emphasizes the importance of this grant. "Education is a priority focus for the Foundation, but not simply for its own sake. Education at all levels, from early childhood learning to higher education, provides immeasurable opportunity well beyond the classroom,” said Halligan. "The grant given to the American Indian College Fund directly benefits Montanans, specifically Montana’s American Indian students. Attending a tribal college contributes not just to the life of the student, but also helps to uplift the tribal community as a whole.”
The American Indian College Fund was created in 1989 by tribal college presidents as a collective fundraising arm for the schools. The organization is primarily focused on private sector fundraising. In the last year alone, the Fund awarded nearly 6,000 scholarships. In addition to raising money, the Fund has produced a nationwide public education campaign showcasing the positive impact tribal colleges have in this country. The campaign elegantly features real students who have benefited from the Fund’s support.
Tribal colleges, as Stott describes it, are much more than educational institutions. "Tribal colleges help build the infrastructure of Indian Country,” said Stott. "They are the cultural centerpieces, economic development resources, community centers. In some cases they are the only place where there is daycare available or a library or access to computers.”
Stott has visited almost all of Montana’s tribal colleges in her work. "Some are successful and some are challenged, but having even more scholarship support helps these schools,” said Stott. By giving more access to education to more students, the colleges themselves become stronger.
"Without our support a lot of these students wouldn’t be in school. They are the heart and soul of the colleges,” said Stott. "The faculty and staff speak so highly of their students and how they have built the capacity of their institutions.” Not only is the American Indian College Fund the largest provider of private scholarship support for American Indians, it recently completed a $40 million capital construction campaign to help build the infrastructure of tribal colleges across the nation. Projects included building cultural learning centers and small museums for cultural artifacts, administrative centers, dormitories, daycare centers and science and technology buildings.
Ensuring the strength of tribal colleges and the continued expansion of access to higher education in Indian Country has a major impact on the quality of life for the students and their communities. "We have a lot of students that struggle to pay for gas to get to class. Even receiving $100 or $200 for books really goes a long way for these students,” said Stott. "I’ve met a lot of students who have received a scholarship. Just knowing that an organization believes in them enough to help them go to college – that literally changes their lives.”
