Jill Smith
Staff Writer
jsmith194@murraystate.edu
The Office of Development announced three fundraising campaigns as part of Murray State’s Centennial Celebration.
Executive Director of Development Tina Bernot said the Centennial Celebration needed a giving component, so the Office set three goals for the fundraising campaigns.
“The first [goal] is we want to recruit 100 new members of the 1922 Society,” Bernot said.
Donors can donate $1,922 to become part of the 1922 Society, meaning their names will be engraved on a brick in the walkway between the Jesse D. Jones Chemistry Building and the Biology Building.
Donors who become members of the 1922 Society will be contributing to legacy scholarships.
Legacy scholarships can support the children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews of Murray State alumni.
Bernot said these legacy scholarships are a tradition at Murray State that can encourage prospective students to follow in the footsteps of their family and attend Murray State.
Bernot said an endowed fund is a permanent fund managed by the Murray State University Foundation, a separate nonprofit organization.
“Endowed funds … are invested [funds], and the corpus or the principal amount of that fund is never spent, and so it grows, especially when we have good market years like we have the last couple of years,” Bernot said. “Then, the income it makes is what goes back in to fund the scholarships or programs, or whatever the fund is designed to do.”
Bernot said each year the Office averages 40 new endowed funds, but she hopes the goal of 100 can be met.
The third goal is to dedicate 100 new planned funds to students. Planned funds are gifts individuals leave to the University after they pass away.
Bernot said planned funds are the largest gifts received at the University.
“If you look at the history of all our giving, the largest dollar amount gifts have been planned gifts because that tends to be when people have all of their assets, and they’re moving on, and they’re ready to give it back,” Bernot said. “We want to have 100 new documented planned gifts this year, which means we want 100 new people to tell us, ‘Yes, we’re gonna leave Murray State in our will.’”
Bernot said the planned funds help secure the University’s future and help keep tuition affordable for students.
“We work hard every day to try to meet that end, or to provide new innovative programs or equipment … Some of those programs and software licenses are super expensive,” Bernot said. “Our alumni realize that and they know it’s really important to have students learn how to do that stuff before they graduate, so we help partner with them and try to get that money to come to campus for things like that.”
Bernot said the foundation of the University began with generous donors.
“The community got together to donate $117,000 in cash and real estate to take to Frankfort for the state to consider Murray as the location for the West Kentucky Normal School,” Bernot said. “The other options were Princeton, Caldwell County or Paducah, but Murray was the only one that came with money in hand and property to be able to get the school.”
According to the Murray State website, 350 families in the community came together to provide housing for up to 2,000 students.
Director of Alumni Relations Carrie McGinnis said donors play an important role in tying Murray State to its origins.
“Giving is an integral part of who we are and what we do and where we’ve come from,” McGinnis said. “It would only make sense that we would then ask our alumni and donors and friends to consider making a gift in honor of that to support our students moving forward and the next century of our institution.”
Bernot said they are in the process of finalizing plans for their capital campaign, which will be announced later this year.
According to the University’s website, the “Give Bold” campaign will take place March 6-12 to honor the March 8, 1922 passage of the Normal School Enabling Act by the Kentucky General Assembly.
Donations are accepted throughout each fiscal year, which runs July 1 to June 30.
Bernot said looking at this fiscal year, the Office is on track with last year’s record year of donations.
She said education is a gift that lasts forever and students remain a priority when donors give a gift.
“When you’re celebrating a history … you’re thinking about the past, and all of the things that have gotten you to this point,” Bernot said. “When you think about what’s ahead, … giving and creating new funds, and creating new scholarships to make sure we can support the students of the future, just reinforces our mission.”