PLATINUM2023

American Indian Services

Helping Generations Soar Through Education

aka AIS   |   Lehi, UT   |  https://www.americanindianservices.org

Mission

The mission of AIS is to assist Native Americans in developing their human and natural resources thru education to help them make a contribution to society without detracting from their cultural background and heritage.

Ruling year info

1981

Executive Director

Chauma Kee-Jansen

Main address

170 S Interstate Plaza Dr Suite 200

Lehi, UT 84043 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

87-0477049

NTEE code info

Scholarships, Student Financial Aid, Awards (B82)

Cultural, Ethnic Awareness (A23)

Youth Development Programs (O50)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

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Communication

Blog

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Currently, 1 in 3 Native American children live in poverty, and 1 in 4 Native Americans live in poverty nationally. There are areas on tribal lands that lack basic infrastructure - this means that many Native American homes lack running water or electricity. There is currently a high achievement gap for Native students. Twenty-two percent of Native fourth graders and 17 percent of Native eighth graders scored at the “proficient” or “advanced” levels in math in 2011. Nationally, 40 percent of fourth graders and 35 percent of eighth graders scored in this range. The American Indian/Alaskan Native high school graduation rate is 67 percent, the lowest of any racial/ethnic demographic group across all schools. Department of Education data indicate that the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) schools fare even worse, with a graduation rate of 53 percent, compared to a national average of 80 percent. And only 13% of Native Americans have a college education.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

AIS Scholarships

The AIS Scholarship Program is designed to give a "helping hand" versus a "handout". Students submit scholarship applications showing their educational record and their plans for the future. Scholarship funds are allocated directly to the student's school, according to tuition costs. AIS scholarships cover approximately one-half of tuition, and students provide the other half. This is the most effective formula for success -- a commitment to go to school, as well as a personal investment toward that goal.

Population(s) Served

American Indian Services (AIS) seeks your support for an academically intense summer program in mathematics and science for American Indian middle school students. AIS PREP, modeled after the acclaimed USA PREP program begun at the University of Texas at San Antonio, will prepare students to take advanced math classes in high school, thus creating opportunities to pursue science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) studies at the college level.

AIS PREP will recruit pre-seventh, eighth, and ninth grade students who have an interest and aptitude in STEM studies. Hosted on USU Blanding campus, AIS will conduct AIS/USU PREP for six-weeks for three consecutive summers. The program is designed to motivate young students to pursue STEM studies and careers. A comprehensive STEM education will produce skilled men and women to compete successfully in the global marketplace and to attract high tech industries to Utah.

Population(s) Served
Indigenous peoples
Children and youth

For more than 40 years, American Indian Services has awarded over 37,000 scholarships to American Indian/Alaska Native students from member institutions. In 2022, AIS will award 10 Trade Scholarships to qualified students attending a Utah Trade School. Trade schools offer programs that you can complete within one to two years. By narrowing the focus to a career intensive curriculum, trade schools help students enter
the workforce as soon as they're able. College students usually take four years to earn
their bachelor's degrees.

Population(s) Served
Indigenous peoples
Economically disadvantaged people
Indigenous peoples
Economically disadvantaged people

Where we work

Videos

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Number of students showing improvement in test scores

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Related Program

AIS PREP

Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

2020 - COVID prevented our AIS PREP from being administered.

Number of students showing interest in topics related to STEM

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Related Program

AIS PREP

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

2020 - COVID prevented our AIS PREP from being administered.

Number of graduates enrolled in higher learning, university, or technical/vocational training

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Related Program

AIS Scholarships

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

The mission of AIS has been a simple one: to create programs and generate funding that will help Native Americans receive a quality education, while still preserving the culture and honoring the heritage of Native Americans. AIS believes that it is through education that Native Americans will be able to protect their history and culture. Our goal and hope is that as Natives achieve individual success they’ll be better able to provide support for their communities and positive change for future generations.

Our main focuses are our scholarship program - which is available to all Native Americans with a 1/4 blood quantum and a 2.25 gpa - and our summer STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) program for Native American middle schoolers. The program is intensive and runs for three summers, six weeks each summer, and drastically improves test scores. Please go to our website to learn more.

AIS is a 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. Each year, we provide thousands of college scholarships to Native Americans from over 300 federally recognized tribes. Our students attend over 400 accredited colleges, universities and trade schools. Our AIS PREP program currently has campuses in Blanding, UT; Tuba City, AZ; Gallup, NM; and we are working to establish 2 more campuses in 2019 in North and South Dakota.

Because we have been in service for decades, it is difficult to accurately measure how many students we have helped, but our conservative estimates put as at around 35,000 students served. Our goal is to continue serving as many students as we are able.

AIS PREP raises math test scores by an average of 44%, science scores by as much as 50%, and logic scores by an average of 80%. This means that students are well prepared for advanced classes in high school, and one of our recent graduates was able to skip high school math altogether and concurrently enroll in college math courses in tenth grade. This year we are adding an arts curriculum to the program so that we may tie in activities that will help students stay connected to the Native American culture.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We shared information about our current feedback practices.

  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

Financials

American Indian Services
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

American Indian Services

Board of directors
as of 05/08/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Mr. Austin Tsosie

Gordon Ostler

Harding Walker

Kenneth Woolley

Jay Brasher

Laura Larkin

Darren Parry

Austin Tsosie

Gary Winterton

Margaret Busse

Michalyn Steele

Joshua Butler

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board orientation and education
    Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes
  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 5/8/2023
info Candid has made improvements to the race and ethnicity options.

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
Native American/American Indian/Alaska Native/Indigenous
Gender identity
Female

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

No data

Disability

No data

Equity strategies

Last updated: 01/31/2022

GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more

Policies and processes
  • We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
  • We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.