“It really IS a few caring people who change the world!” commented Betsyann Wilson, executive director of Northland Pioneer College Friends and Family, after Arizona Gives Day at noon on Tuesday, April 6. The nonprofit alliance received $42,467 in 97 unique donations during the twenty-four-hour fundraising campaign.
“We were in a new, more competitive pool this year,” added Wilson. “For the past three years, we have been in the Small Non-Profits category. This year, we were moved to mid-sized.” The total donations for NPC Friends and Family totaled about $1,000 less than in 2021, but the individual gifts were much larger. “We received donations from 176 individual donors in 2021,” Wilson remarked. “This year, we had 97 unique donors, meaning gifts averaged about $438 each.”
Unofficial totals showed that $4,227,399 was raised for nonprofit organizations statewide. This figure is down approximately $1.2 million from the 2021 AZ Gives Day event. In past years, the event ran from midnight to midnight on the first Tuesday in April. This year, it ran from noon on Tuesday, April 5, through noon on April 6.
“There were 915 nonprofits registered for this year’s campaign, and we finished 11th overall, statewide, including small, medium, and large groups,” continued Wilson. Friends and Family is considered a mid-sized nonprofit, based on annual revenues.
This year’s Friends and Family AZ Gives campaign focused on raising funds for the organization’s named and memorial scholarships, including the Mary Kay Smith Lindy, Pres Winslow, Jennifer Lee Witt, Charles Lisitzky, VAL 153, and Martia and Louis Smith Memorial Scholarships, the Jon Graff, Ph.D., scholarship fund, and the Claude Millett Endfield Early Childhood Development Scholarship.
The Taking Flight Scholarship in Memory of Dr. Eric B. Henderson, established by his family and friends following his death in March 2020, grew by an additional $8,500 this year. “I am pleased to see the continued support for Eric’s scholarship,” Wilson notes. “He gave so much over the 20 years he spent at NPC, both as a professor and administrator. It’s great to see his memory honored in this way.” The Taking Flight scholarship is the first of its kind, supporting graduates of Northland Pioneer College in matriculating to a residential university program.
“Chris Corbin and our friends at The House in Show Low once again donated $6,000 to fund their NPC On The House Scholarship, which will provide $2,000 next year - $1,000 per semester – to 2022 graduates from Snowflake, Show Low, and Blue Ridge High School. Their donation was given as a challenge gift, and it motivated donors to give $6,000 by noon on April 5. “No matter how you look at it, NPC students won big through the generous donations of many people,” remarked Wilson.
All donations to NPC Friends & Family, a 501 (c) (3) organization, are tax-deductible. NPC Friends & Family is organized exclusively to support the mission and goals of Northland Pioneer College through the advancement of college programs and services, establishment and growth of student scholarships, and positive promotion of NPC. For more information about fundraising events or creating or donating to a scholarship, please contact Betsyann Wilson at (928) 536-6245, betsy.wilson@npc.edu, or consider giving a gift today by visiting www.npcfriendsfamily.org.
