Fall 2007
UNC raises Carolina Covenant Campaign goal to $20 million
When it comes to affording college, students from lower-income families face a stiff challenge. They historically qualify for financial aid but struggle to pay off the pile of college loans.
Enter Carolina.
Because the University is dedicated to access for every deserving student, the campus is carrying out a special fund-raising drive to help these students achieve the dream of a higher education. And now, that drive aims to do even more.
The Carolina Covenant Campaign launched in 2004 with a $10 million goal to support the Covenant, the groundbreaking initiative that enables low-income students to attend Carolina and graduate debt-free through a combination of grants, scholarships and federal work study.
More than 1,370 Covenant Scholars have come to Carolina since the first class enrolled in 2004. Their average family income last year was $22,932 for a family of four. Fifty-seven percent are first-generation college students. Along with scholarships, the Covenant pays for programs that help them adjust to college life, and the scholars have thrived in the classroom. Covenant Scholars who started in fall 2000 have earned an average grade point of 2.92.
That success has depended in large part on private support. In fact, the University has raised nearly $10 million for the Carolina Covenant Campaign and should reach that mark in the coming weeks. Tar Heels men’s basketball coach Roy Williams and his wife Wanda have served as honorary co-chairs of this effort.
Now, to ensure the Covenant’s success continues, the University has raised the Carolina Covenant Campaign goal to $20 million.
“The success we’ve had with the Covenant Campaign attests to the power of the Covenant and the generosity of our donors,” said Elizabeth Dunn, senior associate vice chancellor for development. “We want to be ready in the upcoming decades to keep our promise of a debt-free Carolina education to these low-income students.
“Because we are planning for the longer-term, this additional $10 million campaign has a special focus on planned gifts. With a bequest or other planned gift, donors can assure that future generations of Covenant Scholars will receive all the assistance they need.”
That need will only become more pressing in the years ahead, said Shirley Ort, associate provost and director of the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid.
“College costs here—as elsewhere— continue to grow, exceeding growth in personal income,” Ort said. “Furthermore, given the downturn in the state’s economy and the loss of agricultural jobs, more of our students are expected to need financial assistance going forward. We expect a modest but steady growth in Covenant-eligible student in the years to come.”
By Scott Ragland
See below for information about making a gift to the Carolina Covenant Campaign.
For more information on the Carolina Covenant, visit www.unc.edu/carolinacovenant.
Gift opportunities for the Carolina Covenant Campaign
Establish a Carolina Covenant endowment fund. Donors who wish to create and name an endowment to support the Carolina Covenant may do so with a minimum gift of $100,000. Income from the endowment will be used for Covenant Scholars and the Covenant program.
Contribute to the Covenant General Endowment Fund. Gifts of any size may be made to the Covenant’s general endowment. Income from the general endowment will be used for Covenant Scholars and the Covenant program.
Making your gift
- If you want to set up an individual Covenant endowment fund or make a planned gift in support of the Covenant, please contact Elizabeth Dunn, senior associate vice chancellor for development, at 919-962-3292 or edunn@unc.edu.
- You may make a gift to the Covenant General Endowment Fund online at giving.unc.edu/gift. Look for “Scholarships and Student Aid” in the University Designation menu.
- You may also mail your support for either of the Covenant gift opportunities to the following address: The Carolina Covenant, c/o Elizabeth Dunn, Office of University Development, 208 West Franklin Street, Campus Box 6100, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-6100.
Meet a Carolina Covenant Scholar
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Erin Callender Photo by Dan Sears |
The Carolina Covenant Campaign supports students such as Erin Callender, from Cary, N.C., who has grown up learning to budget. She always recognized the costs and sacrifices that college required and was ready to meet the challenge. So when Erin was admitted to Carolina, she was resigned to having student loans and to having to work each year to pay for the next.
“As Covenant Scholars, we know how to take a situation that’s not perfect, embrace it, and make the best of it,” she said. “But the Carolina Covenant has been such a stress reliever. I could concentrate on class, focus on career plans and even study abroad. I’m also glad that work-study was part of the Covenant because that meant I actually worked for it.”
Erin has earned it thus far. She is now a senior majoring in journalism and mass communications. Upon graduation in May 2008, Erin plans to move to Paris, where she studied abroad, to pursue a career in marketing, advertising or print journalism.
