American Indian College Fund Awarded $50,000 Rise Prize

July 28, 2020 Denver, Colo.— The American Indian College Fund was awarded a $50,000 Rise Prize to create both a higher education cohort of Native student mothers and programming that is responsive to their unique needs as college students. The program will be called Ina Wa Wounspe Pi,” Lakota for Mothers Who Are Learning.

The “Rise Prize” is a collective effort between Imaginative Futures, the Lumina Foundation and ten partner organizations focused on the success of parent students in higher education. Organizations based in the United States of any age, size, or type that are currently working on direct impact initiatives for student parents and other students, including high education institutions, for-profit companies, and non-profit organizations like the American Indian College Fund (the College Fund) were eligible to apply for the competitive prize.

The College Fund was one of eight of 383 applicants that was chosen to receive $50,000 for their efforts programming efforts in working with student parents.

Cheryl Crazy Bull, President and CEO of the American Indian College Fund, said, “On behalf of the College Fund, I appreciate the opportunity through the Rise Prize to focus resources on supporting student mothers. While all parents and guardians are valued by us, we welcome resources to help mothers pursue their educational dreams. They inspire us and with coaching and programs directed at their success, we look forward to their bright futures.”

With the Rise Prize, the American Indian College Fund will be collecting data on the cohort’s outcomes to examine other cohorts that can be created to meet student coaching needs.

About the American Indian College Fund—Founded in 1989, the American Indian College Fund has been the nation’s largest charity supporting Native higher education for 30 years. The College Fund believes “Education is the answer” and provided $7.72 million in scholarships to 3,900 American Indian students in 2018-19, with nearly 137,000 scholarships and community support totaling over $221.8 million since its inception. The College Fund also supports a variety of academic and support programs at the nation’s 35 accredited tribal colleges and universities, which are located on or near Indian reservations, ensuring students have the tools to graduate and succeed in their careers. The College Fund consistently receives top ratings from independent charity evaluators and is one of the nation’s top 100 charities named to the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance. For more information about the American Indian College Fund, please visit www.collegefund.org.

Reporters: The American Indian College Fund does not use the acronym AICF. On second reference, please use the College Fund.

CONTACT:
Dina Horwedel
dhorwedel@collegefund.org, 303-430-5350