Support a student

2011 ACPNS Alumni Appeal: Please give to support students like Jonathan

It's been an extraordinary start to 2011.

Across Australia and throughout our region, the aftermath of numerous natural disasters has cast the spotlight on the nonproft sector more than ever before. You've donated; you've given back to your community; you've pondered the impact of these events in the future. And so has the rest of Australia.

This year, The Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies (ACPNS) has continued reaching out to students from all over Australia to impart knowledge and expertise in philanthropy, the nonprofit sector and the social economy.

How scholarships help

Scholarships can also make the world of difference to many of our students by enabling them to stay enrolled and complete their degrees through ACPNS. Many of our students do not have the luxury of an employer-funded education subsidy and are often working on lower than commercial salaries, but scholarships help to level the playing field, both for them and the community organisations they support.

Thankfully for many of our students, where they live doesn't get in the way of making the most of what ACPNS has to offer. In fact, previous ACPNS scholarships and travel bursaries, funded by alumni and friends, have helped many students to make a difference in their organisations and communities throughout Australia.

In recent years we have shared stories of some of the students who have been supported through your generosity.  This year, I would like to share the story with you of current Graduate Certificate in Business student, Jonathan La Nauze.

Unlike the stories we have shared in the past, Jonathan studies by distance.

Since the first ACPNS students commenced their studies in 2002, one in five of our students have joined us to study remotely from interstate or regional Queensland. This means many of our alumni have personally experienced the additional challenges and costs facing our distance students.

Many students, like Jonathan, don't have the opportunity to simply pop into the QUT library at their convenience. And many, like Jonathan, have additional travel costs to consider with their studies each year.

Scholarships and bursaries make a big difference to the ability of many of our students to attend compulsory intensive programs and, ultimately, to graduate.  It's a proud tradition that has grown amongst our alumni and friends to reach out and support the next generation of nonproft students.

Types of support

We thank you and invite you to support ACPNS and reach out to support students in any of the following ways:

1. Student scholarships - to help cover the cost of tuition fees
2. Book bursaries - to enable students to buy the books they need
3. Travel bursaries - to help pay travel costs to attend intensive programs
   

Supporting scholarships, book and travel bursaries are a practical way you can help sustain our scholarship program and give back to the sector.

In addition to course fees and book costs, a distance student will also need to cover costs for return travel to Brisbane twice yearly to attend March and July ACPNS Intensive Programs; a minimum two nights accommodation in Brisbane twice yearly; meals and other expenses.

For Jonathan La Nauze, an ACPNS travel bursary and scholarship support means he can keep up his role as environmental campaigner in Melbourne while taking his passion for environmental issues to another level through his studies.

The ACPNS Alumni Chapter and the Centre will allocate your financial support to suitably qualified candidates, but we never have enough money to meet the demand for financial support from current and potential students.

How you can help

Please join with other members of the ACPNS community in making a tax deductible gift to bring a brighter future and support the next generation of ACPNS scholarship recipients and the organisations they support. The end of the financial year is almost here so you can quickly claim your tax deductible gift.

Donate Now

You can make a gift in one of three ways:

1. Secure online donation at www.giving.qut.edu.au/howtogive - please click on 'Donate Now' and select 'Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies (CPNS)' in the drop down menu of the 'Please use my gift to support' section of the donation web page
2. Post or fax the attached coupon (PDF file, 84.54 KB) to the QUT Alumni and Development Office
3. Phone through your credit card donation on 07 3138 9097.