Advancement office confident scholarship money will be matched

The administration at Kwantlen Polytechnic University looks like it will be coming through with the necessary funding to contribute to the Family Campaign at Kwantlen.

According to advancement officer Katie Kinch, the administration hasn’t confirmed its intentions to match donations made by faculty and staff for the campaign, which raises money for student scholarships, but she said that she hasn’t received any indications that the donations won’t be matched by the university.

The Family Campaign is a program that allows faculty and staff to donate money for student scholarships and bursaries. The Family Campaign this year will fund 74 scholarships and awards.

“We raised $111,000 for 2010/2011,” Kinch said.

Kinch believes that with the administration continuing its involvement in the program that will encourage more staff and faculty to become involved, and that it will provide a strong incentive for members to continue to make contributions to the program.

This year, the program achieved a 12.3 per cent response from its faculty and staff, which accounts for 210 of the 1,670 total Kwantlen staff and volunteers.

“I would be very optimistic that we can reach a target of potentially $125,000 with matching staying in place as a really strong incentive for staff, faculty and administration, as well as our volunteer board, to continue to make regular contributions,” Kinch said.

Faculty are able to make contributions to awards in their own field of work and study, as well as create their own award if they prefer, which can be awarded to a student in the faculty of the volunteer. Kinch says that she has received numerous calls inquiring about that.

Even though the percentage of staff involved may seem small, Kinch said that she takes pride in the culture of giving at the school. Last year, the campaign was able to fund 50 awards and scholarships. That has risen to 74 this year, and Kinch said that is a direct result of an institution that is committed to student success.

“It really is a strong statement about the culture here at Kwantlen,” Kinch said. “Talking about really being accessible and supportive and having an institution that is really committed to student success, the fact that there are significant dollars and awards behind that backs it up even further.”

The donation period for this year’s Family Campaign wrapped up on March 31.