Apply Today

SFA Home / Give to SFA / Make a Gift

About the Parents Fund

 

What is the SFA Parents Fund?
The Parents Fund is a yearly campaign to raise funds for the seven colleges and 31 academic departments on campus. The goal is to provide immediate funds to supplement the university operating budget over the course of each year. Parents Fund gifts support essential needs that might not otherwise be provided for through state funding and tuition, such as computer equipment and software, faculty seminars and workshop programs, research efforts, student mentoring and support programs, library acquisitions, program accreditation fees and the like.

 

Why should I give to the Parents Fund? I already pay my student's tuition.
It is a little known fact that state funding and tuition combined only cover a little over half of the SFA operating budget. Investment in the Parents Fund is one of the ways that Lumberjack Parents are able to help ensure that university students, including your own, are able to continue to receive an excellent education at SFA. Gifts to SFA through the Parents Fund help decrease the deficit between funding provided by the state, tuition revenues and what is needed to actually operate the university. With recent state mandated budget cuts, private support from Lumberjack Parents in the form of Parents Fund contributions is needed like never before. Parents Fund gifts make an immediate positive impact on maintaining and increasing academic excellence at SFA for all students!

 

Where do my Parents Fund gifts go?
One hundred percent of Parents Fund gifts go to the areas specified by you, the donor. Parents Fund donors decide which area of the university their gifts will benefit the most, in turn directly benefiting their students' education. Gifts are sent directly to the college, department or program specified by the donor, where the funds are then used by the college dean, department chair or other SFA faculty members to supplement the budget for their particular area of the university.

 

When should I make an Annual Fund gift?
The SFA fiscal year begins Sept. 1 and ends on Aug. 31. Since Parents Fund contributions support operating budgets university-wide, gifts made early in the year are much appreciated. Gifts made early in the year also save the university money by eliminating the cost of mailings and calls from the Phonejack Telephone Outreach Program to Lumberjack Parents who have yet to make their Parents Fund gifts. However, gifts from all of SFA’s Lumberjack Parents are needed, regardless of the time of year.

 

Who should give to the Annual Fund?
All Lumberjack Parents who care about their students' education are encouraged to the support the Parents Fund with yearly gifts to the area or areas of their choice. Regular gifts through the Parents Fund also help Lumberjack Parents keep in touch with the university through special news publications, events and inside donor communications. If for some reason a Lumberjack parent can’t make a gift during a given year, they are still encouraged to regularly update their contact information to keep in touch with SFA.

 

How do I make an Annual Fund gift?
Parents Fund contributions can be made via mail, telephone or secure online form. Make a gift now by using the secure online gift form; also feel free to use the printable mail-in gift form and return it with your contribution to the address shown on the form. To make a Parents Fund gift over the phone, simply call the SFA Development Office at 1(800) 319-9517, and one of our friendly office staff will be happy to take your credit card donation. One of our most popular methods of making a Parents Fund gift is through our Lumberjack Draft. Lumberjack Draft is a convenient electronic funds transfer of your gift in monthly installments from your checking account. To take advantage of the convenient method of giving, simply use our printable mail-in gift form, indicate the total amount of your gift and mail it in with a voided check or deposit slip.

 

If you have more questions or comments about the SFA Parents Fund please contact:

April L. Smith '02
Assistant Director of Development – Annual Campaigns
Phone - (936) 468-5406
Toll Free - (800) 319-9517
E-mail - alsmith@sfasu.edu

Top of page

Future Students Visit Academics Students Faculty/Staff Library Alumni & Friends Administration