Salem State University Annual Giving Impact Report 2022

SALEM STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION, INC.

ANNUAL IMPACT REPORT JULY 1, 2020—JUNE 30, 2021

With your philanthropy, you are helping Salem State University students build brighter futures for themselves, their families and their communities. Gifts to the university are critical to ensuring students have access to academic and personal assistance—from mentors and tutors to mental health counselors—and provide much-needed emergency aid when times get tough.

Vikings from all backgrounds come to Salem State to chart their courses to successful futures, but there are some who face roadblocks on that journey.

Working multiple jobs, caring for family members, managing health challenges, and general financial uncertainty are some obstacles they encounter.

Your gift has direct impact on the success of our student body and the transformational experience of a Salem State education. Our

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$10,517,018

Total Funds Raised

students are smart, resilient and work incredibly hard to get ahead— thank you for lifting them up.

When we work together, we rise together.

With deep appreciation,

Lori Porter Boudo Director, Annual and Leadership Giving

“As we continuously seek to offer the best opportunities for student success, I am incredibly grateful to those who have made unrestricted donations, as challenging times require flexibility to remove roadblocks affecting students’ pursuit of a higher education.”

“Our preference is giving to unrestricted needs, to support whatever the university’s priority is at a given time. Gene and I know that ultimately, everything funded at the university will support students. We are nothing without our students, and we are much less without our donors.”

–John D. Keenan, President

–Kathleen L. Skrabut, Chair, Salem State University Foundation, Inc.

2,170 DONORS

$100

Most Common Gift Size

399 First-Time Donors

The Power of Flexible Philanthropy Unrestricted Giving July 1, 2020—June 30, 2021

$1,684,696

Total Unrestricted Giving

1,251

Unrestricted Donors

Top ways unrestricted funds have been mobilized for good: • Funded 498 Student Emergency grants • Expanded the Center for Civic Engagement’s 2021 Day of Service • Maintained technology, including Bloomberg Terminals in the Cabot Wealth Management lab • Funded 118 internship scholarships for students • Funded a research graduate assistant for the Inclusive Excellence Office (see sidebar profile on Evan Kravette ‘22G) • Provided meal plans for students in the Massachusetts Student Housing Security Pilot Program • Funded 14 scholarship and departmental awards

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Most Common Areas of Support The Salem State Annual Fund: Supports the areas of greatest need and provides opportunity to seize strategic opportunities aligned to university priorities

“As a work study student in the inclusive excellence office, I have had the opportunity to see firsthand how unrestricted support to Salem State can have an impact on our diversity, equity and inclusion efforts on campus. Through my work with the office and student government, I have gained leadership skills by organizing initiatives that provide access to basic life needs for our students.”

– Zarais German-George ’22, criminal justice and psychology double major

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Student Emergency Fund: Supports unexpected personal financial emergencies

“As I was struggling to pay for tuition, I came across the Student Emergency Fund application and was overwhelmed with joy to know that my tuition was covered. My family and I are thankful for this opportunity, and I promise to work harder than before. Words don’t describe how grateful I am and how thankful I am for this opportunity.”

– Francesca Ilumba ’23, Student Emergency Fund recipient, business administration major with a concentration in finance

Senior Class Gift Scholarship: Supports a first-year student with demonstrated financial need in good academic standing

“I would like to thank the donors of this scholarship for helping me continue my education! This scholarship will be a great help.”

– Reagan Jones ’19, ’22G, Senior Class Gift Scholarship Fund recipient for the 2021-2022 academic year, Master of Social Work program

Making Our Campus Safer for LGBTQ Students

by Rebecca Hains, PhD, professor, media and communication On college campuses nationwide, sexual violence and intimate partner violence occur at an alarming rate, with even higher rates noted among the LGBTQ population—and as Salem State University’s 2017 Campus Climate Survey indicated, our campus is no exception to these sobering statistics.

As a result, inclusive excellence (IE) flagged LGBTQ student safety as a priority goal and asked MSW student Evan Kravette ’22G to develop plans to help achieve it.

“I joined inclusive excellence as an intern to help figure out how to better support LGBTQ students,” Kravette explains. They developed a new program called A Walk in My Shoes to help make our campus safer for LGBTQ students. Its implementation was made possible thanks to the sponsorship of unrestricted funds.

“A Walk in My Shoes brings faculty and staff together to develop new skills to advocate for LGBTQ students on campus,” Kravette says. “The program focuses on diverse LGBTQ experiences in particular, because LGBTQ students of color don’t always feel included in the community. We need to ensure that our advocacy work is inclusive.”

“I’m grateful that unrestricted funding provided this opportunity to simultaneously prepare for my career and engage in this crucial work for our most vulnerable students,” Kravette says. “The more unrestricted funding we can access moving forward, the more we can develop programs and resources to support underrepresented student populations across Salem State.”

The Impact of Unrestricted Giving Pilot Program and Philanthropic Giving Provide Housing, Meals for Homeless Students

by Rebecca Hains, PhD, professor, media and communication The Massachusetts Student Housing Security Pilot Program has made eight beds available to Salem State students who were experiencing homelessness.

Conceptualized as part of the Department of Higher Education’s equity agenda, the State pays the cost of housing while the university pays for meal plans using unrestricted funds.

“Systems like FAFSA inadequately address the needs of today’s first-generation, lowincome students,” explains Rachel Frank ’19G, MSW, LCSW, Salem State’s student life case manager. “Students aren’t going to graduate if they’re hungry and have nowhere to sleep. With this program, we are able to provide our most vulnerable students with the basic security, dignity and autonomy they need to succeed in college.”

Students accepted into the housing pilot program are provided a 12-month guarantee of support.

“They rely on campus housing,” Frank says. “If they can’t afford room and board, that’s a barrier to earning the college degree that is key to their long-term financial security.”

Rachel Frank ’19G, MSW

Frank notes that while the pilot couldn’t serve all the students who deserve such assistance, philanthropic giving to the Student Emergency Fund supports students through crises with highly flexible microgrants.

“A big question at the statewide level is, what is our obligation to these students?” Frank asks. “Is it to help provide food, housing and an education, or is it only the education piece of it? A lot of these students face barrier after barrier, but thanks to philanthropic giving, we can award microgrants to help meet their basic needs. When they can stay enrolled and ultimately graduate, upward socioeconomic mobility becomes possible for these motivated and deserving students.”

Finding Passion Through Internships

by Chantelle Escobar-Leswell ’22G As the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, healthcare studies student Sanlly Romero-Romero ’21, like many others, was having a difficult time finding summer internships. That is, until Dr. Michele Sweeney, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, recommended an internship that she thought would be a perfect fit for Sanlly.

Sanlly has a keen interest in healthcare, but up until this defining moment, she had thought she wanted to be on the frontlines of treatment. The internship at the North Shore Medical Center was in marketing. Sanlly describes it as having a profound effect on how she perceives the field of healthcare. “I never knew how important marketing was in healthcare,” she shares.

While in her role at the medical center, Sanlly assisted two greeter-station senior managers and describes how they took a collaborative approach to innovation by including her in meetings and decision-making, pushing her outside of her comfort zone.

Now post-graduation, Sanlly is working in human resources for the workforce development and community relations team at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. She appreciates how her internship shaped her experience with healthcare and informed her decision to pursue the administrative side of the medical field, learning the importance of communication, time management, project management, self-advocacy, and advocacy for patients.

“My internship may not have been in HR like my job is now, but it did help me a lot because I learned how to manage projects,” Sanlly shares. “I learned how to meet deadlines. All the experiences that made me get out of my comfort zone— I had to advocate for not only myself but also the visitor or the patient.”

Sanlly Romero-Romero ’21

Advancement 352 Lafayette Street Salem, Massachusetts 01970-5353

ANNUAL IMPACT REPORT JULY 1, 2020—JUNE 30, 2021 salemstate.edu/impact • annualgiving@salemstate.edu

“The more unrestricted funding we can access moving forward, the more we can develop programs and resources to support underrepresented student populations across Salem State.”

– Evan Kravette ’22G, Master of Social Work

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