Take the Jackrabbit Guarantee CHALLENGE
Friends and alumni of South Dakota State University have an unprecedented opportunity to fund Jackrabbit Guarantee scholarships, thanks to a matching gift from an anonymous donor.
The $500,000 anonymous gift, together with the most-generous matching gift terms ever offered by the SDSU Foundation, provide an extraordinary incentive for donors to support the Jackrabbit Guarantee scholarship program. The funds are available on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Donors have two options:
- Start a Scholarship. A $500 gift will provide $1,000 in scholarship support to an SDSU student this fall.
- Create an Endowment. A $10,000 incentive is available for donors who want to make their scholarship award permanent with an endowment.
To learn how you can take the Jackrabbit Guarantee CHALLENGE,
contact Hank McCall, Development Director for Student Affairs,
at 1-888-747-7378 or at Hank.McCall@sdsufoundation.org.
A similar match program in 2006 created more than 480 scholarships. The opportunity to create an endowment is new this time and the level of the match is unprecedented, says Steve Erpenbach, president and CEO of the SDSU Foundation.
“The Foundation has been able to offer matches that allow donors to double their money, but we never before had the occasion to provide donors with such a lucrative matching amount,” he says.
The renewable scholarship program is funded through private gifts, and alumni and supporters have stepped up to help meet the demand of one of the most successful initiatives ever launched at SDSU.
Forty percent of this fall’s freshmen will qualify for the Jackrabbit Guarantee based on their academic performance (an ACT score of 24 or higher).
Enrollment at SDSU has increased every year since the Jackrabbit Guarantee was created in 2002. During that time, the overall ACT score of all incoming freshmen has climbed to nearly two points higher than the national average.
“Our promise to donors is that their scholarship dollars will support students with proven academic ability who have chosen to pursue their higher-education aspirations at South Dakota State University,” says Marysz Rames, vice president for Student Affairs.
How does the Jackrabbit Guarantee benefit donors?
Your financial investment provides students with an opportunity for a brighter future – educated and emerging from college with a lower debt burden, proud and ready to show the world what they’re got. But you benefit, too.
Through your tax-deductible gift, you gain an instant connection to a new generation of Jackrabbits. And by keeping in touch with SDSU, you’re putting your pride in this great university to work.
Al Baker and Joan Hegerfeld-Baker are among the hundreds of individuals who annually fund a named scholarship in support of the Jackrabbit Guarantee. They started in 2006 when the first challenge match was offered.
“The opportunity to meet and connect with the recipients has been a very rewarding experience for us both,” says Joan, an SDSU faculty member.
How does the Jackrabbit Guarantee benefit SDSU?
The direct benefit to a student, of course, is a guarantee of at least $1,000 a year in scholarship support for four years. The added benefit to our university is even larger. Since the Jackrabbit Guarantee began:
- The percentage of incoming freshmen with an ACT of 24 or higher has risen from 33 percent to 45 percent;
- Jackrabbit Guarantee recipients graduate at a rate of nearly 12 percent higher than non-scholarship students;
- Overall enrollment at SDSU has increased by 25 percent and has accelerated our competitive edge in recruiting in both South Dakota and the region.
How does the Jackrabbit Guarantee benefit students?
The Jackrabbit Guarantee promises at least $1,000 in scholarship assistance to incoming freshmen with an ACT score of 24 or higher. The scholarship is renewable for three more years for students who maintain a grade point average of 2.8 or higher their freshman year and a 3.0 or higher in their next two years.