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April 2007 Update:
In August 2000, local alumni of Michigan
State University
created an endowment fund for a scholarship for a student at MSU from
northeast Ohio. We hoped to raise $20,000 in five
years by pooling money from golf outings, donations and other fund raisers.
The plan was to spend only interest earnings, while building a principal
fund to last for generations.
We started small, by only asking members of the
Northeast Ohio MSU Alumni Club to donate. We wanted to demonstrate that the
goal could be achieved before starting a wide campaign. We created a nonprofit corporation
and entered into an agreement with MSU where donations are made directly to
an investment pool managed by the university. Admissions professionals select the scholarship winner
to avoid any appearance of favoritism. Criteria include academic standing, financial need and
community service/extracurricular activities.
Our success has been overwhelming. We have more than $60,000 and are
helping families of two local students pay for expenses at MSU. Our first scholarship recipient
will graduate this spring and our second is flourishing as a
sophomore. In the next several
weeks, two additional students from northeast Ohio
will be selected for scholarships for the 2007-08 school year.
Much of our money comes from paid pledges of Founders
Club members. We are expanding
our search for Founders Club members.
Please join us as a new
Founders Club member by pledging $500 yearly for five years to our
project. What do you get
in return? A tax
deduction. Your name on the
endowment stationery. An invitation
to a “Dutch treat” dinner with the scholarship winners. A warm thank you from families
paying for ever-rising costs of college. Contributions to existing donor societies at MSU – such
as the President’s Club – can be earmarked for the NE Ohio Endowed
Scholarship Fund.
Alumni, friends and businesses interested in starting a
new Founders Club membership should contact Dave Sartin at 440-892-0483 or
davesartin@sbcglobal.net.
Individual donations can be sent to University Development, Michigan
State University,
300 Spartan Way, East
Lansing, MI, 48824.
Make checks payable to Michigan State
University. Be sure to write NE Ohio Endowment
in the memo section of the check.
SPECIAL NOTE
- If you made a
contribution in 2006 and did NOT recently receive a “Thank You” from Dave
Sartin, please email him at davesartin@sbcglobal.net. Some contributions may have been
processed at MSU after Dec. 31.
Donors will be invited to a dinner/reception in the next few months
to meet the scholarship winners and their families. We need to make sure our donor list
is complete.
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