Chairman's Message

Robert Willever ’75

Dear Friends,

If one gets true joy from giving, then you are among some of the happiest people we know. I say this because, as donors to the East Stroudsburg University Foundation, you have had a profound impact on our year in fundraising. In fact,  2018-2019 was a record year for the 33-year old organization.

On behalf of the East Stroudsburg University Foundation Board of Directors, I extend a warm and gracious thank you for your support to East Stroudsburg University and its students. You are the reason we are able to provide scholarships to deserving students. You understand the need for improved academic and athletic programs. You want to ensure every student has the best university experience and an athlete plays on the latest, state-of-the-art field. Put simply, we couldn’t do it without you.

I invite you to enjoy Milestones, Our Year in Review. The 2018-2019 Annual Report and Honor Roll of Donors provides you with a snapshot of a year that recorded gifts and pledges totaling $4,648,606. Within these pages you will discover the remarkable successes of several campaigns and the results of a vibrant scholarship program that every year grows leaps and bounds. Take a look on page 37 and see the 10-year progression of scholarship funds disbursed to students since 2009-2010 – from $358,950 to $943,649 in just over a decade. These figures are more than a listing in a bar graph. They are actual dollars provided to students pursuing their college degrees and we are honored to share many of their stories within this report.

It’s very important to the ESU Foundation to properly steward your gifts and thanks to the diligent work of the board’s Investment Committee, as of June 30, 2019, the Foundation’s endowed funds had grown by eight percent. We also received a clean audit from our independent accounting firm, reinforcing our commitment to accuracy and transparency and affirming trust that your gifts are properly managed.

I would like to extend my thanks to the full board for their dedication this year as well as ESU President Marcia G. Welsh, Ph.D., and all faculty and staff, for partnering in major campaigns and initiatives. Also, thank you to the Foundation, Advancement and Alumni Engagement team who continually strive to better their programs one year to the next.

Moving into 2020, we won’t rest on the good news of the prior year. Goals for the Foundation include increasing the number of new scholarships by six percent, awarding $1 million in scholarship support and broadening our donor base and expanding our alumni engagement reach. Not easy tasks but, based on the greatest level of support we’ve seen in the Foundation’s history, we are confident.