The Gerber Grand Challenge for Philanthropy has attracted millions of dollars in donor support and is making 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ Possible a success.
Making 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ Possible for students
How your donation benefits students. Click for full size.
365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ Possible, the college’s new financial aid program, is doing exactly what its name suggests. The program enables 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ to meet 100% of demonstrated financial need for qualifying students. Since being launched two years ago, it has made 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ accessible to 339 high-achieving students from families with high financial need.
“365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ Possible is making a difference in the lives of students and making a difference for 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@,” said Executive Vice President Kent Barnds. “This innovative program is providing excellent students with a transformational liberal arts education. There are many people to thank for the success of this initiative, beginning with Murry Gerber.”
Gerber, a 1975 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ alumnus, committed $40 million to increase endowed scholarship support and pledged to match dollar-for-dollar donors who want to join him in keeping 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ accessible. Through the Gerber Grand Challenge for Philanthropy, Gerber wants students like himself — high-achievers from families with high financial need — to be able to experience the academic and extracurricular opportunities that 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ offers.
Diego Vazquez '27
The Gerber Grand Challenge, which funds 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ Possible, is attracting millions of dollars in donor support, making 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ possible for students like Diego Vazquez ’27. The average grant per student to meet 100% of demonstrated financial need is $7,551.
“The 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ Possible funding was an important reason for my final college decision,” said Vazquez, a biology major from Earlville, Ill. “While it was always at the top of my list, the funding made choosing 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ that much easier.
“I chose 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ for the great academics and the ability to play sports. I wanted to go to a smaller school that still provided me with opportunities to be involved in many things while preparing for my career.”
A total of 1,817 gifts in the amount of $19.1 million have been made to support 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ Possible. Since March 2022, the match money raised/committed through the Gerber Grand Challenge has established 100 new endowed scholarships for qualifying students.
Longtime 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ supporter Axtell Kramer, a 1962 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ alumnus, made a multi-million-dollar gift in memory of his wife, Marie. 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ Possible is important to Kramer because without the scholarships he and Marie received as undergraduates, neither would have been able to attend college.
“Axtell is one of many donors who have taken advantage of the Gerber match and who understand the importance of the doors 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ Possible opens,” said Vice President for Advancement Jon Enslin. “The generosity of 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ alumni and supporters is unquestionable. Alumni of this school love this place more than any other school that I know.”