MUSC alumni kick off 'Giving Tuesday' early with $450,000 for student scholarships

CHARLESTON, S.C. (Nov. 23, 2020) – Giving Tuesday kicked off early at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), with a $450,000 gift from the MUSC Alumni Association. To date, it is the single largest gift MUSC has received for Giving Tuesday, a global day of giving held the Tuesday after Thanksgiving.

The association’s gift will support scholarships, with $200,000 aimed at enhancing diversity across MUSC’s entire student body. The group has now created a scholarship for underrepresented students in each of MUSC’s six colleges: Dental Medicine, Graduate Studies, Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy. 

The remaining $250,000 will support the Elizabeth P. Waters Alumni Scholarship, awarded each year to an MUSC student who demonstrates academic excellence and financial need.

The money comes from alumni association membership dues collected over several decades. “The MUSC Alumni Association is proud to provide scholarships to deserving students,” said Lori Bartleson, College of Health Professions alumna and current Joint Alumni Board president. “We can think of no better use for these funds than to reinvest them in our students, who represent the future of health care.” 

On Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2021, the MUSC Foundation will ask the community to join MUSC alumni in giving to MUSC for Giving Tuesday. In addition to supporting MUSC’s six colleges, gifts may be designated to support MUSC’s greatest needs, advance research or support patient care. All donations go to the MUSC Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that has supported MUSC in its lifesaving mission since 1966. 

The foundation also launched a new fundraising platform in time for Giving Tuesday 2021. The new system makes it easy to create a personalized fundraiser from a phone or computer in seconds. Fundraisers receive coaching and tips via email and have the option to fundraise alone or with a team. 

Visit giving.musc.edu/Tuesday to start a fundraiser, make a gift or get up-to-the-minute updates on MUSC’s Giving Tuesday progress. Follow @MUSCFoundation and post with #GiveTueMUSC to join the conversation on social media.

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About the MUSC Foundation

The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Foundation was chartered in 1966 as a charitable educational foundation to support the education, research, patient care and other programs at the Medical University. The foundation is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, contributions to which are tax-deductible.

Since its beginning, the MUSC Foundation has encouraged such worthwhile academic enterprises as endowed professorships; scholarships; the acquisition and development of campus facilities to serve student, teaching, research or clinical needs; and awards in honor of academic excellence. In addition, it has encouraged achievements in biomedical research.

The Foundation is governed by a 31-member board of directors. The president of the Medical University is an ex-officio, non-voting member of the board. Three members of the MUSC Board of Trustees also serve on the board. The remaining 27 at-large directors are not directly affiliated with the university. Five are alumni of MUSC. The foundation’s funds are invested and managed by professional money managers selected by the foundation’s Investment Committee. This committee uses a professional investment advisor to assist in evaluating its managers.

About MUSC 

Founded in 1824 in Charleston, MUSC is home to the oldest medical school in the South as well as the state’s only integrated academic health sciences center, with a unique charge to serve the state through education, research and patient care. Each year, MUSC educates and trains more than 3,000 students and nearly 800 residents in six colleges: Dental Medicine, Graduate Studies, Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy. MUSC brought in more than$327.6 million in biomedical research funds in fiscal year 2021, continuing to lead the state in obtaining federal and National Institutes of Health funding, with more than $220 million. For information on academic programs, visit musc.edu.

As the clinical health system of the Medical University of South Carolina, MUSC Health is dedicated to delivering the highest-quality and safe patient care while training generations of compassionate, competent health care providers to serve the people of South Carolina and beyond. Close to 25,000 care team members provide care for patients at 14 hospitals with approximately 2,500 beds and  five additional hospital locations in development, more than 300 telehealth sites and nearly 750 care locations situated in the Lowcountry, Midlands, Pee Dee and Upstate regions of South Carolina. In 2021, for the seventh consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report named MUSC Health the No. 1 hospital in South Carolina. To learn more about clinical patient services, visit muschealth.org.

MUSC and its affiliates have collective annual budgets of $4.4 billion. The more than 25,000 MUSC team members include world-class faculty, physicians, specialty providers and scientists who deliver groundbreaking education, research, technology and patient care.