Helping students succeed

U scholarship drive benefits 1,000 more students

From M, fall 2005

More than 1,000 additional U of M students are now receiving scholarships compared with two years ago, when the Promise of Tomorrow Scholarship Drive began. That's thanks to the generosity of 31,400 donors who have made gifts so far as part of the largest fund-raising effort for student support in University history. A record number of alumni and friends from every college and campus have stepped forward, giving more than $82 million through July 2005 and bringing the drive more than halfway toward its goal of $150 million.

Scholarship drive

Gifts to the scholarship drive have come from thousands of alumni and friends, and some 220 of them have had the impact of their endowed gifts doubled by the President's Scholarship Match, created as part of the scholarship drive.

Through this special opportunity, the impact of new endowed scholarship gifts of $25,000 or more is doubled by matching the income drawn from the endowment.

With a 5 percent annual payout on an endowment fund, a $25,000 gift generates $1,250. With the match program doubling that payout, $2,500 is available to students every year. Many new endowed scholarships have been created by families, classmates, or friends coming together to make a gift that will qualify for the match.

This increase in students receiving privately funded scholarships also puts the drive well on its way toward its goal of increasing the number of scholarships by 50 percent. When the drive began in 2003, fewer than 5,000 students received privately funded scholarships. Last school year, that number was nearly 6,000. And, the average scholarship has gone from $2,518 before the drive to $3,225 now.

Several stories in this issue of M show how important scholarships are to students in helping them get the most out of their University of Minnesota experience and laying the groundwork for success throughout their lives.

To make a gift or learn more about how you can help, use the envelope enclosed in this issue or visit University of Minnesota Foundation.