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Types of Gifts

Unrestricted Giving

Unrestricted gifts to Penn State Lehigh Valley are the most flexible types of support and allow the campus and University to direct such resources to the areas of greatest need. Such type of gifts may be utilized for campus improvements and student programs, for example.

Restricted Giving

Gifts may be directed to specific campus funds, thus allowing donors to support their area of interest. For example, a donor may wish to support campus athletics, the art gallery or to provide scholarship assistance.

Endowments

Endowed gifts are unique in that they are endowed in perpetuity, they continue to grow and thus become ever more valuable over time, and they allow the donor to participate in setting the guidelines for use of the funds.

The commitment to remain a top-ranked public research university needs an increased number of endowments to recruit talented faculty to lead research and teaching initiatives. Recruiting among major research universities for the best and the brightest continues to be extremely competitive and expensive.

Penn State's benefactors are as diverse as their endowments. While donors may establish these funds to perpetuate a special "cause" or interest close to their hearts, one common thread unites these special alumni and friends. In every case, this common thread is a profound and abiding commitment to the protection and endowment of Penn State's future.

Alumni and friends who invest in Penn State Lehigh Valley through endowments can be certain that the philanthropy will benefit the campus and local community far into the future.

Corporations and Foundations

Penn State Lehigh Valley boasts strong ties to area organizations and corporations. Members of these organizations are represented on our various campus and curriculum Advisory Boards, and they reach out to our students through internships, mentoring, lecturing and small group presentations. Companies committed to building and sustaining our campus give back to our students to ensure their future and to provide the best possible education to our mutual constituents.

Our campus’ mission of teaching and service to the community and our commitment to generating impact for the region is broad based and long term. Beyond providing a comprehensive education benefit to the region, our campus is also a substantial contributor to the local economy while providing vital resources and access to the community. For these reasons, and many more, Penn State Lehigh Valley represents an important investment for corporations and foundations in the region.

Matching Gifts

Many corporations and businesses in our area have a matching gift program. Through these programs an employee’s gift to an educational institution can be matched by the employer one to one, two to one, and in some cases three to one! Talk to your Human Resources office today to see if you qualify.

Equipment and Gifts-in-Kind

The need for scientific and other specialized equipment for classrooms, laboratories, libraries, and offices is always present. Penn State depends on philanthropic sources—especially corporate partnerships—for gifts-in-kind and direct support that will help maintain a state-of-the-art, industry relevant educational experience.

Gifts-in-kind are non-cash donations used by the University to carry out its educational, research and outreach missions. Examples of gifts-in-kind include:

  • computers
  • software
  • services such as printing, graphic design, engineering, auctioneering, sculpting and artwork, etc.
  • furniture
  • books, music, scripts
  • office items
  • laboratory instrumentation
  • construction materials

By providing Penn State Lehigh Valley with a gift-in-kind or assisting in the attainment of equipment, your company is establishing itself as a corporate partner of the University.

Faculty Support

Endowed chairs and professorships are among the most important resources any university can have in assembling and maintaining a distinguished faculty.

Such positions provide honor and recognition for the men and women who hold them, but they also provide something more important – a stable, dependable source of income for special teaching and research materials, library acquisitions, salary supplements, and travel assistance.

Competition for the best available teachers is even more acute than for the promising students, in part because Penn State Lehigh Valley must also compete with private industry and the public sector for potential faculty. The additional support and recognition that accompanies an endowed chair or professorship often makes the difference in Penn State's ability to recruit a distinguished scholar, or retain that scholar in the face of lures form other institutions and potential employers.

Faculty Chair (gift of $2,000,000)

Usually awarded to the most senior scholar-teachers, a faculty chair endowment may be created with a minimum commitment of $2 million.

A chair allows a professor to be not only appropriately rewarded financially for his or her achievements, it also provides the faculty member with the resources to continue important research and programs. Income from the endowment may also provide funds for graduate assistant salaries, secretarial assistance, course development, essential equipment, and scholarly travel.

The granting of a chair helps ensure that a department retains a professor who is esteemed as a mentor by other faculty members and students, who often directs important programs, and who contributes significantly to the University's mission, providing guidance, stability, and inspiration to colleagues and students alike.

Professorship (gift of $1,000,000)

The income from an endowed professorship, created with a minimum commitment of $1,000,000, supplements the professor's salary and offers resources necessary to pursue new lines of research or innovative teaching methods. This commitment means that he or she will be less vulnerable to "raids" from other universities, thus helping to ensure the stability of important programs, the furthering of exciting research, and effective mentoring of colleagues and students. Income from an endowment may also be directed to fund such needs as graduate assistant stipends, support staff, and travel expenses.

Career Development Professorship (gift of $500,000)

Critical for providing financial support to and encouraging the development of young faculty, the Career Development Professorship is new at Penn State. A gift of $500,000 or more creates this professorship which may be awarded to a full-time Penn State professor at the beginning of his or her career or to a visiting faculty member for a three-year period.

An excellent tool for recruiting the most promising faculty, the career development professorship supplements departmental support of outstanding young University faculty.

The career development professorship offers early recognition for outstanding accomplishments and provides income for salary supplementation, research expenses, education and travel expenses, graduate assistants' salaries, and support services for the holder or the holder's program. In addition, because it is awarded for a designated period, this professorship revitalizes the faculty of colleges and campuses by allowing deans and campus executive officers the opportunity to continually recruit rising academic stars.

Giving

  • Ways to Give
  • Types of Gifts
  • Current Projects
    • Collective Impact Scholarship Initiative
    • Campus Expansion Project
  • Scholarship Thank You Letter
  • Development Staff
  • LaunchBox Giving Opportunities

See Also

  • This is Penn State
  • Alumni
  • Give to Lehigh Valley LaunchBox
  • University Giving
Locations of Penn State's campuses throughout Pennsylvania with Penn State Lehigh Valley highlighted

Penn State Lehigh Valley

Part of the historically rich and economically vibrant Lehigh Valley for more than 100 years, Penn State Lehigh Valley allows students to pursue a globally known degree in a small, close-knit campus setting. Recently enhanced by a multi-million-dollar expansion project, PSU-LV boasts first-rate facilities and faculty, diverse extracurricular programming, and access to 275 Penn State degrees, 10 of which can be completed entirely at the campus.  
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