“RPI helped give me the knowledge, people skills, and relationships to be successful. Once I reached a degree of success, I felt the responsibility to give back and take a risk on the next generation of students.”
Paying it Forward. One Student at a Time.
The power to make a difference in the lives of our students is fully realized through the Patroon Scholars Program of the Rensselaer Annual Fund. Since 1995, the Patroon Scholars Program has provided vital scholarship dollars for more than 300 talented Rensselaer students. Rensselaer offers the prestigious Patroon Scholarship only to candidates with strong academic achievement along with demonstrated leadership, service and community involvement.
With an annual gift of $10,000 per year for four (or five*) consecutive years, a scholarship is created in your name, and awarded to an incoming qualified freshman. As the student progresses each year, the scholarship offers an incentive to maintain excellence and builds the type of relationship between the sponsor and student that lasts a lifetime. (*for School of Architecture students)
Supporters of this program are encouraged to meet their students throughout the year, particularly at the annual Patroon and Donor Recognition Brunch, and many have developed lasting relationships over the years. In addition to providing counsel to students, Patroon Scholar donors help to instill a culture of philanthropy at Rensselaer and inspire the next generation to give.
Things for you to consider about the Patroon Scholarship Program:
- Support your School: Your scholarship can be designated to someone attending your favored school. (Engineering, Science, etc.)
- Support Underrepresented Females in STEM: In addition to a school designation, your gift can be further designated toward a female (or male) student. You can support a woman on her journey into a science, technology, engineering, or math field, or school or her choice.
- Gift Match: Your scholarship gift is eligible for a corporate gift match benefit, meaning if your company offers a 1:1 match, you can support a Patroon Scholar for only $5,000/yr.
- Honor/Memorial Options: This scholarship can be named after the person of your choice (subject to approval). It is a great chance to honor a loved one or special professor for four years.
- Group options: This is a great program for a Reunion class or club looking for group giving options. They can name the scholarship, receive updates on the student, and meet the student, if applicable.
- Annual Fund Gift: A Patroon Scholarship gift is counted as an Annual Fund gift, and is the perfect opportunity those wishing to increase their giving to the Rensselaer Annual Fund.
- Donor Recognition: Gifts to support Patroon Scholarships receive credit for Rensselaer donor recognition groups.
- Planned Giving: The Office of Institute Advancement would be pleased to discuss how you may include scholarship giving in your estate plans
MEET OUR SCHOLARS AND DONORS
“A great education comes at a price. Right now, students are rich on potential, and donors are rich in capital. So I’m thankful that my Patroon Scholar donor Paul Lang found success and decided to make an investment in me, and I plan one day to invest in a scholarship for a future student.”
How does supporting the Patroon Scholars program help transform the life of a student, who in turn, will help change the world?
In the video below, Patroon Scholar Zoe Anderson ’17 provides her answer.