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Found at SeaJeanette Wyneken ’78 unlocks mysteriesof one of Earth’s most ancient creatures.

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“I was fortunate enough to be a scholarship student here.I want other students to be able to come to this Universitywho would not otherwise have been able to — peoplelike me.” — Todd French ’93

Gifts to the campaign do more than help studentsin need. They create bridges between more than150 years of the Illinois Wesleyan tradition, andprovide the security of knowing that the

University will continue to transform the futures of gener-ations of students to come.

ose who contribute to the Student Endowment Fundcreate a direct link to ensuring students can attend IllinoisWesleyan. Currently, nine out of 10 IWU students receivesome form of assistance, whether through scholarship or aid.It is the goal of the Transforming Lives campaign to help pro-vide assistance for all students who meet the requirements ofexcellence to attend Illinois Wesleyan.

More than half the student body at Illinois Wesleyanrequires need-based financial aid, meaning they would beunable to attend school without this assistance. On average,the financial aid package for IWU students totals approxi-mately $25,000 per year.

There once was a time when Illinois Wesleyan couldmeet the needs of all deserving students, and attract thebrightest students from all economic backgrounds. Inrecent years, the ability of the University to meet demon-strated financial need has diminished, making it impossiblefor some highly qualified students to enroll. Others come toschool burdened with debt and struggle to balance theirstudies with on- and off-campus jobs.

Creating Opportunities:The Endowment for Students

C A M PA I G N U P DAT E

Securing funding for 150 Promise Awards and 125Titan Scholarships will help ensure that Illinois

Wesleyan remains both competitive and affordable.

$125 Million 2014 Goal

$76.6 Million December 2009 total

TRANSFORMING LIVES PROGRESS

GOAL: $30 MILLION

“Each year, we lose top students who prefer to attendIllinois Wesleyan, but the financial commitment is too greatfor the family,” said Illinois Wesleyan Dean of AdmissionsTony Bankston ’91. “With the escalating costs of providingthe highest quality education, it is imperative to provide stu-dents with enough financial assistance to make a Wesleyaneducation affordable.”

e Student Endowment Fund gives opportunities forWesleyan alumni to transform students’ lives in two ways:

� Promise Awards

Promise Awards through the Student Endowment Fundoffer assistance in the form of $2,500 to help close thefinancial need gap. The Transforming Lives campaignhopes to secure funds for 150 Promise Awards.

� Titan Merit Scholarships

The Student Endowment Fund’s Titan Merit Scholarshipsoffer assistance in the form of $5,000 awards designed toattract talented and deserving students. The TransformingLives campaign hopes to secure funds for 125 Titan MeritScholarships.

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the concept of “social networking,” as exemplifiedby online communities like Facebook, is secondnature to many Illinois Wesleyan alumni. a newinitiative is using this same idea to spark interest in

supporting current students.“giving circles” are small groups of alumni who pool

their contributions to fund scholarships or fill other needsat Wesleyan. Most of these groups are grassroots efforts,organized by enthusiastic alumni who reach out to friendsand acquaintances they met on the IWU campus.

gretchen grabowski ’03, who organized a giving circleof 21 young alumni, says,“It’s easy to form a cohesive groupwith people you know and have already formed connec-tions with as a student.”

By pooling smaller donations with friends or classmates,donors can “see the tangible results,” gretchen adds. a totalgiving-group contribution of $2,500 per year can fund ascholarship for a student in need.

e members of gretchen’s group, whose graduation yearsrange from 1999 to 2004, keep in touch by e-mail. e com-mitment from individuals who arepart of the group ranges from $100 to$600 per year for three years. some,including gretchen, have arranged tohave a monthly contribution chargedautomatically to their credit cards,making the donation process evenmore convenient.

another giving circle is led byDoug Macomber ’93, who organizesa yearly golf outing for around 30 ofhis fellow Illinois Wesleyan alumni.

is is the fourteenth year for theevent, which began soon aer thegroup le Wesleyan. “as we graduat-ed from college and everyone gotjobs we got pulled apart,” Doug says. “It really started out asan excuse to get everyone back together once a year.”although the outing has supported worthy causes for thepast five years, this was the first year that proceeds have ben-efited an Illinois Wesleyan student.

Donors who help fund these scholarships also have theopportunity to meet and offer guidance and advice to thestudents they benefit. ey can also determine the criteriaon which their scholarship will be presented — meaningthat giving circles made up of alumni from a certain cam-pus or greek organization can honor a current studentwho shares their interests.

Doug says that he and his fellow donors would like tooffer career and networking guidance and other support totheir scholarship recipient. “We’d like to do somethingmore than just write a check,” he says.

gretchen says the opportunity to get to know the stu-dents who benefit from the scholarships funded by giving

circles is part of the concept’sappeal. “one of the most difficultcomponents of raising money isletting people know where theirdonations are going,” gretchensays. “With this, you get to see theresults of your generosity.”

ere are currently 11 organizedgiving circles, with several more inthe works. University advancementstaff intentionally started out withonly a few of these groups and arenow expanding the initiative.

“e opportunities to foster thoseconnections seem endless,” says JeffMavros ’98, who is the University’s

assistant director of the Wesleyan Fund. Jeff adds that IWUalumni who are interested in launching their own givingcircles are encouraged to contact the advancement officefor help getting started.

Alumni friends form giving circlesto provide student scholarships

Go online to read more about the Transforming Lives

campaign (including a Web edition of the just-

published 2008-09 Annual Report of Giving).

www.iwu.edu/campaign

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Brian Moore ’94, Rich Kozlowski ’94, Pat Casey ’95 and Julie Clausing ’94belong to a giving circle that raises funds through a yearly golf outing.

Doug Macomber (left) meets with Mike Handke ’11,the recipient of a scholarship from a giving circlelaunched by Doug and several of his IWU friends.

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