Native Forward Scholars Fund (NFSF) has announced how it will use the entire $50 million unrestricted donation it received from philanthropist and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ former wife, MacKenzie Scott. The organisation said every dollar of the gift will go towards supporting Native students through scholarships and long-term funding.NFSF provides scholarships to Native American students. According to the organisation, the funding will be divided into two parts. It will spend $10 million over the next five years to expand scholarships, adding around $2 million each year. The remaining $40 million will be placed into a permanent endowment that will continue supporting students for years to come.The announcement comes as the organisation says more students are seeking financial help for higher education. According to NFSF, its scholars have an average unmet financial need of $26,000, highlighting the growing financial challenges many students face while pursuing college degrees.The organisation said the decision balances the need to support current students while also ensuring future generations have access to educational opportunities.The donation is the largest single gift in Native Forward’s 57-year history. Scott did not attend the announcement, issue a statement or put her name on the endowment, according to Lifestyle Magazine.Scott, 56, is a novelist and philanthropist who became one of the world’s best-known donors after her 2019 divorce from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. She is known for making large unrestricted donations to organisations, allowing them to decide how the money should be used. She rarely appears at public events or comments publicly on her philanthropy.This is also Scott’s second major donation to the organisation. In 2020, when Native Forward was known as the American Indian Graduate Center, she donated $20 million, then the largest gift in its history. According to the organisation, that funding helped establish an endowment, launch new scholarship programmes and purchase its headquarters in Albuquerque, allowing more resources to go towards student support.
Immediate and long-term investment
Angelique Albert, chief executive officer of the organisation and a citizen of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, said the decision to split the donation reflects an important value within Native communities.Albert has said she initially believed the latest donation would be $15 million before learning it was worth $50 million.“For Native students, the path to higher education has never been without barriers, and yet, generation after generation, they persist,” Albert said.“This investment reflects a principle long understood in Native communities: that decisions made today must hold in mind those who are seven generations in the future,” she said.
Rising demand for scholarships
The announcement comes at a time when demand for scholarship assistance is at its highest level. According to the organisation, the average scholar still has an unmet financial need of $26,000 even after receiving available financial aid. Rising education costs have made it harder for many Native students to pay for college, increasing the need for scholarship support.Native Forward also said applications increased by 35% after Scott’s gift was announced. In a typical year, the organisation is able to support only about 1,000 of nearly 7,000 qualified applicants, or around 22%.Beyond scholarships, NFSF offers one-on-one advising, mentorship and culturally centred programmes aimed at helping students succeed in higher education while maintaining strong connections with their communities and identities.The organisation said these services have contributed to graduation rates that are higher than the national average for Native students. According to NFSF, 69% of its undergraduate scholars complete their degrees, compared with the national graduation rate of 41% for Native students. Among graduate scholars, the completion rate is 95%.
Growing endowment further
Lillian Sparks Robinson, chair of the organisation’s Board of Directors and a citizen of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, said the donation is both an opportunity and a responsibility for the organisation.“The MacKenzie Scott gift is a statement of trust and Native Forward takes that responsibility seriously. On behalf of the Board, I am proud to share that we are directing every dollar toward Native students,” Robinson said.Robinson also announced a goal to grow the organisation’s permanent endowment from $40 million to $100 million through future fundraising to provide long-term support for Native students.Founded in 1969, Native Forward Scholars Fund has supported more than 22,000 students from over 500 Tribal Nations across all 50 US states.Over the years, the organisation has distributed more than $350 million in scholarships. It supports students pursuing undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees while working to strengthen leadership within Tribal Nations and Native communities.