MacKenzie Scott awards $7M to Minnesota’s Red Lake Nation College to expand Native education access

Red Lake Nation College, a two-year private, non-profit tribal college in northern Minnesota, has received an unrestricted $7 million grant from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, awarded via Yield Giving. The grant marks the largest in the college’s 25-year history and will be directed to a long-term investment endowment. The school aims to grow the fund to $225 million over the next 35 years, funding operations and student support while limiting early withdrawals. The long-term funding model is designed to ensure the college’s multigenerational financial stability and expand educational access for Native students. This places the college among a small group of tribal institutions pursuing large-scale endowments to permanently reshape their funding base rather than rely on annual fundraising cycles.