When Angelique Albert, CEO of the Native Forward Scholars Fund, received a call from a representative of MacKenzie Scott, she initially thought her organization was about to receive a $15 million donation. In reality, the gift was $50 million for America’s largest provider of scholarships to Native students, demonstrating MacKenzie Scott's commitment to trust-based philanthropy. “What do you do but cry?” Albert told Observer.

Scott’s contribution, one of the largest-ever gifts to a Native nonprofit, marks the second time the philanthropist has supported the Native Forward Scholars Fund with an unrestricted donation. In 2020, she gave $20 million to the group, enabling it to launch an endowment fund, create six programs and strengthen its internal operations.

This time, Albert is determined to channel the money directly to students. Native Forward has already earmarked part of the donation to award scholarships to an additional 400 students, while also considering the creation of a pooled endowment to ensure long-term support.

“I don’t know that people really understand how transformative it is when you take a $5,000 scholarship and put it into the hands of someone who is brilliant and talented,” said Albert, who has led Native Forward since 2017.

Alumni supported by the Albuquerque, N.M.-based nonprofit include Debra Haaland, the first Native person to serve as a U.S. cabinet secretary; Pulitzer finalist Tommy Orange; and Cynthia Chavez Lamar, director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian.

Founded in 1969, Native Forward offers scholarships, programming, funding and mentorship to Native students pursuing undergraduate, graduate and professional opportunities. Its impact, which includes contributing to 1,700 law degrees and 2,200 Ph.D. degrees, has aided some 22,000 scholars from more than 500 Tribes across all 50 states.

Still, demand far outpaces supply. “We can only fund about 22 percent of the students who apply—and that’s on a typical year,” said Albert, who noted that scholarship applications have surged 35 percent in 2025. Of roughly 7,000 applicants this year, only about 1,000 have received aid.

Read the full article about MacKenzie Scott's trust-based philanthropy by Alexandra Tremayne-Pengelly at Observer.