Have you ever wondered where the money for scholarships comes from? Well, some scholarships at NAIT are a result of staff and faculty of the institution supporting students beyond the classrooms through the NAIT it Forward campaign.
“NAIT it Forward is the annual faculty and staff fundraising campaign. This year it runs from Oct. 6-28. Faculty and staff are invited to make a gift in support of students. As staff and faculty, we are committed to making NAIT a great place to learn and work,” explained Erin Kuebler, annual giving officer in NAIT’s Department of Advancement.
“NAIT it Forward builds on the work done every day to help our students reach their educational goals.”
The launch to this year’s campaign was a pancake and sausage breakfast for faculty and staff held on Oct. 6 in the North Lobby. The event gave staff the opportunity to connect with each other and learn more about how the campaign has benefitted students. Last year, the campaign raised over $83,000 from more than 600 donors, which all went to helping students.
“NAIT staff and teachers understand that helping students starts in the classroom, but goes above and beyond that,” said Daniel Petty. Daniel has received scholarships directly funded by the NAIT it Forward campaign and gets substantial support from NAIT’s Services for Students with Disabilities while pursuing his Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing at NAIT.
All funds raised during the campaign go directly to where the donor designates it, which can include any NAIT scholarships, bursary, program or initiative. The primary goal of the campaign is to build participation from staff – last year over 23 per cent of NAIT staff participated in the campaign.
“Events like this open doors that were not previously open. The benefits may not be as visible as other things but things like this, you might get a smile from a student because they can afford to go back home for the summer or they can afford to pay rent or their tuition just got paid,” said Petty. “It’s little smiles like that, that you don’t see, that events like this provide and facilitate. It’s the small things like that, that are a big part of an event like and a program like NAIT it Forward.”
The launch breakfast, sponsored NAIT departments and corporate sponsored, set the pace for this year’s campaign. With the number of different avenues donations for the campaign are used on campus, staff are able to impact student life far beyond their roles.
As part of a suite of different campaigns by NAIT’s Office of Advancement, the NAIT it Forward campaign is an excellent example of engaging community members to support students at NAIT.
– Nicolas Brown, Issues Editor
Photo by Leigh Kovesy
