Rising to the Challenge: Donors Increase Scholarship Endowments With 1-to-1 Matching

At a March 2024 meeting, the Whitman College Board of Trustees approved a compelling new initiative: The college would provide a 1-to-1 match for gifts of $50,000 or more to be co-invested in new or existing scholarship endowments.

Part of the Upward Together campaign, the matching initiative is moving the college closer to the goal of meeting the full financial need of all students by expanding both need-based and merit-based scholarships.

To date, more than a dozen Whitman alumni and families have been inspired by the match and stepped up to create new scholarship endowments or add to existing ones. Together, they’re securing a brighter future for generations of Whitman students to come. These are a few of their stories.

Supporting First-Gen Dreams

When Rebecca Zumeta Edmonds ’01 and her husband, Nathaniel, heard about Whitman’s initiative to match major gifts toward student scholarships, they jumped at the chance to make a larger impact on students. They were the first to commit to establishing a new endowed scholarship to earn the match.

“We’ve had a pattern of giving to Whitman for many years and have been directing donations to first-generation college students and other students not able to afford Whitman, but we were looking for ways to be more intentional about giving,” Rebecca says. “We were already talking to the college about options for making a gift to the Upward Together campaign, and when we heard about this opportunity, we moved on it. The timing was lucky, and it made us feel even more comfortable with making our gift.”

Rebecca and Nathaniel decided to channel their giving toward establishing the Zumeta Edmonds Family Scholarship Endowment, which will provide financial support to first-generation college students who would not otherwise be able to afford a Whitman education.

“We see the value of a liberal arts education, and as parents to five children ages 3 to 20, we understand how daunting applying to and paying for college can be, particularly for students whose families don’t have experience with the application process. We hope to open doors for students who come from a range of backgrounds to help enhance access to the Whitman experience,” Rebecca says.

Paying It Forward

Like the Zumeta Edmonds family, Jason Douangpanya ’98 and Heather Riesen Douangpanya ’98 hope to help attract diverse students to Whitman—and also want to give back after their own experiences as scholarship recipients.

“As beneficiaries of scholarships that allowed us to attend Whitman, we know firsthand the value of a Whitman education in preparing for future success. This is an opportunity for us to give back,” Heather says. “We hope to attract students of diverse backgrounds and educate future generations. We believe that capable and qualified students should have the opportunity to attend college regardless of their financial situation.”

Jason and Heather have made a commitment to establish the Riesen and Douangpanya Scholarship Endowment, which will provide financial support for any student with financial need.

“Whitman’s 1-to-1 matching initiative allows our donation to double the impact to students with need,” Heather adds. “As a result, a greater number of students will benefit.”

Celebrating a Whitman Experience

While Lynda Horney Orr ’60 only attended Whitman for two years, her time on campus was life-changing. Lynda was only able to come to Whitman because of the grants and music scholarships she received. Once she arrived here, she made many friends through pledging a sorority and becoming involved in the Music department.

“My Whitman experience was the best thing that had happened to me in my life at that point,” she says. “It gave me such a good start.”

Lynda married after her sophomore year and moved to Portland, finishing her degree at Lewis & Clark College, but Whitman has always remained close to her heart. She has stayed involved, even attending reunions and loyally making gifts to the Music department and The Whitman Fund each year. Now, she has established the Lynda Ion Orr Music Scholarship, which will provide financial support to music students, especially those interested in piano performance.

“I would be thrilled if this scholarship attracts another music student to Whitman. I could not have gone to Whitman without scholarship help, and I’d like to give a student like myself the same opportunity,” she says. “The scholarship match was appealing because it made my $50,000 go a lot further.”

Honoring a Son’s Memory

Pam and Michael Fishman experienced an unthinkable tragedy when their son Joshua Fishman ’18 passed away during the first week of his junior year at Whitman. Shortly after his death, Pam and Michael chose to honor him by establishing the Joshua Fishman Scholarship Endowment, providing need-based scholarship support.

“It was one of the easiest decisions we made with respect to honoring Josh,” Pam says. “Whitman was undeniably Josh’s happy place. Whether he was helping friends understand organic chemistry, cranking out a paper for his Encounters Philosophy professor, who he respected immensely, whipping up a late-night dish for his Phi Delt fraternity brothers, or going on a Ski Club trip, Whitman brought out the best in Josh and gave him a sense of purpose. While his bright future was cut short, we believe Josh would be proud of our helping other students achieve a high-quality and affordable education at Whitman.”

Pam and Michael, along with family members and friends, have been supporting the scholarship annually since it was established, but the matching initiative prompted them to make an additional major gift commitment.

“Honestly, it was a ‘no-brainer’ for us. We had every intention of continuing to grow the Joshua Fishman Scholarship Fund, but this allows us to do it even faster,” Pam says. “It also captures the essence of the partnership Whitman brings to the community when faced with the challenge of how to minimize the financial barriers to achieving a Whitman education. We think this is a great solution and were eager to embrace it.”

Preparing Students for Success

Matthew Ames ’70 believes his Whitman education played a pivotal role in his success in his graduate and postdoctoral education, and his career as a basic and translational research scientist at the Mayo Clinic.

“The Whitman commitment to graduate students who think critically, read and write critically, and speak critically prepares them for virtually any career,” he says.

When his daughter Laura Ames ’16 also chose to attend Whitman, he was thrilled. She graduated magna cum laude and with honors, and her time at Whitman prepared her well to later graduate from the University of Washington School of Law. A few years after her graduation from Whitman, the Ames family, including Matthew’s wife and Laura’s mother, Paula, established the Ames Family, Professor Todd and Professor Walters Scholarship Endowment with a $50,000 gift. It provides need-based scholarship support for students in honor of Dr. James S. Todd and Dr. Jonathan S. Walters, two professors who had great impacts on Matthew and Laura during their time on campus.

Once the family learned of the match initiative, it was an incentive to make an additional major gift to the scholarship, in essence tripling their original gift.

“Our family are strong believers in the value of a first-class liberal arts education,” Matthew says. “We think helping secure this education for future students is important, valuable, and a worthwhile goal for our modest family philanthropy. ... We hope it will help them feel secure in their Whitman experience and facilitate their student lives while at Whitman.”

Opening Doors for International Students

When David Dennis ’61 attended Whitman, the student body looked vastly different than it does today.

“In the early ’60s, there were no international students, that I knew of, and minority students were rare,” he says.

David lived and worked as an infectious disease epidemiologist and researcher in developing countries for almost 20 years and spent time throughout his 50-plus-year career collaborating in research and training with international colleagues.

“My extensive experiences overseas showed me the critical need, as well as the moral and ethical responsibility, to transfer and promote capability and expertise,” he says.

Hoping to promote diversity of thought and cultural background to enrich the Whitman community, David chose to use the scholarship match to contribute to the existing Hunter International Scholarship, set up by the Hunter family in 1999 to support international students attending Whitman.

David has been supporting the scholarship annually for many years, but he credits the offer of the match as the incentive to make a commitment to a major gift now, rather than waiting.