OCF's scholarship program grows dramatically each year, with awards now at about $5 million per year. This growth comes at a crucial time for Oregon's students, who shouldered a 3.4 percent tuition increase in 2008 at Oregon's seven four-year public universities. Students now graduate with an average debt of about $20,000.
For low-income Oregon students, the net cost of attending community college represents about 45 percent of their annual family income. (Net cost equals the cost of tuition, room and board minus public financial aid.)
For these students to attend a public four-year college, the net cost represents nearly 53 percent of their annual family income. See the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education for more information.
Adding to Your Fund
Some donors add to the corpus of their scholarship fund each year. Others augment the amount available to be spent in the current year. Some do both.
If you are interested in adding to your fund, please send a cover letter with your contribution, detailing what you would like the foundation to do with your funds. Here is a template for you to use in communicating to us your wishes.
If you have any questions about how to add to your fund, please contact Nancy Wilson at 503.227.6846 or nwilson@oregoncf.org.