TRANSFORMATIONAL PHILANTHROPIC OPPORTUNITIES
GEORGE FOSTER Spring 2024
Presented to
Unlock possibilities. Create opportunities. Build a legacy. A strong endowment is a hallmark of a great university, ensuring stability and enhancing prestige. Endowed positions, chairs and professorships give students access to top-tier scholars who significantly heighten a program’s excellence, provide extraordinary opportunities for career development and enable the university to recruit and retain stellar faculty and students in a highly competitive field. We are pleased to present the following philanthropic opportunities at the University of North Texas that will secure your UNT legacy and create an indelible impact on our student journalists.
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The voice, mirror and defender of students since 1916 Created and produced by students and for students, the North Texas Daily has been a constant, unifying presence in a rapidly changing media landscape. In this experiential lab, student journalists acquire the ideas, tools and solutions needed to meet the challenges of an evolving media landscape and are able to report without fear or favor. Each year’s staff passes down to its successors a deep commitment to ethics, truthfulness and professionalism — qualities that will last a lifetime. The honor roll of former editors-in-chief includes successful professionals across many fields — world-changing journalists, entrepreneurs, business leaders, teachers, professors, lawyers and at least one appeals court judge. Daily veterans speak of sharing a proud and lasting bond. The North Texas Daily helped mold them. Coping with an ongoing budget crisis The North Texas Daily has historically received substantial support each year from student service fees to manage operation at the university level. In August 2023, funding transferred to central administration through the provost’s office. However, unlike the student service fee, central funding may be more vulnera- ble in lean economic times. Furthermore, the Daily’s existing operating budget does not cover the basic requirements of running a working newsroom, much less provide funding for the “extras” that make the Daily a unique experience. • Lack of funding prohibits equipment replacement and updates, often forcing students to use personal equipment for photography and videography. Student journalists need state-of-the-art equipment that reflects industry standards to properly prepare for a successful career in today’s media landscape. • Funding is not available for vital student development, such as profes- sional training or travel to conferences to present content, accept awards and engage in networking. You are the solution! George, your transformational gift will establish a permanent source of funding for the North Texas Daily , ensuring that it remains an editorially independent, real-world laboratory serving as the official historical record of the University of North Texas. A significant commitment may be recognized with a naming of your choice, pending approval by the UNT Board of Regents.
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George Foster Newsroom $5,000,000 Funding at this level will transform the newsroom by creating new opportunities and experiences that will enable student journalists to hone their craft and celebrate their successes. Once fully funded, this $5M endowment will generate about $187,500 per year in perpetuity (based on current rates) to support: • New equipment — cameras, computers, software — that reflects what is being used in the industry. • Student travel to conferences for professional development and training, or to accept awards they win for their hard work. • Student travel for special reporting projects. • Hosting and maintenance of the North Texas Daily’s website. • Additional student jobs for better coverage and reach with an enhanced digital presence. • Full funding of operations and equipment. George Foster Endowment $2,000,000 Once fully funded, this $2M endowment will generate about $75,000 per year in perpetuity (based on current rates) to support: • Endowment and naming of the editor-in-chief position. • Partial funding of operations and equipment. The editor-in-chief position is a challenging, high-profile student job. The student, often with little training, leads their peers for an entire semester across 16 print editions and a daily online presence. The EIC usually works many more hours than what they are paid for. Your gift will enable the EIC to receive training and increased pay to help them focus on the job. Your gift will also create a budget that the EIC will manage (with an advisor), giving them the opportunity to leave their mark at the Daily by procuring new equipment or funding a special reporting project that requires travel.
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The transformational impact of your gift Information sharing across social media platforms, economic pressures and threats to journalistic independence are just a few of the challenges faced by modern journalists in this digital age. By addressing the problems that may tend to disrupt society, journalism plays a vital role in transforming our community and the nation. Your generous gift to the North Texas Daily will enable UNT to continue producing skilled, ethical media professionals who uphold and champion the principles of truthful, unbiased and impactful journalism, thus securing the integrity of a free press throughout the North Texas region and beyond.
"Working at the North Texas Daily fundamentally changed my trajectory as a journalist for the better. The two years I spent at the Daily not only bolstered what I was learning at the Mayborn, but also equipped me with new skills and experiences I wouldn't have had anywhere else. I've read and interacted with other student publications, and I believe what sets the Daily and its students apart is our collective passion and dedication to thorough, ethical reporting. Serving as editor-in- chief gave me the privilege to embrace that passion at the highest level and instill those values and lessons in our volunteers. Being able to see my fellow students' love for journalism grow with every issue was one of the most rewarding parts of being editor." Ayden Runnels Editor-in-Chief (2022-23)
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THE GEORGE FOSTER NEWSROOM
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Thank you for being a champion of UNT! George, we are deeply grateful that you would consider a gift of this magnitude to the University of North Texas. Your generosity and philanthropic spirit will ensure that the North Texas Daily continues to serve as an immersive, experiential learning lab where student journalists are taught the ethics, critical thinking and hard work demanded by a free press in a participatory democracy. Bryant Marion Director of Development College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences 940-565-2781 bryant.marion@unt.edu
Stan Walker Executive Director of Principal Gifts College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences 940-565-4907 stan.walker@unt.edu
Dr. Andrea Miller Professor & Dean Mayborn School of Journalism 940-565-2205 andrea.miller@unt.edu
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