President Burnett has 10 goals in 2011
President Tod Burnett shared an update of his top-10 goals in the “Gaucho Gazette” ( Oliver Yu/Lariat)
In a time of financial crisis, students will still be able to benefit from scholarships thanks to up to a $25 million endowment and a $25 million match from the Bernard Osher Foundation. According to the osharfoundation.org, the $1,000 scholarships are “intended to cover any enrollment fees, lab fees, books, uniforms, tools and other equipment required by a student’s academic program.”
In volume II, third edition of the President’s “Gaucho Gazette,” President Tod Burnett provided an update to his top ten projects. One of these projects is to raise money towards the Oshar scholarships. “Thus far,” Burnett said, “we have raised almost our full match of $671,175, which will give us close to a $1.4 million endowment.”
According to foundationccc.org, Saddleback has donated $552,737, or 82 percent of the money pledged, towards the Osher scholarship match.
As part of his top ten projects, Burnett is committed to reaching the full match quota, and plans to continue fundraising.
“The Osher fundraising we do through all kinds of events and other types of efforts through direct scholarship campaigns,” Burnett said. “We have an APEEL campaign that we do for on campus to get faculty staff and administrator to donate the scholarship campaign.”
The Apple “A PEEL” campaign is an “employee matching gift scholarship program,” according to saddleback.edu. Employees are encouraged to donate money towards the Osher scholarship program. “The gifts [will be] matched 200 percent (100 percent by the Bernard Osher Foundation, and 100 percent by President Todd Burnett’s foundation fund.”
According to Burnett, the endowments are meant to be a perpetual source of scholarship money. The scholarship money given to students is based of the interest earned from the endowment.
“The principle will be $1.4 million,” Burnett said. “Each year we will get the interest dividends from that. We’ll give out scholarships based off that. Endowment means we take the interest, or the earnings, of the principle and each year we get the interest dividends from that put that towards the scholarships.”