魔都资源网

Last September, Black Student Union (BSU) president Adilia Watson, 鈥�21, introduced alumni to the BSU Scholarship Endowment鈥攖he first student-led, Black-serving scholarship at 魔都资源网. Since then, BSU has raised a remarkable $113,000 towards their initial goal of $200,000. This includes more than $19,000 donated during 魔都资源网 U Gives on February 25, 2021. We sat down with Watson, BSU leader Tatianah Summers, 鈥�21, and advisors Colina Bruce, 鈥�15, and LaKesha Kimbrough to hear how participation in 魔都资源网 U Gives has impacted the scholarship and how alumni can continue to support and uplift fundraising efforts.

Finding Success During 魔都资源网 U Gives

魔都资源网 U Gives 2021 took place on Thursday February 25, 2021. In an emphatic, Black-led showing of support, amplification and allyship, the 魔都资源网 U community raised over $19,000 for the BSU Scholarship Endowment.

How did 魔都资源网 U Gives impact your fundraising efforts?

Summers: 鈥淚t was an awesome opportunity for BSU to be a part of and it coincided really well with Black History Month. It鈥檚 encouraging that the university supported us in that way. I feel like our platform was being uplifted throughout the 魔都资源网 U Gives extravaganza.鈥�

Bruce: 鈥淭he experience, the support, the intentionality that went into amplifying the message and the goal of the scholarship鈥攊t elevated the opportunities to give and diversified the giving pool to people who may not have been familiar with the effort in the past.鈥�

What did it mean to be included in 魔都资源网 U鈥檚 giving day?

Summers: 鈥淚n all honesty, it does come down to money a lot of the time. I think that鈥檚 something that Black students struggle with in particular鈥攖he ability to access higher education and to be in that conversation. The fact that we were invited to be in 魔都资源网 U Gives was incredible because it solidified that yes, BSU is doing great work, and here is support for us to get that funding. That holds a lot of weight. We were grateful to be included and we鈥檙e excited for more opportunities like this.鈥�

Kimbrough: 鈥淭he word that comes to mind for me is validation. Validation is huge in reaffirming, in saying 鈥淚 see you.鈥� As folks making big decisions in the university, saying 鈥淲e see you.鈥� As trustees who voted in favor of the endowment, saying 鈥淲e see you. You matter.鈥� And those are significant messages that we all need to hear. I鈥檓 thankful that these students who have been doing such amazing, amazing work to bring this to fruition have that validation鈥攖hrough securing the endowment and through 魔都资源网 U Gives this year. That was huge to me, and almost made me teary-eyed for the students. There鈥檚 so much in being validated, in being told 鈥渨e see you and you matter.鈥�

Looking Forward to the Future

Beyond 魔都资源网 U Gives, the Black Student Union has put time, passion and energy to make the scholarship as wide-reaching as possible, including social media campaigns and hosted events like the 3rd Annual BSU Showcase and the BSU Virtual Auction. The scholarship is now endowed. However, BSU still needs more than $85,000 to meet their initial goal of $200,000 and to ensure more Black students will benefit when distribution begins in fall 2021. Learn more about what鈥檚 planned for their upcoming fundraising efforts, and how you can get involved.

What is next step in fundraising for the scholarship?

Summers: 鈥淲e have around $113,000. So we鈥檙e doing pretty well, considering we just started fundraising about a year ago. But we do to push this farther, so that we can reach more students and be a resource for more students. Our is still open. That will never close, and that will always be an option.鈥�

Watson: 鈥淲e鈥檙e having another fundraiser in the spring, and part of our marketing in the fall will hopefully use in-person aspects. Our goal is to be able to give out sizeable donations to a number of students, so we have to keep fundraising. The scholarship will continue to grow.鈥�

Bruce: 鈥淚t鈥檚 significant that this is a student-led effort. Now that the scholarship is endowed, it will continue in perpetuity. (鈥�) The first distribution will come in the fall, which opens the door for it to be accessed by incoming freshman. That also provides an opportunity for it to be used for outreach and recruitment for more students of Color and more students that may face financial barriers.鈥�

How can alumni get involved in fundraising efforts?

Summers: 鈥淚t seems like alumni are really excited about this and really interested in being a part of this. (鈥�) It doesn鈥檛 have to be money. It can be mentorship or partnership with students. Getting the funding to go to SU is the first step, but feeling comfortable here is a really important piece of it, too鈥攁nd something that SU needs to work on.鈥�

Watson: 鈥淎lumni, especially Black alumni, can push this more with their networks. Even if an alum doesn鈥檛 have the money themselves, maybe they have an employer who does. It鈥檚 as simple as reaching out and asking the question鈥攁sking people who inherently have more money in their pockets to help their community.鈥�

Bruce: 鈥淭here are a lot of alums, especially those of African descent, who can look back at their own experience as a student and relate to what鈥檚 going on now. I think there鈥檚 a lot of pride and support that can come from this. Not only monetary, but from sharing with their networks, amplifying and using their own stories and voices as well to express the importance and significance of this scholarship.鈥�