The Shepherd University Foundation, an organization that funds various campus projects and scholarships, has received $2 million more in donations compared to last year.
The foundation is a privately funded and self-sustaining organization. It is an entity that is completely separate and independent from Shepherd University. It was founded to receive and manage private gifts, endowments and capital for Shepherd. Private gifts can come from businesses or individuals and can be any amount of money, even just one dollar. Endowments are permanently invested gifts from individuals.
Monica Lingenfelter, the executive vice president of the foundation, discussed donations and how the donated money is allocated during a recent interview with The Picket. For the fiscal year from 2011–2012, the donation amount was around $4.3 million, while from 2012–2013 it was a little below $7 million.
All the donations are received and maintained by the foundation. These funds include donations it has received, competitive government grants, and the money that has been pledged to the foundation. This means that the foundation may not physically have all of the $7 million, but Lingenfelter assured The Picket that no pledge money is disbursed until it is actually collected.
Lingenfelter attributes much of this increase to a multi-year pledge. Pledges are promises of money. While pledges aren’t binding promises and they can’t be enforced by law, Shepherd’s foundation has had nearly every pledge fulfilled with almost no exception.
The money from these donations goes toward many projects at Shepherd. The donations that come in one year are used in the next. The funds can be used for anything from scholarships to the purchase of new laptops in the library. These donations support the students, faculty and some of the academic programs.
Upon becoming an alumnus of Shepherd University, the foundation may contact a student and ask for a small gift. Lingenfelter stresses the importance of making donations. If you’ve ever checked out a laptop at the library, received a scholarship or been inspired by a professor, all those things came through private gifts from the foundation.
For whatever reason you chose to come to this university, Shepherd is making a difference in your life, whether it be the lifelong friends whom you meet, the degree you receive, the knowledge you acquire, the future job you get or just the wonderful experiences you have along the way. Lingenfelter says, “These experiences could not be funded just by tuition. You can make a difference in Shepherd.”
When asked if he would donate $25 to Shepherd when he graduates, Colin Lamas, a first-year student, said, “I would probably donate it because I received a scholarship and I would want future students to have that chance.”
When you finally reach the goal of graduation, if you decide to donate to the foundation, you can do it by contacting the foundation or through the alumni website.