Worcester State University is honoring the 30th anniversary of the Worcester State Foundation. Since its establishment in 1994, the Foundation has raised approximately $55 million, and provided $50 million to the university to advance academic excellence and support student success. As the university celebrates its 150th anniversary, we are showcasing the history and impact of the Foundation in this special issue of the Donor Impact Statement.
Foundation President and University Advancement Vice President Thomas McNamara sat down with University Advancement Communications Director Andrea Dever to talk about the history and future of giving at Worcester State.
Thomas McNamara, vice president of University Advancement and president of the Worcester State Foundation
As we celebrate 30 years of the Foundation, we know philanthropic investments from donors 30 years ago are still helping today’s students at Worcester State succeed and thrive. Why is it important for the Foundation to continue growing its endowment?
It comes back to compounding impact. I’ve had the benefit of seeing our endowment grow all these years to a level where we’re starting to have an impact on campus. I still get the question, although less frequently than earlier in my career, “Why Worcester State? Because aren’t you fully funded?” We receive a very small but very important allocation from the state each year, but it accounts for less than 30% of our total operating budget. This allocation helps keep the lights on, but it isn’t enough, and that is why our student fees have increased over the years.
Now, the power of the Foundation and our endowment is that they provide those items that are essential for a student to stay in school, to be active while at school, engage in internships, and access state-of-the-art equipment. The endowment provides opportunities for the students to have these essentials which many students take for granted on other campuses. Over the years we’ve seen that impact on our campus, in our labs and our playing fields, and certainly in the students who benefit from the amenities that are funded by our donors. The endowment provides that magic.
The endowment comprises all kinds of different gifts of different sizes from a variety of donors. Can you share some of the bright spots or success stories that come to mind when you think about our history of giving?
I love this question. I’ve been blessed in my tenure to have interactions with countless alumni and friends. Each endowment tells a story and is very personal for the person who’s creating it.
One of the first endowments ever created for Worcester State was through Olive Borgatti ‘39, the Spag Scholarship which predated my tenure. Initially, the funds were in the hundred thousand dollar range. At that time, we had never seen a gift of that size. That fund alone has grown to close to half a million dollars providing hundreds of scholarships to students over time. It goes back to what Worcester State is all about, helping the local community with a hand up.
Every endowment tells a story of donors honoring someone special in their life, or leaving a legacy after someone passes. One that comes to mind is the Jillian Ann Bilodeau Scholarship. It was early in my career and I’ll never forget it because the family came into my office. They had just lost their daughter in a horrible accident. They wanted to find a way to honor her. With tears in their eyes, the entire family talked through how they wanted to have it happen. At first, they just wanted to raise a few thousand dollars to support nursing students, as Jill was a nursing student. Fast forward to today, it has grown into one of our larger endowments and the family continues to raise money through a road race and a golf tournament and has family and friends contribute to the fund to this day.
One more example is Bob and Barbara O’Brien who established four scholarships to honor each of their parents. They felt that students didn’t need the highest grades, but they wanted to reward industriousness above all.
What do you envision for the short and long-term future of the Foundation?
In the short-term, the most important need is to build the unrestricted portion of our foundation. It’s the most difficult to raise because obviously if someone’s making a significant investment, they’d like to restrict it in some fashion, understandably so. But the hope and trust someone puts in us by providing funds, usually with a planned gift, benefits expanding the campus footprint, enrollment needs, and merit-based scholarships to name a few.
For long-term goals, the Foundation has worked with three presidents over these last 30 years and each president’s initiatives have lifted the university up in different ways. Through President Maloney, the focus is on experiential learning and supporting the holistic needs of our students. Close to 70% of the endowment is restricted to scholarship aid. Our ability from a long-term perspective, to diversify that a bit, to invest in endowments for research, equipment, internships, study abroad programs, and stipends for students engaged in different activities would help create a much more robust student experience.
Can you talk about the changes and the impact you’ve seen with the Foundation?
When I started here Dr. Ghosh was our president and I benefited from a great mentor, Ken Heekin, who was my boss at the time. Dr. Ghosh and Ken brought the advancement team to another level. Prior to that, there were some committed individuals and team members like Linda Doherty whose name resonates with many of our alums because she helped create some early alumni activities and phon-a-thon programs. I was on the Alumni Association’s Advisory Board just prior to my start and we helped transfer $60,000 in funds raised primarily through alumni volunteers, to take advantage of the first endowment incentive program. That particular change allowed for the university to be more strategic and grow the campus.
As an alumnus, the largest impact has been the physical structures on campus. We’ve had many physical transformations, but at the same time, we are really still doing the same exact thing we’ve done now for 150 years, providing impact and changing lives. The foundation, for the last 30 years, has had a hand in that impact.
Beyond scholarships, what are a couple of areas donors could consider funding to reflect the changing needs of students and faculty?
Student scholarships will always be the pillar of what we fundraise for. Having said that, I’d love for our donor community to consider supporting a holistic approach to students. There are so many opportunities for our students through our Center for Spiritual Life, Teaching Garden, Thea’s Pantry, study abroad, and support for entrepreneurship. The world would benefit from more students engaging in workforce development, paid internships, and study abroad.
We’ve been appreciative of the support provided by the state of Massachusetts to help those students with the highest need. We’ve also been able to support some merit-based scholarships through the Presidential scholarships. There are opportunities for what I would consider the mid-level student who has solid grades, but may not qualify for as much financial aid or merit-based awards. Having some more flexible dollars to help those students with scholarships would be beneficial. That’s a missing piece of the puzzle right now.
Editor’s Note: This story first appeared in the fall 2024 Donor Impact Statement. Top photo by Matt Wright ’10.
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