You can directly help the students who work on the Talisman, College Heights Herald, Cherry Creative and Student Publications Advertising on WKU’s second annual Day of Caring, Thursday, April 15.
Private support has become an essential part of ensuring our students at Student Publications get the kinds of experiences that will help them land jobs and launch successful careers once they graduate. We could not deliver the quality experience that sets us apart without help from our alumni and friends.
And you, the friends and alumni of WKU Student Publications, have been especially generous in recent years, helping us create fellowships that put students into professional settings each summer — including nine this summer — and providing for needs ranging from technology and equipment to helping students who face financial struggles.
This comes at a time when WKU — and Student Pubs — has sustained substantial budget cuts. University clients now have little or no money for advertising. Some large local businesses we relied on for advertising dollars have closed. Many of those remaining are strapped for cash.
Those realities, along with the rapidly evolving business challenges for all media groups, means you and your support have never been more crucial. Put simply: Without you, we don’t thrive.
There are many ways you can help – and donations of any amount are important.
You can make a contribution directly to any of these three funds, each of which targets a specific area:
- Student Publications Legacy Fund – Money donated here can be spent on our most immediate needs, whether it is replacing a pool camera lens or buying a new computer.
- Student Publications Fellowship Fund – Donations to this fund pay our share of fellowships each summer, the cost of which is split between the Fellowship Fund and our professional partners. This summer, we will have nine students working in professional settings in Louisville, Lexington, Charlotte, St. Louis, Owensboro and Bowling Green.
- Student Publications Endowed Fund – We are working to build a permanent endowment to help support Student Publications, with a goal of having $3 million donated or committed through planned giving by 2024-25, the centennial of the Talisman and the Herald. Right now, we are at about $1.2 million.
You can also become a member of Student Pubs as an alumni or friend. By committing as little as $5 a month, you can join and get some swag from your favorite publication. Membership levels are:
- Ally of Student Publications – $5-$9.99 a month, or at least $60 a year.
- Advocate – $10-$19.99 a month, or at least $120 a year.
- Journalist – $20-$34.99 a month, or at least $240 a year.
- Masthead – $35-$49.99 a month, or at least $420 a year.
- First Amendment Champion – at least $50 a month, or at least $600 a year.
- The 1924/1925 Club – at least $1,924 a year.
Details for each level, including the swag you can get, can be found on that page. We launched this program a few months ago, and we’re listing friends and alumni who are members here. You can designate whatever you donate under our membership program to any of the three funds listed above.
We are also actively raising money to fund two new scholarships honoring members of the Student Publications family who have died during the 2020-21 academic year:
- Mike Collins Memorial Scholarship Fund. $9,480 raised as of April 8.
- Elliott Wells Memorial Scholarship Fund. $3,725 raised as of April 8.
We need to raise $10,000 in each fund in order for it to be permanently endowed. Help us get them over the top!
All money donated to any of the above funds is housed in either the WKU Foundation or the College Heights Foundation and can be used only to benefit WKU Student Publications under the supervision of the director. The money cannot be reallocated elsewhere at WKU.