Scholarship Endowments: Transforming Lives, Forever

Fall 2024 was a whirlwind semester with successful student competitions, class reunions, and the best College of Business Dean dressed as Santa. I had the pleasure of meeting many alumni, donors, and friends this year who shared how ISU positively impacted their careers, lives, and legacies.

As the new year begins, I have been reflecting on the past year’s successes, including the announcement of six endowed professorships and several new scholarship endowments. The support from our alumni and donors is inspiring and will transform the future of ISU’s College of Business. Alumni and donor stories of giving back to provide opportunities for future Bengals have been truly humbling and inspiring to hear.

Many have asked about the process of creating an endowment and what it is. An endowment is a permanent donation where the principal remains intact, and the earnings are used for a purpose specified by the donor. Endowments can support programs, faculty or student research, and more. The most common type of endowment is for scholarships. Many ISU students would not be able to afford college without scholarship support. Our donors regularly speak to the impact a scholarship once had on their life and their ability to attend ISU. They once had someone believe in them and support their dreams, and they want to do the same for future students.

Part of the reason I like endowments is because they last forever. If a donor starts a scholarship, students at ISU will forever be impacted by their generosity. The minimum to start an endowment is $25,000, which can be paid over five years. Worded differently, for a gift of just $417 per month for five years, someone can make an impact on ISU students for generations to come.

Donors receive yearly updates on the status of their endowment into perpetuity. For scholarships, this will include thank you notes from students supported by the scholarship.

I am so grateful to our alumni and donors. Our alumni give back in so many ways – starting scholarship endowments, including ISU in their estate plans, sharing their expertise with students as guest speakers in classes, and hiring newly graduated Bengals to work in their organizations- to name just a few. Know that in whatever way you give back or at whatever amount, your contribution to ISU makes a real and profound difference on the lives of our students. I am so proud of all that we have accomplished together in 2024, and I can’t wait to see what 2025 has in store. Thank you, and Go Bengals!

KRISTINE MCCARTY, College of Business Director of Development, kristinemccarty@isu.edu

From One Bengal to Another

“Since our endowment was established in 2016, it has been meaningful to receive personal information about each year’s recipient. Don passed away in 2017, but as proud graduates of ISU, we felt it important to be able to give back to our alma mater. I especially enjoy learning more about their majors and extracurricular activities and all the new and relevant programs at ISU. Knowing how our gift is appreciated and how it is helping each student is very important to me. Each student is unique and has ambitious plans for their future.  The value of education cannot be overstated!”

- Jeanine Sauer, Donor, Don and Jeanine Sauer Scholarship

“Being one of the first in my family to attend college has instilled in me a strong work ethic, resilience, and determination to succeed against the odds. I am aware of the sacrifices my parents, who never had the opportunity to pursue higher education, have made to provide me with educational opportunities. I am driven by a desire to make the most of these opportunities and create a better future for myself and my family. Receiving financial aid [like this scholarship] not only alleviates the financial burden of tuition and expenses, but also reaffirms my belief that hard work and perseverance are rewarded.”

- Annely Magallanes, 2024 Don and Jeanine Sauer Scholarship Recipient

Creating an Endowment

1. Decide what kind of endowment you want to create and what amount you are comfortable giving. Reach out to Kristine if you have questions or want to brainstorm ideas!

2. Contact Kristine at kristinemccarty@isu.edu or by phone at (208) 282-4608. She’ll talk with you about the kind of impact you want your gift to have and will work up a gift agreement for you to review.

3. Review the gift agreement, and let Kristine know if you would like to see any changes.

4. Sign the gift agreement via DocuSign, in-person, or by mail.

Not ready to start an endowment but want to support the College? You can provide a gift of any amount to an existing endowment. Visit isu.edu/cob/donors to see a list of our highlighted endowments and (at the bottom) a list of all College of Business endowments.