Future Generations
Georgia Commitment Scholarships are endowed, meaning that they will be awarded in perpetuity—helping students for many years to come.
The Georgia Commitment Scholarship Program, a highlight of the historically successful Commit to Georgia Campaign, was created to grow the number of need-based scholarships awarded to UGA students—a giant step toward eliminating the financial obstacles for those seeking a UGA education.
THE NEED
Each year, around 20 percent of UGA undergraduates receive a federal Pell Grant, which is awarded to students with exceptional financial need. Among those Pell Grant recipients, well over a thousand students report a family income less than tuition and fees. For many, that means everything in their college experience—housing, food, transportation, tuition—is up to them. Some contribute to their family’s income on top of it all.
And even after receiving HOPE or Zell Miller scholarships and the Pell Grant, students from the lowest income families still have a financial aid gap of $11,500 on average.
These students, who pursue education in the face of financial strain, deserve to be supported. That’s where the GCS Program comes in.
THE IMPACT
Since the program’s creation in 2017, GCS donors have seen their gifts transform to have twice the impact: the UGA Foundation matched any gift in the amount of $50,000; $75,000; or $100,000 to establish an endowed undergraduate need-based scholarship. Those endowments are providing significant scholarships in perpetuity to support deserving students with unmet financial need, and they will help generations of students earn a degree at the University of Georgia.
THE OPPORTUNITY
You can become part of the Georgia Commitment Scholarship Program today. Thanks to the overwhelming success of the program, the UGA Foundation Board of Trustees voted in June 2021 to allocate an additional $1 million in matching funds to encourage UGA supporters to create more GCS funds.
When you commit to a $50,000, $75,000 or $100,000 gift to create a GCS fund, you double your impact with the UGA Foundation match, you create permanent support for deserving UGA students and you drive UGA closer to its goal of providing support for every student in need.
If you’re interested in endowing a Georgia Commitment Scholarship, or learning more about how to support this program, please contact Michelle Versfeld. She can answer any questions you have and share how your gift will help further the education of a student at UGA.
Michelle Versfeld
Program Coordinator
mversfeld@uga.edu
The GCS Program is committed to…
Some call it giving back. We call it being a Georgia Bulldog.
Hundreds of scholarships have been established to help driven, deserving students. It is our goal to support every UGA student in need, and the GCS Program is helping us get there.
Georgia Commitment Scholarship Donor
“The University of Georgia has done so much for me, and I felt it was important that I give back in a way that supports the university and the community I love.”
- Josh Brooks (MS '14)
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Georgia Commitment Scholarship Donor
“Being a GCS student means opening opportunities that would have otherwise been closed and experiencing first-hand the generosity of UGA supporters.”
- Destiny Favors (BBA '21)
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For more information about Georgia Commitment Scholarships, please complete the form below.
Note to students: Inquiries about this scholarship should be made through the Office of Financial Aid.
