Scholarship and Fellowship Gifts Build Legacies and Change Lives
Renowned educator and engineer Charles Kettering once noted, “The greatest thing this generation can do is lay a few stepping stones for the next generation.” Your endowment gift to Florida Institute of Technology will do precisely that.
Endowment gifts last forever. Donor gifts are invested, with the principal amount remaining intact and earnings used annually for purposes meeting donor wishes. The amount of annual distribution is set at an average of five percent of the three-year trailing account balance. This means an endowment balance of $100,000 will result in $5,000 for a scholarship or fellowship. This amount will increase as the account grows.
“Creating a scholarship or fellowship fund is a wonderful way to provide a lasting heritage for yourself or someone you love,” said Florida Tech President Anthony J. Catanese. “In doing so, you’ll also change the lives of countless undergraduate or graduate students.”
Donors may restrict their endowment gifts to a specialized area of interest (see pg. 11). For a minimum of $25,000, paid over an agreed period of time, a new scholarship endowment can be established and named as the donor wishes. This offers an individual, foundation or company a chance to make an enduring statement of support for higher education while, at the same time, creating a scholarship that can honor or memorialize the donor, a family member or friend forever.
“A gift of an endowed scholarship to Florida Tech is a wise investment,” said Florida Tech Director of Development Beverly Sanders. “Through endowment giving, you can provide ongoing support for exceptional scientific and technological education and research. As partners, each donor and the university team up to make a better world for ourselves and our children.”
Sanders said creating an endowment involves a simple three-step process. The steps are as follows:
Call Florida Tech
First, if you’re thinking about establishing an endowed scholarship or fellowship, you should contact Sanders by phone at (321) 674-8962 or via e-mail at sandersb@fit.edu. Sanders or a member of her staff can guide you through the gift process.
Decide on an Area to Support
You should know that Florida Tech offers a variety of academic programs that you can support, so a member of the development staff will help match you with one that meets your needs and interests. Go to the development Web site at www.fit.edu/support for a complete listing of possibilities.
Finalize the Endowment
After deciding upon an area to support, work with your development representative to create an agreement that outlines how the fund should be used, the name of the fund and how the payments for the fund will be organized over time. Once this memorandum of understanding has been signed, you can make the initial gift that will officially establish your scholarship fund. Funds will only be released from the endowment once it reaches the $25,000 level.
Once you have completed these three steps, you’ll have an opportunity to return to campus to meet the beneficiary of your scholarship or fellowship each year. In addition, the Office of Development will keep you apprised each year of the fund’s progress.
Florida Institute of Technology’s $41 million university endowment includes more than 100 scholarship, fellowship and faculty chair funds. A named endowment fund must contain $25,000 or more. Many of these funds now approach or exceed seven figures. You are invited to create a new endowment fund or contribute to an existing fund. The following list shows the wide variety of scholarships, fellowships and chairs already a part of Florida Tech’s endowment. To view the complete list, visit our
Web site at www.fit.edu/support.
- Brevard Scholars Program Endowment
- Dr. Kerry Bruce Clark Memorial Scholarship
- David L. and Theresa G. Clayton Graduate Fellowship in Marine and Environmental Systems
- Dettmer Family Scholarship
- John Thomas and Martha Hartley Scholarship
- International Aerospace Lightning Conference Scholarship
- Link Foundation Ocean Engineering Graduate Fellowship
- Bill Morris Advance Flight Scholarship
- Christopher Sherman Neese Memorial Scholarship
- Dr. Walter M. Nunn Jr. Scholarship for Electrical Engineering Students Solely in the Field of Electromagnetics
- Dr. Carol L. Philpot Family Psychology Graduate Fellowship
- Dr. James G. Potter Scholarship in Physics/Space Sciences
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Each February, Florida Tech hosts a reception for endowment donors and the students who benefit from their generosity. On this special occasion, donors get a chance to know the students whose lives they have changed. Donors involved in the event range from corporations to individuals. The Florida Tech students use the opportunity to express sincere appreciation.
Four Boeing Company Scholars celebrated their awards at the February reception. Meeting with Boeing Company representative Tim LaMunyon(third from left) were, from left, scholars Amit Patel, Elizabeth Ann Diaz, President Anthony J. Catanese, Valerie Ann Bastien, College of Engineering Dean Thomas Waite and Scott M. Leithem.
Meeting with Dianne Rhodes was the recipient of the Chadley M. Rhodes Memorial Scholarship Sean Gavin. Gavin is an aviation management with flight major from Goshen, N.Y.
Speaking eloquently to the gathering was Britney Pennington, the Herman Kessler Moore M.D. Scholar. |
