New year, new goal: Giving back to students
Is Jan. 1 a bully or buddy? Do you think about everything you haven’t accomplished yet or feel inspired to explore new opportunities?
However you view the new year, chances are you’re already thinking about how to make 2025 different. If giving back tops your list, consider supporting San Jacinto College students.
Robert Cage, San Jacinto College Foundation executive director, shares how to get started:
A: Education and workforce training have an incredible impact on our community. For the past 60 years, San Jac has enriched the lives of those who live and work here. But it starts with investing in students.
The San Jacinto College Foundation’s goal is to eliminate financial barriers, enhance access to education, and promote student success by increasing available resources.
Since 1996, we’ve provided more than 31,000 scholarships totaling over $23.6 million to students. We’ve also provided $1.5 million to faculty for educational innovations.
Q: What are San Jac students’ greatest needs?
A: The biggest are scholarships (like the Promise @ San Jac Scholarship) and emergency support. Many of our students are first-generation college students, and some are attending part time while working a job. They face multiple financial hardships during their academic journey. You get to help them when they have nowhere else to turn.
Q: How can I make a gift?
A: We make it easy. You can support students through:
- Cash gifts
- Matching gifts
- Planned giving (bequest, trusts, real estate, personal property)
- Memorial and tribute gifts
- Donor-advised funds
- Gifts of stocks and securities
- Recurring credit card or bank draft
Q: What about giving through my estate?
A: You can make a gift simply by naming San Jacinto College in your will or trust. By notifying the Foundation, you can work with us to plan the use of your gift and have your desired impact. For sample bequest information, please contact us at 281-998-6104.
Q: How much of my gift goes directly to students and programs?
A: The Foundation doesn’t charge fees or operational costs on donor gifts, so every dollar goes directly to the area you want to support.
Q: I have more time than money. What are other ways I can support students?
A: You can still engage with San Jac and the Foundation by investing your time and talents. There are opportunities to volunteer at campus events, speak to students, and serve on event organization committees, advisory committees, and our Foundation board of directors.
Q: How will I see the impact I’m making?
A: As a donor, you’ll receive the Foundation’s annual scholarship reports, a donor impact report, and the Chancellor’s Report to the Community.
You may not meet every student you’re impacting, but you’ll have a part in changing lives. I think about Kevin Rodriguez, an alumnus who is now teaching at San Jac. For Kevin, receiving a Foundation scholarship meant much more than getting financial help: “It symbolized belief — belief in my potential, my dreams, and my aspirations.”
As a donor, you show students their dreams are not only possible but worth pursuing.
Visit sanjac.edu/foundation. Send your check (made payable to San Jacinto College Foundation) to San Jacinto College
Foundation, 4624 Fairmont Parkway, Suite 210, Pasadena, Texas 77504. Call us at 281-998-6104 to arrange payment by phone.Three Ways to Give
Online
By Mail
By Phone
About San Jacinto College
Surrounded by monuments of history, evolving industries, maritime enterprises of today, and the space age of tomorrow, San Jacinto College has served the people of East Harris County, Texas, since 1961. The College is ranked second in the nation among more than 1,100 community colleges, as designated by the Aspen Institute and was named an Achieving the Dream Leader College of Distinction in 2020. As a Hispanic-Serving Institution that spans five campuses, plus an online college, San Jacinto College serves approximately 45,000 credit and non-credit students annually. It offers more than 200 degrees and certificates across eight major areas of study that put students on a path to transfer to four-year institutions or enter the workforce. The College is fiscally sound, holding bond ratings of AA+ by Standard & Poor’s and Aa2 by Moody’s.
