Foundation President's Message
Throughout the 1990s, I worked closely with my company’s former CEO in coordinating our corporate contributions. He had always been under the impression that we looked at each request from non-profits on a case-by-case basis.
No, I told him, there was a clear pattern. Consciously or not, he had steered the largest part of our charitable giving toward higher education, organizations serving youth and community development projects. What they had in common was that they were all investments in the future. He admitted that he hadn’t recognized the pattern, “but, I sure like the sound of it!”
We’ve been fortunate to hear that same wonderful sound at Northwest. Each year, gifts from alumni and friends of the University help us continue making investments in the future. Private support is the difference-maker that enables a university to reach for excellence and distinguish itself from its peers. The thousands of contributions made to the Northwest Foundation each year has helped the University become an acknowledged leader in higher education, with growing recognition of the value of a Northwest education leading to near-capacity enrollment.
Like 45 percent of those attending Northwest today, I was the first generation of my family to attend college. One of the reasons I chose Northwest over the two other universities that had accepted me was a scholarship offer. The amount wouldn’t sound impressive today, but relative to tuition in 1970, it was very helpful.
In 2002, President Hubbard noted at a Northwest Foundation board meeting that nearly 50 students that year had enrolled at Northwest, but did not show up for their first semester. Consistent with its Culture of Quality philosophy, the University followed up to learn why. In nearly all cases, it was a simple matter of not being able to assemble the required financial resources. That led to creation of the Adopt-a-Bearcat program and led many donors to fund permanently endowed scholarships through the Foundation.
Since he retired as CEO, my former boss has focused a good deal of his personal philanthropy on helping young people gain a college education. “A good education is the greatest investment you can make in yourself,” he once told me, “and it’s the greatest gift you can bestow upon someone else.”
Indeed it is. On behalf of the Northwest Foundation, I thank all our donors for joining us in making that greatest of all gifts.
Mike Faust ’74
President
Northwest Foundation, Inc.