Page 27 - April Report2022

Resilience
Grant Program Committee meeting minutes (5)
technology fields is growing. The STEM and Business program that AISES offers is a good
example of this.
The Committee approved researching Robeson Community College and the University of North Carolina-Pembroke for possible inclusion in the Entrepreneurship Scholarship program in June.
c. AISES grant agreement
The following documents had been circulated: notes from a videoconference with AISES on January 18, 2022; an email request from Dr. Kathy DeerInWater, the Chief Program Officer of AISES; a budget showing JSF’s Year 1 grant to AISES; and a sponsorship description for the STEM and Business Track at the AISES 2022 National Conference.
In September 2020, JSF approved a grant to AISES for $200,000 over 2 years. In January 2022, Sarah Echohawk notified staff that due to the pandemic, AISES was able to use and match only $75,000 of the $100,000 Year 1 grant funds. During a Zoom meeting, Sarah suggested returning the unused funds to JSF. Asked if there was another area in which AISES could use the $25,000, Sarah and her team mentioned possible sponsorship of the STEM and Business Track of the organization’s National Conference in October 2022 and 2023. Such a change would require a modification for both years of the current grant agreement.
The Committee approved a request from AISES to use $25,000 per year of the JSF $100,000 per year grant toward sponsorship of the STEM and Business Track of the AISES National Conference in 2022 and 2023.
d. Fort Lewis College endowment
An application from Fort Lewis College had been circulated, along with notes from a February 11, 2022 videoconference and a September 28, 2021 site visit report. The application requests $1 million over 5 years with a 1:1 match to build a scholarship endowment for Indigenous business students. As with other endowments, JSF scholarship funding would continue during the endowment-building phase. Prior to the presenters joining the meeting, the Committee wondered whether the college was being aggressive enough. Does it need a larger endowment, and would the development officers have the ability to raise more? Does the school have the ability to raise institutional funds? During their site visit, Rick and Bobby spoke to President Stritikus and were assured that the institutional support was there.
Malcolm welcomed Dr. Steve Elias, Dean of the School of Business Administration at FLC, and Melissa Mount, Vice President of Advancement and CEO of the FLC Foundation, who appeared via Zoom. FLC is believed to have the nation’s largest number of Native students studying business. While tribes cover the tuition for Indigenous students, the students must pay for housing and all other expenses. In an affluent area like Durango, these students face costs of about $20,000 a year. This year, the school awarded 30 JSF scholarships, and 12 of those students are on the Dean’s List. The school plans to take advantage of its active alumni chapter and banking industry partners to raise the match. Melissa said the FLC Foundation is actively revising its spending policy and there will be a 4% payout based on a 5-year rolling average. She added that the school would like to roll the income into the endowment. She was asked about the institutional commitment. She said she will be meeting with her foundation’s Gift Acceptance Committee to secure unrestricted foundation funds to meet the match if needed. Steve and Melissa were asked how they arrived at the requested amount of $200,000 per year. Steve responded that a $2 million endowment would generate enough income for current levels. The $1 million match is a large number for them, and they wanted to set themselves up
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