Covington Catholic Class of 1949 Responds to Challenge in Request for Scholarship Fund

Sat, 09/20/2014 - 18:37 RCN Newsdesk

It started when a member of the Class of 1949 anonymously contributed $50,000 toward a scholarship fund in the name of his class.

The gift was given with the hope that remaining members of his class that graduated 65 years ago would participate in honor of their reunion.

The school's advancement director, Sue Finke asked the class to "consider the education, friendships, and values obtained and experiences had because you were able to attend Covington Catholic High School. This scholarship gives you the opportunity to give back and hopefully help a student receive the benefits you once did."

Upon hearing of this generous gift, Dennis Doyle, a friend of the school, challenged the remaining sixteen members of the class by committing an additional matching gift of $25,000. That would build the scholarship to $100,000.

This scholarship will become part of an overall endowment that will help to offset need based tuition assistance that would typically come from the school’s budget, according to a news release. The endowment will use five percent of the scholarship fund for tuition assistance. This will allow the scholarship to be perpetual. A fully-funded scholarship of $160,000 provides full tuition ($8,000 per year) for a student.

Gifts can be contributed to this scholarship through a one-time gift, in annual installments or even through planned giving from one’s estate. The Covington Catholic endowment is a very important part of the financial stability of the school while taking care of those young men who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford a Covington Catholic education.

Staff report

Photo provided