College Asks Donors to Meet Financial Aid Need

I read an article on the NY Times website that would interest us as college students.Colleges and universities now are appealing to donors to help meet the huge demand for financial aid. Hampshire College in Massachusetts raised its financial aid budget 7.5% to 21.5 million because of donations from fundraisers. At this school and many others across the country, the financial aid demand for the 2009 has increased. Chapman University in Orange County said that their financial aid increased 88%.In some cases students will send letters to the donors telling them of their finanical needs and dreams. In other cases galas are held where money is raised.At the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, fund-raisers are telling potential donors that some $30 million in requests for aid remain outstanding. The endowment is down 25.6 percent, and Governor Perdue has proposed cutting state financing to the University of North Carolina system by 5 percent. They are now trying to get donors to increase their donation. I think it is a good idea. There are plenty of people in this state that could help colleges out.Every donation counts for something and will add up.If it means that 10 more students can go to school, I think it is a success.