Page 19 - 2022 November Report

Resilience
Entrepreneurship Scholarship representatives’ annual meeting report (5)
Fort Lewis College
FLC is in its 4th year of the JSF program. A total of 25 scholarships will be awarded this year. They’ve noticed a trend that the grades are better for the returning students. The AIBL chapter was reorganized and has grown from 3 students in 2021 to 48 now. Fundraising for the JSF endowment has started. A few members of the FLC Foundation Board made lead gifts after hearing the stories of Johnson Scholars. A local utility company also donated $100,000. Steve Elias plans to host a benefit concert at his home. The JSF scholarship application is separate from the main one for the college. It’s housed on the Human Resources website, which is secure.
Institute of American Indian Arts
IAIA is now moving to the endowment phase, using a portion of MacKenzie Scott’s donation to the school and other grants as a match. The school wants to use these funds for course development work, and a hope is that business program classes will be offered in different departments. Usually there are 4 to 6 applicants per semester, and 4 awards were made this year. IAIA recently hosted representatives from Nike who talked about possible internships and gave guest lectures. Last year IAIA had its first dual credit graduate, and another is on track to graduate soon. Most dual credit courses are at high school campuses. There are now 500 dual credit students, and 300 are in business classes.
Nebraska Indian Community College
NICC is having trouble getting students to complete applications. They sent target emails to eligible students this year. There was some confusion about whether students need to be Pell eligible or if they just need to demonstrate financial need. Four awards were made last year, and the selection process is still under way for this year. There has been a lot of turnover with department heads.
Northwestern Indian College
There are 180 students in the Tribal Governance and Business Management program, and there is a 95% retention rate. There were 30 applicants for the scholarship, and 25 awards were made. There has been a focus on career readiness. Barbara Lewis joined the NWIC Foundation as Executive Director in January. Fundraising for the JSF endowment continues, and $400,000 has been raised so far. Most of the donors are community members. The NWIC Foundation hosted fundraising auction, and efforts are being made to solicit donations from some of the top vendors to the school and tribal enterprises. There’s also an ongoing effort to get financial buy-in from 100% of board members.
Robeson College
Robeson identified 26 eligible scholarship applicants, but only 7 applied. A 2nd application process is a possibility. The pandemic caused a significant drop in business students’ GPAs, but as their grades increase the pool will grow. Robeson awards between 300 and 350 degrees per year with about 75% to 80% of them going to Native students.
Scottsdale Community College
SCC is now in its last year of JSF endowment building. Three students have graduated. There is some uncertainty on campus because of some recent developments. One involves a change in requirements that the Maricopa Community College System put into effect in February. Also, there is a lawsuit against the system having to do with alleged discrimination.
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