The Coca-Cola Foundation Grants $250,000 to American Indian College Fund to Continue Support for First Generation Scholars

DENVER, Feb. 12, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Coca-Cola Foundation is continuing its support of first-generation Native American scholars through a donation of $250,000 to the American Indian College Fund. The Coca-Cola Foundation First Generation Tribal Scholarship Program will continue to increase access to higher education and leadership development opportunities for tribal college students that are the first in their families to attend college. At least one scholar at each of the 34 tribal colleges is selected to be a Coca-Cola scholar.

In addition to receiving scholarship awards up to $5,000, program participants attend a fully funded week-long leadership development program called the American Indian Student Summer Leadership Training and participate in a reception recognizing their achievements in the spring. These programs are geared to encourage scholarship recipients, who often face more difficult challenges than other college students due to poverty, to stay in school.

Scholarship awards are renewable if awardees maintain a 3.0 grade point average, meet their tribal college's eligibility requirements for full-time status, and show involvement in leadership and campus life.

"The Coca-Cola Foundation is leading the nation's business community by providing scholarship opportunities to outstanding first-generation Native students," said Dr. Cheryl Crazy Bull, President and CEO of the American Indian College Fund. "The Coca-Cola Foundation First Generation Tribal Scholarship Program is creating opportunities for American Indians who might otherwise be unable to attend college and is providing hope to American Indians and positively impacting Indian Country."

"The American Indian College Fund significantly impacts the academic aspirations and achievements of Native students," said Lori George Billingsley, Vice President, Community Relations, Coca-Cola Refreshments. "By supporting students who are the first in their families to attend college, Coca-Cola plays a part in the transformative influence of education."

About the American Indian College Fund

With its credo "Educating the Mind and Spirit," the American Indian College Fund is the nation's largest private provider of scholarships for American Indian students, providing an average of 6,000 scholarships annually for students seeking to better their lives and communities through education and support to the nation's 33 accredited tribal colleges and universities. For more information about the American Indian College Fund, please visit www.collegefund.org

About The Coca-Cola Foundation

Since its inception, The Coca-Cola Foundation has awarded more than $500 million to support global sustainable community initiatives, including water stewardship, community recycling, active healthy living, and education. For more information about The Coca-Cola Foundation, please go to www.thecoca-colacompany.com/citizenship/foundation_coke.html

SOURCE American Indian College Fund