Saint John's donors give over $3 million to Student Fund second year in a row

Saint John’s University raised $3,068,972 for the 2018-19 Student Fund, the second largest in school history. It was the second year in a row donors gave more than $3 million for current scholarships for Saint John’s undergraduate students.

“I want to thank everyone who gave to this year’s Student Fund,” said Tom Mahowald ’86, president of the Saint John's Alumni Association in 2018-19. “It is particularly rewarding to see donors step forward to support Johnnies. This support directly impacts future graduates, 99 percent of whom are professionally employed, pursuing a graduate degree or full-time volunteering within a year.”

4,891 donors supported the Student Fund, including 4,109 Saint John's alumni.

“I especially want to recognize the alumni volunteers who led their class years to this year’s participation, donors, dollars and Fellows numbers,” Mahowald said.

Reunion Alumni and Spouses

Alumni classes celebrating Reunion 2019 (the 5th through the 55th reunions) contributed $451,775 toward the Student Fund, from 819 donors.

The Class of 1964, which celebrated its 55th reunion, had a 52% participation rate – the highest of all reunion classes.

The 50th reunion Class of 1969 had 109 Student Fund donors in 2018-19, the most of all reunion classes.

The 45th reunion Class of 1970 gave the greatest amount to the Student Fund, totaling $83,254.

The Class of 1989, in its 30th reunion, had the largest increase in Student Fund donors over the previous year, with 22 new donors.

All Alumni and Spouses

Among all classes, the Class of 1974 gave the largest amount to the Student Fund, totaling $160,478. The Class of 1963’s total of $106,185 was second highest, followed by the Classes of 1981 and 1982 who gave $104,518 and $96,702, respectively.

The Class of 1981 had the most Fellows Society donors, with 30 classmates giving at the Walter Reger Fellows level or higher – $1,000 or more to the Student Fund.

Volunteers

Together the 45 members of the Alumni Association Board of Directors contributed $55,790 in Student Fund support.

30 members of the Board of Trustees gave $238,023 to the Student Fund.

Parents

248 current parents of Saint John's students contributed $106,528 to the Student Fund in 2018-19.

1,056 parents of SJU alumni supported the Student Fund, giving $700,236 for scholarships.

Overall

The 2018-19 Gratitude Report and Honor Roll will be published by email in Fall 2019. It lists all donors and volunteers to SJU in the recently completed fiscal year.

The Student Fund supports scholarships for current undergraduate Saint John's students, 98% of whom received scholarships or financial aid. The specific awards funded by the Student Fund include Trustees’, President’s, Dean’s, Art, Music, Theatre, Legacy, out-of-state, and Catholic high school scholarships.

Overall, Saint John’s University received $19,455,731 in gifts and commitments in 2018-19, including support for scholarships, capital projects, academic and student programs, the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library, and the Graduate School of Theology and Seminary. Of this total, $15,763,491 was given to the undergraduate college, including the $3,068,972 Student Fund.