Last call for 2023 donations to the Friends of The Daily Texan  Endowment campaign to fund scholarships for Texan student journalists.

The campaign to raise  $300,000 for permanent funding for 13 annual scholarships is nearing its goal, and every donation – $25, $250 or more – is important in reaching that goal. The Friends of The Daily Texan is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and your donation may be tax deductible.

If the goal is met, all 13 grants to be awarded next year will be guaranteed permanent funding via the Friends of The Daily Texan endowment, plus other endowment partners and supporters of student journalism at the University of Texas at Austin.

Donations in support of the Friends group to support The Daily Texan can be made at:

https://www.friendsofthedailytexan.org/donations/

Or by mail: Friends of The Daily Texan, P.O. Box 8383, Austin, Texas 78713

Support for the campaign been strong, with donations ranging from $25 to $60,000 made within the past year.

Since the Friends group’s first grant of  $1,500 to one student in 2018,  $41,750 has been awarded to 36 Texan staffers. Next spring at least two more scholarships will be added to the list, providing financial support to 49 students, totaling $62,750.

Within the last year, three new scholarship grants have been fully endowed:

• Creation of a new grant recognizing a Daily Texan photojournalist with funding of $60,000 from Lynne Dobson, former Texan staffer, and husband Greg Wooldridge and their Tejemos Foundation; read about the Dobson-Wooldridge scholarship grant here.
• Creation of a new grant recognizing a Daily Texan sports journalist, funded by a $50,000 donation from former Texan staffer Kirk Bohls and wife Vicki; read about the Bohls scholarship grant here.
• Creation of a new grant honoring former journalism professor and journalist S. Griffin Singer, with a $25,000 donation from former Texan staffer Jo Clifton and her mother, former journalist Loretta Diggs Pendergraft. An additional $25,000 donation from former Texan staffer Joe Phillips brought the Singer scholarship to full endowment. Read about the Clifton/Pendergraft and Phillips scholarship grants here. 

The goal of raising an additional $300,000 will allow the Friends group to permanently endow the remaining scholarships that are partially endowed or supported by regular donations from donors or annual donations received by the Friends group.

About Friends of The Daily Texan:

Friends of The Daily Texan, Inc. is a non-profit organization established to lend support and assistance to The Daily Texan, an institution at the University of Texas at Austin since 1900. Members include alumni of The Texan, plus other supporters of a free and unfettered student media at UT. The group sponsors annual scholarships for Texan staffers, plus provides funds to purchase needed video and photo equipment, to support digital transition efforts by The Texan, for training, coverage, travel and other needs identified by Texan editors.