Tomorrow marks the third annual Scholarship Luncheon celebrating donors and their contribution to support our UMBC students. This yearly meet-and-greet event is a great opportunity for donors to get to know the scholarship recipients and understand just how big an impact their gifts have on the UMBC students and community.

A highlight of the event is the opportunity to hear from two special speakers: a donor and a student. This year, donor Ken Pittman ’80, Economics, of PNC Wealth Management will share the story of why he supports UMBC and one of the Linehan Art scholars will share the story of how receiving a scholarship has changed her life and advanced her studies.

More than just a time to express gratitude, however, the scholarship luncheon promotes the possibility of future philanthropy – the students are able to see the faces behind the scholarships and realize that the people giving these gifts are real people with passions just like themselves with a desire to give back to others and their community. It’s heartwarming for the donors to meet the students face to face and students are also touched at the chance to learn the story behind the scholarship.

And even as the luncheon ends and our donors and students go their separate ways, the effects of their meeting often last beyond this day, beyond UMBC and even extend into the personal lives of the donors and recipients. One particular student was so grateful to his donor that he made the effort to follow up and maintain a relationship. Equally, the donors enjoy the chance to see where the students are after graduation: where they are working, what has happened in their lives and what they are working toward in their future.

As we at UMBC see it, this is what philanthropy should be: a lasting legacy and the chance to make new connections. We appreciate all the donors who support our students – you are making a very real mark on our campus and changing lives.

Make your mark today! Support students scholarships.

It’s Valentine’s Day, and love is in the air! For all of us here at UMBC, it’s a great day to tell you, our donors, how much we appreciate you and all that you do for UMBC.

When you give to the University, you make it possible for our students to get the highest quality education. You ensure that our faculty and staff have the resources to do amazing things. You invest in a place that strives for greatness. And though that investment means more to us than words can convey, we still want to say thank you. So we asked a few of our faculty and staff to say thank you to a donor who has made a difference to them:

“We’re so appreciative of the support that Ken Pittman ’80, economics, gives to our university. He is generous with his time through his service on our alumni board, and he and his family regularly contribute to several of our scholarship funds. His willingness to give back helps make UMBC a great place.”

~Stanyell Bruce, Director of Alumni Relations, UMBC

“We are so grateful for Next Century’s support of this software engineering course. Their gift helps students learn about the fundamentals of Software Engineering and the software development lifecycle. The students are getting a great opportunity to work with a ‘real-life’ application, developing a student alert system. Next Century personnel are acting as ‘customers’ for this project, which gives students valuable training in working with real customers. The students are also going to present their project in Next Century’s offices and will get an experience of actual office/industry setting.”

~Karuna Joshi, Research Assistant Professor, UMBC

“Through his work as a student caller with UMBC’s Phonathon, Jordan, class of 2014, has done exceptional work on behalf of UMBC and the Meyerhoff program. He has had hundreds of conversations with alumni and parents, helping to secure many gifts for the  LaMont Toliver Alumni Memorial Scholarship. This fall, Jordan himself made a contribution to the LaMont Toliver Alumni Memorial Scholarship. I was really impressed by his leadership as a student and donor. UMBC’s students often give back of their time and talent, but it’s more rare for students to part with their hard-earned paychecks. Jordan’s commitment to helping future generations of UMBC students excel was a really moving act that leaves a lasting legacy in Mr. Toliver’s name.”

~Dayna Carpenter, Director of Annual Giving

Check out UMBC’s Donor Roll, where we say thank you to everyone who has supported us each year.