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Please go to www.aiefprogram.org to learn more.
The AIEF Way

The American Indian Education Foundation (AIEF) offers services benefiting Native American students in many areas of the United States. Individual students receive some services directly, while others are administered by schools and colleges.

The AIEF Vision
The American Indian Education Foundation will maintain its status as a growing, nationally recognized leader that supports Native American students enrolled in post secondary schools. We seek out students of all ages who are focused on their educational goals, and who demonstrate the ability to make positive change in their communities and in modern society. We expand opportunities for students to attend and remain in tribal or non-tribal colleges by providing vigorous educational leadership and networking services, and by instilling development of institutional leadership and capacity making for students and schools.

The AIEF Mission
To support Native American students in achieving their dreams through completion of post secondary education.

The AIEF Guiding Principles
We seek to achieve our vision and mission in a way that is unusual among charities in the United States, and certainly unique among charities working with Native Americans. Our approach is based on these seven guiding principles:
Volunteer Packs Student Suitcases
AIEF delivers only what our local Program Partners say their communities need.
  1. We work with Program Partners who volunteer their own time to improve the schools where they live.  These local Indian people work with us to plan and implement AIEF services by identifying needs, arranging volunteer support, reserving facilities, and distributing goods. We also depend on our Program Partners to help us design services that respect and honor the cultural traditions of their communities.

  2. We give preference to remote locations without access to services and/or transportation. Many people living on reservations reside in extremely isolated communities. Youngsters in these areas often travel long distances to school, do not have access to even basic school supplies, and may live in homes without electricity. These are the students that we identify to help.


    All children are included in AIEF's fair distribution of backpacks and school supplies.<
    Every child in participating schools receives supplies provided by AIEF.


     



  3. We work with our Program Partners to identify a group of students to be served and serve everyone in that group. This makes the criteria for receiving our assistance very clear. Using this system helps us avoid any feeling of unfairness or partiality within the community, which could undermine our effectiveness and credibility.

  4. We make our expectations clear to our Program Partners in writing. We depend heavily on the people who work in the schools and live in the reservation communities to make our services work. We clearly outline our expectations as to what the community needs to do, as well as what we will do for the community. Building this line of communication makes our services more effective because all responsibilities are clearly stated.

  5. We insist upon accountability. We expect our Program Partners to care as much about the goods and services we provide to them as we do. Goods and services must go only to the intended beneficiaries. We fulfill our obligations to our Program Partners, and we expect our Program Partners to fulfill their obligations to us.

  6. AIEF will not deliver unwanted or inappropriate goods to reservation students or schools. We concentrate on what our Program Partners tell us they need for their communities.

  7. We are respectful of all monetary and gift-in-kind donations. Our resources are used meaningfully and wisely. We have a limited budget and cannot solve all of the problems in Indian education. We are constantly rethinking our strategies to improve our effectiveness and leverage our resources. Everything we do successfully moves us towards completing our mission.


Distribution of AIEF Services 


AIEF services reach Native American students in
many areas of the United States.


 
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