Capping a year of celebration to commemorate the Centennial anniversary of Pennsylvania College of Technology, the institution’s most significant fundraising effort more than doubled its original goal, raising $6.4 million in private scholarship support.
The success of the Penn College Scholarship Campaign will allow the Penn College Foundation to provide more than twice the amount of scholarship aid to students than it did prior to the launch of the campaign in 2011.
“Penn College is poised to become a national leader in applied technology education,” said Davie Jane Gilmour, the college’s president. “The success of the Scholarship Campaign will help hundreds of students have access to that education.”
Seventy-five new scholarships have been established as part of the Scholarship Campaign, including 45 endowed or building-to-endowed scholarships that will provide scholarship aid to Penn College students in perpetuity.
While the campaign came to a close on Dec. 31, celebrations were held in November, with a reception for all donors at the college’s Field House, followed by a private concert by the a cappella group Home Free at the Community Arts Center; and on Dec. 6, with a gala dinner for the campaign’s lead donors.
“The generosity of our donors has an immediate impact on many of our students,” Gilmour said. “A scholarship award can literally be the difference between a student being able to attend Penn College or not.
“Thanking those donors for their commitment to Penn College and giving them the opportunity to celebrate with us was one of the highlights of the Centennial.”
The Penn College Scholarship Campaign was launched with a silent phase in July 2011 in anticipation of raising at least $3 million by the end of the Centennial celebration in 2014. By the time the campaign was publicly announced in August 2013, lead donors had already committed more than $3.3 million in outright gifts, pledges and planned gifts. A $1 million donation by Amerikohl Mining later in 2013 provided the momentum for the campaign to finish at record-setting levels as the college community celebrated its Centennial.
“As a member of the Foundation Board of Directors, I’ve seen firsthand the opportunities created by a Penn College education,” said Patrick Marty, Foundation Board chairperson. “Penn College graduates are doing exciting things and contributing to their communities in meaningful ways. This overwhelming achievement will ensure that generations of future students will have those same opportunities. Further, the campaign has established a culture of philanthropy at Penn College that bodes well for the sustainability of this vital institution.”
A total of 1,988 donors made gifts to the Scholarship Campaign, including $1,322,291 in pledges and $2,025,000 in planned gifts.
More than 800 alumni participated in the Scholarship Campaign, including 357 who made their first-ever donation to Penn College.
More than 475 current employees and retirees of the college also joined in the effort that epitomized the community spirit of the institution.
For more about Penn College, visit www.pct.edu, email admissions@pct.edu or call toll-free 800-367-9222.