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Kalliopeia Foundation Grants American Indian College Fund $40,000 for Scholarships

Denver, Colo. (Nov. 3, 2009) – The Kalliopeia Foundation has announced it is granting the American Indian College Fund $40,000 for scholarships. A supporter of the Fund since 2004, the foundation has focused on providing scholarships for “tribal college students pursuing a teaching degree with the intent to serve as American Indian language instructors.” 

The foundation has shown its commitment to American Indian education by increasing the dollar amount of its support. A 2004 gift disbursed in 2005 totaled $20,000 for scholarships. In 2006, the Kalliopeia Foundation increased support to $25,000 for scholarships. In 2007 and 2008 they gave $30,000 for scholarships and $10,000 for general operating support; and in 2009 once again gave $30,000 for scholarships and gave $10,000 for general operating support.

Barbara Cushing, Director of Grantmaking for Kalliopeia Foundation, said, “We support American Indian College Fund's programs that incorporate teacher training directed towards Native language preservation and revitalization. Native languages, whose very survival is often threatened, hold the worldview and sacred way of life of Native American peoples. Indigenous wisdom and worldview, held within language, offers the lens through which the dominant culture can better understand and find solutions to the devastating consequences that have resulted from a worldview that does not share a sacred and holistic understanding of life. The preservation and revitalization of Native American languages stands to benefit the planet as a whole, as diverse peoples struggle to restore balance and harmony in accordance with what benefits all Life.”

Richard B. Williams, President and CEO of the American Indian College Fund, said, “We are delighted that we have the confidence and the continued commitment of The Kalliopeia Foundation in using their funds to ensure that American Indians that wish to pursue a higher education to preserve American Indian culture as a career can do so with scholarship support. In hard economic times, many organizations face tough decisions about how to use their dollars. By continuing to support the American Indian College Fund, the Kalliopeia Foundation is demonstrating a commitment to improving the lives of American Indian students, Indian Country, and thereby enriching our nation.”

About the Kalliopeia Foundation

The Kalliopeia Foundation is a private grantmaking foundation that contributes to the evolution of communities and cultures that honor the unity at the heart of life's rich diversity. Through its grantmaking it seeks to strengthen a collective recognition of the oneness of humanity.

About the American Indian College Fund

With its credo “Educating the Mind and Spirit,” the Denver-based American Indian College Fund is the nation’s largest provider of private scholarships for American Indian students, providing more than 5,000 scholarships annually for students seeking to better their lives and communities through education at the nation’s 33 accredited tribal colleges and universities. For more information about the American Indian College Fund or to make a donation, visit www.collegefund.org.