UND’s promise

UND Alumni Association & Foundation offers donors generous matches for recruitment scholarship gifts

University of North Dakota senior Max Ramstad has a lot of interest areas. That’s why he’ll graduate next year with a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies, with coursework in business, public administration, non-profits, political science and philosophy to round it out.

Although his transcript shows a wide breadth, his intent is laser-focused.

“When you’re little, you’re always wondering, ‘What do I want to do?’” Ramstad said. “And I always told myself I wanted to do something that helps people on a larger scale.”

In order to do that, higher education was always in the plan – first a UND undergraduate degree, and then graduate school for Public Administration. But Max knew he may need financial help for that first step.

“I applied for a lot of scholarships in high school,” the Delano, Minn. native said. “The main scholarship I received from UND was the Greg and Cindy Page Award when I came here as a business student. That helped me out a lot.”

Stories like Max’s are the fire behind the UND Promise Scholarship Program, launched this year by the UND Alumni Association & Foundation (AA&F).

Through Dec. 31, any gift earmarked to UND recruitment scholarships will be matched 1-to-1 by the Foundation. For those looking to make a continuing impact with a scholarship endowment, the Foundation is offering a 2-to-1 match.

“As a donor, the UND Promise is promising to help you give. As a student, you are promising to do your best, work hard, and go out and carry on the tradition of giving back,” said AA&F CEO DeAnna Carlson Zink.

“The UND Promise came from us being involved with the UND Strategic Plan and hearing how this could benefit students,” she continued. “It perfectly aligns with our mission in helping the University, helping the students, and creating opportunities for students to reach their dreams.”

An important goal of the One UND Strategic Plan is creating more student opportunities on campus and online. “We can’t provide those opportunities without the scholarships to those in need and those highly qualified students to know they are wanted here at the University of North Dakota,” said UND President Mark Kennedy.

UND impact

Ramstad became absorbed in the world of philanthropic fundraising after talking with the AA&F staff that helped him with his scholarships. That interest led him to a role with the team.

In his job as a fundraising support intern, Ramstad has the opportunity to chat with alumni and donors.

“They love talking about their experience here. It’s so special,” he said. “When you hear them talk about it, you can tell that UND had a massive impact.”

It’s that impact that leads donors to give. “Impact many by having faith in one” is the UND Promise campaign’s call to action, and Carlson Zink says it’s a sentiment that creates a true ripple effect.

“You may think you are giving toward one scholarship, one student. But what you don’t see is how that may impact their family,” she explained. “Maybe because a student received a scholarship, a family member gets to go to college, too. Or maybe a student is going to become a nurse or a teacher. If that student wasn’t out there, so many people would have missed out on this talented UND alum.”

Continuing gift

It isn’t just alumni who are taking advantage of the UND Promise match. Jeff Weatherly, senior associate dean for the College of Arts & Sciences and chair of the Department of Modern & Classical Languages & Literature, decided now was the perfect time to give.

“I was looking to make a gift – I wasn’t looking to start an endowment,” Weatherly said. “But I like to think of myself as financially savvy, and if someone wants to give me 50 cents for every dollar, that’s a pretty good deal.”

Weatherly hopes his UND Promise scholarship endowment will enable students to come to UND for a foreign language education. He said the Department of Languages has great donors, but many of its scholarships and endowments are set aside for juniors and seniors and travel abroad.

“We give out tens of thousands of dollars in aid for students to study abroad every year, and that’s great. But that doesn’t get them in the door,” Weatherly said. “These freshman scholarships aren’t going to cover everything, but they may make a college education within reach.”

Campaigns like this, in which passionate donors have the opportunity to give back, are the reason Carlson Zink loves her line of work.

“They literally get choked up and emotional about making this gift,” she said. “Then I get to see the students who received that gift, hear their stories, and see the thank you notes that they send to the donor. To bring that together, knowing this student is going to go out and be as successful as this donor – it’s just a wonderful legacy through scholarships.”

As Max finishes writing the last of his thank you letters and prepares for a life of impacting others, he’s filled with gratitude.

“I really wouldn’t be able to have all of the opportunities I’ll have past graduation without my scholarships,” he said.

For more on the UND Promise Scholarship, go to https://undalumni.org/promise.