1.
News
Release
Contact:
April
23,
2014
Anna
Miller
Anna.Miller@mnstate.edu
218.477.2556
Minnesota
State
University
Moorhead
“Dragon
Week
of
Thanks”
Moorhead,
MN—The
Minnesota
State
University
Moorhead
Alumni
Foundation
will
be
hosting
their
first
“Dragon
Week
of
Thanks”
on
April
28th
through
May
2nd
.
Throughout
the
week
there
will
be
visual
opportunities
for
students,
faculty,
and
staff
to
see
how
donations
have
impacted
students
and
their
education
at
MSU
Moorhead.
Across
campus,
there
will
be
information
posted
in
departments,
on
buildings,
and
in
common
areas
to
emphasize
how
donations
enhance
the
student
experience.
More
than
500
current
students
who
received
donor-­‐funded
scholarships
have
also
been
given
backpack
tags
to
recognize
the
individual
impact
of
gifts
on
their
education.
Donations
to
the
Alumni
Foundation
support
students
by
funding
scholarships,
awards,
academic
competitions,
travel
to
conferences,
and
student
research.
Donations
also
assist
faculty
by
funding
research
and
professional
development.
Students
are
encourage
to
express
their
gratitude
to
donors
by
writing
a
personal
message
to
donors
using
postcards,
which
will
then
be
sent
to
alumni,
faculty,
staff,
businesses,
parents,
and
friends
who
have
made
gifts
recently.
On
Wednesday,
individuals
can
also
record
a
video
message
to
donors.
The
Alumni
Foundation
will
be
setup
on
the
campus
mall
from
9:00
am
–
4:00
pm
to
record
messages
and
have
students
sign
a
large
thank-­‐you
banner.
The
MSUM
Alumni
Foundation
secures,
receives,
manages,
administers,
and
disburses
funds
for
MSUM.
It
is
a
non-­‐profit
organization
that
creates
fundraising
campaigns
and
hosts
several
events
on
and
off
campus,
throughout
each
year.
###

2.
Fact
Sheet
• Last
year,
the
Alumni
Foundation
provided
$598,240
in
scholarships
and
$323,190
in
academic
program
support.
That’s
almost
$1
million
to
help
MSUM
students!
• This
year,
526
MSUM
students
received
an
academic
or
athletic
scholarship
that
was
funded
by
donations.
• Donations
to
the
Alumni
Foundation
fund
student
research,
guest
speakers,
student
attendance
at
conferences,
equipment
purchases,
academic
competitions,
scholarships,
and
much
more.
• Last
year
(2012-­‐13),
165
corporations,
businesses,
and
organizations
supported
MSUM
with
gifts
totaling
$635,084.
• Last
year
(2012-­‐13),
3,319
alumni
made
a
gift
to
the
MSUM
Alumni
Foundation.
• Over
the
last
16
years,
more
than
10,000
MSUM
students
have
received
scholarships
funded
by
donors.
• The
Alumni
Foundation
had
an
endowment
of
almost
$13
million,
as
of
June
30,
2013.
• So
far
this
fiscal
year,
the
Alumni
Foundation
has
received
more
than
$2
million
in
new
gifts
and
pledges.
• Gifts
to
the
Psychology
Department
funded
28
students
attending
the
National
Association
of
School
Psychologists
(NASP)
and
Minnesota
Association
of
School
Psychologists
(MSPA)
conferences
in
2013.
• Donations
have
supported
the
Capstone
presentations
for
Construction
Management
students.
• Donors
support
students
in
the
Biosciences
Department
who
present
research
at
national
conferences.
• More
than
$200,000
has
been
donated
to
support
the
Straw
Hat
Players.