MacKenzie Scott Gives $70 Million: American Indian College Fund Launches Seven-Year Plan for Native Students
The American Indian College Fund announced on October 29 in Denver, Colorado, that philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, giving through Yield Giving, has made a $70 million unrestricted gift to the fund, which will anchor a new seven-year plan to expand support for Native students and tribal colleges and universities. The gift is the second, and by far the largest, that the fund has received from Scott in five years.
Under the plan, the money will expand scholarship programs at tribal colleges and universities (TCUs), paired with college success coaching, wellness and academic resources, internships, career assessment and mentoring, and will strengthen student pathways from college to careers, a family-friendly campus initiative and culturally reflective wellness programs. Tribal colleges will receive support for faculty development, institutional capacity, curriculum, research and governance training. The fund will also put $20 million into a designated endowment and fund visibility projects to sustain its work beyond the seven years. The fund said the plan was built by listening first to Native students, TCU presidents, community members and its board of trustees.
Cheryl Crazy Bull, the fund's President and CEO, said the gift provides more resources to build on its history of supporting Native students and tribal communities, noting that pairing scholarships with culturally relevant support helps Native students graduate and enter careers serving their communities, and thanked Scott for her trust in the fund and its mission.
A report released in August by the fund and Brookings found that less than 1% of U.S. philanthropic investment serves Indian Country, while federal investment has reverted to pre-pandemic levels of underfunding. U.S. Census data show that only 16% of American Indian and Alaska Native adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, compared with 33% nationally. The fund's research shows its scholars graduate and enter careers at a rate 1.5 times higher when they receive support beyond scholarships.
Founded in 1989, the American Indian College Fund is the nation's largest charity supporting Native higher education. In its 37 years it has provided more than $434 million in scholarships, programs and tribal college support, including more than $26 million in scholarships and other student support in 2025-26, and it supports the nation's 34 accredited tribal colleges and universities.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：Montana 州 Pablo 的部落学院 Salish Kootenai College 校园建筑与 Mission 山脉，该校是美国34所部落学院与大学之一。Djembayz 摄，Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 3.0。 / A building at Salish Kootenai College, a tribal college in Pablo, Montana, with the Mission Mountains behind it. Photo by Djembayz, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
