A final push to endow all current Daily Texan staff scholarships provided by Friends of The Daily Texan will coincide with the end of the student newspapers’ 125th anniversary year in October.
And the Friends group needs your help to reach that goal. Please.
The endowment fund is currently $75,000 short of the goal of $500,000.
“We established a goal of $300,000 when we started this endowment drive two years ago, quickly reached that goal and decided to reach out for $500,000,” said John Reetz, president of Friends of The Daily Texan. That amount would guarantee all existing scholarships are permanently funded each year.
“But we’re falling short at this stage,” Reetz said.
“We sincerely hope that anyone who felt The Texan had an impact on their career or was important to their time at UT participate in this effort, if they are able,” Reetz said. “Any size donation – any size – will be helpful if alums will mobilize to make this happen.”
Please donate here . Friends of The Daily Texan, Inc. is a non-profit 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization.
Reetz said there have been 363 donations to the effort since it started in spring of 2023, and many donated more than once. About 100 of those have given more than once, so the number of donors funding the endowment effort total is about 260.
This year 45 Texan staffers competed for the 13 scholarships grants. Total annual funding of the 13 scholarships was $23,500, almost all paid from the Friends endowment. Reaching the $500,000 goal will ensure all existing scholarships are paid by the Friends endowment
The first funding grant to a Texan staffer was in 2018, a $1,500 scholarship to one staff member. Since then the number of scholarships has grown each year to a current total of $13, and an annual total payout of $23,500.
Scholarship amounts are between $1,000 and $2,500 per student.
Since 2018, 62 grants totaling $87,750 have been awarded to Daily Texan staffers.
All funds received are deposited into a Friends of The Daily Texan account established with Moody and UT Development. Earnings of the deposited amount are used to fund the scholarship awards each year.
Donations may be made in honor or in memory of someone, or for larger sums a named scholarship grant. Reach out to [email protected] for further details.
“Please consider this as a sincere request to help student journalists directly by donating to our efforts,” Reetz added. “All donors will be recognized in a public manner. Your name showing support of student journalists will exist as a permanent acknowledgment, as the scholarships are endowed permanently.”
About Friends of The Daily Texan:
Friends of The Daily Texan, Inc. is a non-profit 501(c)(3) tax exempt 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 13 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.