By: Melena DiNenna
Every year, donors from the University of Maryland community and beyond contribute to university fundraisers of their choice — their options including the university’s athletics department, various academic departments, student clubs, Greek life, libraries and more. This year’s #GivingDayUMD, on March 3, raised over $2.7 million from nearly 9,000 donors, according to the Giving Day website.
The university’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism saw Giving Day 2021 as an opportunity to foster a better education for “the next generation of fearless journalists,” as stated on the fundraiser’s website. Donors had the option to donate to specific campaigns or to the college in general. With the help of 311 donors and three donation-matching challenges from Merrill alumni, the College of Journalism was able to raise over $50,000, ranking 16th on the Giving Day leaderboard.
Alumnus Adam Ostrow matched donations up to $1,500 for the Journalism Scholarships Fund, while the TEGNA Foundation matched his contribution 2-to-1, according to the fundraiser’s website. This fund helps remove financial barriers for students who want to attend the University of Maryland.
Katie Aune, assistant dean of external relations at the College of Journalism, wrote in an email that these scholarships are offered to help “relieve the financial burden on students by covering some of the cost of tuition.”
“We want students to be able to focus on their education, not on trying to figure out how to pay for it,” Aune wrote.
All undergraduate journalism students have access to these scholarship opportunities, according to Aune. The scholarship committee automatically considers all incoming freshmen for scholarship needs.
There was a 20% increase in donors this year. This increase could be partially attributed to a challenge from alumnus Chris Frates, who offered to contribute $2,500 if at least 275 donors gave to the College of Journalism on Giving Day. Donors met Frates’ challenge by that evening. All donations made to the college’s general fund went to the Journalism Scholarships Fund by default because financial assistance is one of the greatest needs of the students, Aune said.
Alumnus and author John Jenkins also offered to match the first $5,000 given to the Journalism Internship Stipends Fund, according to the fundraiser’s website. This fund helps students pursue summer internships without financial barriers, the website stated.
Other campaigns for the College of Journalism devoted funds to the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism, Capital News Service, The Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism, the Dean’s Fund and the John McNamara ‘83 Endowed Sports Journalism Scholarship.
Adrianne Flynn, the college’s director of internships and career development, donated this year to Capital News Service, which she described as an “elite, hands-on, skills-based program” that is unique to Merrill.
“I’m a huge believer in the power to educate. Journalism is not something that you learn by sitting in a chair,” Flynn said. “Everytime someone donates, I just say thank you because you are really helping some kid climb higher.”