Scholarships EWU's focus on Giving Tuesday

CHENEY – Fundraising during a pandemic has proven to be a challenge — but Eastern Washington University officials have met that challenge with some success.

On Dec. 1, they are hoping the public will help them continue their efforts during the national #Giving Tuesday campaign. While participants are invited to donate to whatever university fund they feel called to, officials have named five scholarship funds they hope donors will consider that are within reach of being endowed — meaning they have attained a level that allows fund administrators to award them to students in perpetuity.

“Once it’s endowed, it’s forever,” EWU Director-Annual Giving Pat Spanjer said.

Those scholarships are Chicana/o/x Studies Endowment, ME/MET Alumni Endowment Fund, Bill Youngs Endowment, Empowering Women Upward and the Anna K. Dvorak Memorial Fund. University’s set a minimum amount at which a scholarship becomes endowed, Spanjer said, and at EWU that amount is $25,000, at which the university’s Foundation can assume administering the scholarship, invest the principal and make awards using the interest.

“Once we reach the $25,000 amount we can start awarding it to students,” Spanger added. “The number of scholarships and awards will change each year, depending on the market.”

The ME/MET is for students majoring in mechanical engineering, and is less than $5,000 from reaching endowment, according to the university’s website. The Anna K. Dvorak Memorial Fund was established in memory of the EWU assistant professor of geography and geographic information systems who died in a climbing accident in 2018. The scholarship goes to students who are passionate “about exploring the world for social and environmental justice,” with donations on #Giving Tuesday getting a boost from two EWU professors who will match all gifts up to $4,000.

The Bill Youngs Endowment was established by two former students in honor “of their favorite history professor” — known in the campus community for his delivery of Patrick Henry’s “Give Me Liberty, or Give Me Death” speech each year. Spanger said Youngs was so touched by the honor that he has helped top off the scholarship, and is encouraging others to match is $5,000 gift on Dec. 1. The endowment is to support student projects in the fields of history and environmental studies by helping cover research expenses.

The Chicana/o/x Studies endowment helps students in that community experience “social activities and strong relationships developed between faculty, staff and students.” The Empowering Women Upward scholarship is to provide assistance for women over age 35 who are “making a life-changing commitment to pursue higher education for herself or her family.”

Giving Tuesday was started as a global effort in 2012. EWU commenced its own version in 2016, naming it “Giving Joy” and encouraging not only donations to university scholarships – in which over $275,000 was raised, far surpassing the original goal – but also acts of kindness that would bring joy in the community.

The university moved the effort from Giving Tuesday to April 3 this past spring to coincide with the university’s birthday, calling on supporters to donate to a just set up Student Emergency Fund to help with students’ needs during the pandemic such as affording food, laptops and hot spots to take all online classes.

Spanjer said needs have indicated they may try to do that again for the emergency fund soon. Right now, support of scholarships is more critical – scholarships that help students come to and stay at school at EWU, so the decision was made to hold a Giving Tuesday campaign to take advantage of the call from over 1.5 million charities nationally who will be using that day to ask individuals — including EWU supporters — to help out.

“We thought, why not ask them to prioritize our students needs and get these endowments endowed,” Spanjer said.

Particularly during the pandemic, which has impacted off-campus and on-campus jobs students normally work to help pay for school, Spanjer added.

Donations can be on EWU’s website at ewu.edu/givingtuesday.

John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].

Author Bio

John McCallum, Retired editor

John McCallum is an award-winning journalist who retired from Cheney Free Press after more than 20 years. He received 10 Washington Newspaper Publisher Association awards for journalism and photography, including first place awards for Best Investigative, Best News and back-to-back awards in Best Breaking News categories.

 

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