With more than 30 percent of undergraduate students qualifying for federal- and/or state-funded grants, and more than 40 percent identifying themselves as first-generation college students, the need for financial support from alumni and friends is clear.
Last year more than $65 million in total scholarship aid was awarded to nearly 5,000 students. While privately funded annual and endowed scholarship funds awarded each year have increased almost 60 percent over the last decade, the number of students benefiting from this aid has not kept pace, increasing by just over 40 percent.
As a relatively young university, the financial needs of our students exceed the endowment funds many of our peer institutions enjoy. We depend upon your help to invest in our students to provide life-changing educational opportunities and measurable outcomes that produce successful graduates.
Understanding Scholarships
Monmouth University offers two types of scholarship funding vehicles, annual and permanently endowed.
An annual scholarship can be established with a minimum gift of $5,000, payable over five years. You can assist in establishing the criteria for awarding the funds, and the scholarship can be renewed at your discretion.
Endowed scholarships are a source of permanently dedicated funds. A distinguished endowed scholarship can be created with a $50,000 gift, and an endowed scholarship can be established with a gift of $25,000, each of which can be funded over five years.
Gifts to endowed scholarships, which last in perpetuity, are invested as part of the university’s wider portfolio. Each year, per university spending policy, a percentage of these funds are used to provide student scholarships and any additional yield on the investment is returned to grow the principal of the account.
Either type of endowment can be established with a pledge that is fulfilled over five years. No awards are made from an endowment until it is fully funded. The gift is invested in accordance with the policies established by the Board of Trustees.
Rewarding Promise
Both annual scholarships and endowed scholarships can be created as merit-based awards, need-based awards, or a combination of both factors.
Merit-based scholarships recognize and reward academic, artistic, and/or service achievement while need-based scholarships provide critical tuition aid to students in financial need. These categories are not mutually exclusive, and many students benefit from both merit and need-based aid.
Building for the Future
Our graduates are the doctors, nurses, social workers, teachers, police officers, and professionals you meet every day. They are also acclaimed authors, entrepreneurs, Olympic athletes, Emmy-award winning media professionals, and even reality TV stars.
While each Hawk carves their own path, they share a common bond and a common experience of close connections to faculty and fellow students.
Scholarship funds ensure that the most deserving students can afford the outstanding academic programming, meaningful faculty relationships, supportive campus community, and state-of-the-art facilities that define a Monmouth education.