A $1 million bequest to the University of Maine Foundation from an anonymous donor has leveraged $3.8 million in additional support for the University of Maine as part of the now-completed Vision for Tomorrow matching gift program.
The majority of the support is directed to undergraduate scholarships. Other UMaine programs also have benefited, including Fogler Library and the New Writing Series in the Department of English. Donors have used the match to leverage support for existing endowments and to create 45 new ones.
Alumnus and philanthropist Anne Collins ’61 is one of those donors. “I am pleased to support the College of Education, where I earned my degree in 1961 and then went on to begin my teaching career,” she says. “Utilizing the Vision for Tomorrow 1:3 matching gift program, my scholarship provides additional resources to help them prepare the next generation of educators.”
Part of the match targeted scholarships for students from Maine who are top scholars or can demonstrate financial need that is unmet by federal sources.
“We take great pride in our tradition of helping Maine students afford an outstanding UMaine education,” says Jeffery N. Mills, president and CEO of the University of Maine Foundation. “With this new matching initiative donors have made a tremendous difference. Over the long term, we can keep more of our best and brightest in Maine where they can contribute to Maine’s economy and quality of life.”
In discussing the progress of the campaign, UMaine President Susan J. Hunter underscored the importance of both merit and need-based scholarships for Maine students.
“Accessibility and affordability are central to our mission,” Hunter says. “We embrace the opportunity to educate the leaders of tomorrow who will make a tremendous difference here in Maine and beyond.”
Financial aid for students is a top priority for the campaign, which has already raised more than $155 million to date for scholarships, a new Engineering Education and Design Center, and other needs on campus and in the university’s other locations across Maine, including the Darling Marine Center in Walpole and the Frederick Hutchinson Center in Belfast.
More information about the Vision for Tomorrow comprehensive campaign is online at umaine.edu/visionfortomorrow.
