About the Event:

American Indian College Fund Annual Flame of Hope Fundraising Gala to Raise Funds for Native Student Scholarships

The 18th annual American Indian College Fund (the College Fund) Flame of Hope Gala will be held Thursday, October 10 at The Depot Renaissance Hotel, 225 South 3rd Avenue in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Proceeds will benefit Native student scholarships. A reception will begin at 5:30 p.m., followed by a dinner program with Native entertainment, including classical guitarist Gabriel Ayala and the dance and music group Brulé.

Native artist Steven Paul Judd (Kiowa/Choctaw) will create a painting live at the event for auction. In addition, a silent auction including art by the nation’s top Native artists will be featured, including Timothy H. Terry (Akimel O’Odham), Cara Romero (Chemehuevi Indian Tribe), Judy Gould, Bobby Bales (Taos Pueblo), Andrew and Gladys Pacheco (Santo Domingo Pueblo), Daniel B. Ramirez (Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe), Waya’ aisiwa Gary Keene (Acoma Pueblo), David Gary Suazo (Taos Pueblo), Than Povi Fine Art Gallery, Geraldine Tso (Navajo), Todd Lone Dog Bordeaux (Sicangu Lakota Tribe), and C.J. Shije (Zia/Acoma Pueblo).

The American Indian College Fund will honor the Northwest Area Foundation of Minneapolis for funding programs that fight poverty in Indian Country. This year the foundation awarded the American Indian College Fund a $1 million, one-year Tribal College Leaders in Community Innovation Award to help the College Fund shine a light on the innovative approaches five tribal colleges located in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Washington are using to build thriving Native communities.

The main sponsor of the event is USA Funds. Additional sponsors include AT&T, Anheuser-Busch Companies, Coca-Cola Corporation, CBS Corporation, Comcast NBC Universal, Ford Motor Company Fund & Community Services, Grotto Foundation, Jenzabar Inc., Lannan Foundation, Mattel, McDonalds Corporation, Nissan North America, Inc., Peskoff Foundation, San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, Target Corporation,The Tierney Family Foundation, United Health Foundation, UPS Foundation, Walmart Foundation, and The Sheryl & Harvey White Foundation.

Sponsorships and tickets are available. For information, please contact Patrita Salazar at 303-426-8900 or psalazar@collegefund.org. For more information about the event, please visit www.collegefund.org/gala.

About the American Indian College Fund

With its credo “Educating the Mind and Spirit,” The American Indian College Fund is the premier scholarship organization for Native students. Created in 1989 to provide scholarships and support for the nation’s 34 tribal colleges, the Fund receives top ratings from independent charity evaluators, including the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance, and received its third consecutive four-star rating from Charity Navigator. Last year it provided more than 3,800 Native students with scholarships annually.