Good things are happening at Montana State University Billings. And we’re just getting started: a new school year, a vision focused on our students’ success, and an unstoppable Yellowjacket spirit. And that’s why we need scholarship and programmatic support from donors like you.
When you give the MSU Billings Foundation a gift, you choose what your gift supports: specify a college or fund, or contribute to current leadership priorities. Together, we can ensure a bright future for MSU Billings and its students.
Learn more by expanding the sections below or connect with a member of our development team.
Priorities for Fundraising Year 2022-2023
Our best, our brightest — and Montana’s future
Since 2002, the Chancellor’s Excellence Awards have been awarded annually to incoming Montana State University Billings first-year students who exemplify the institution’s core values of academic excellence, demonstrated leadership, and service to others — skills necessary to impact an evolving global community.
Students are selected based on their academic merit, leadership, and community service. In 2021, 48 students applied. Of them, a dozen finalists were invited to participate in video interviews. Only three students were granted a place among the Chancellor’s Scholars.
Our goal is to enhance the existing Chancellor’s Excellence Award endowment to $2.5 million.
- At that level, the fund would support $100,000 in Chancellor’s Excellence Awards each year.
- Twenty award recipients would receive $5,000 per year for up to four years or the completion of their bachelor’s degree.
- An endowment provides stable funding which allows MSU Billings to make long-term scholarship commitments to worthy students.
Learn more | Support the Chancellor’s Excellence Award
Invest in access, invest in success
The Yellowjacket Access Scholarship is a retention initiative that strategically targets students whose persistence is most impacted by financial need. We want to raise $200,000 — that’s 200 students who will be $1,000 closer to crossing the finish line, diploma in hand.
The Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships is the office that most often encounters students at risk of dropping out because they cannot secure the financial support they need to persist. This office will award $1,000 ($500 per semester) to students who meet the following criteria:
- Any continuing student enrolled in any MSU Billings program;
- Earning Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP);
- Must be enrolled full-time (12+ credits) OR enrolled part-time (6+ credits) if the student is an adult learner in a 2-year program;
- With preference to Montana residents and students who demonstrate financial need.
Learn more | Support the Yellowjacket Access Scholarship
Removing obstacles, one gift at a time
Too many students drop out for lack of financial support, leaving our institution with student debt and without a degree. The Finish Line Scholarship honors their determination while removing that last financial hurdle between an MSU Billings student and their commencement ceremony.
We want to raise $100,000 to support this graduation initiative. When MSU Billings students cross the finish line, diploma in hand, it’s a win for every aspect of our university: our student completion rate, our campus vitality, our community engagement, and most importantly, our new alumni.
The Finish Line Scholarship is managed through the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships. Management by the office that most often encounters needful students puts the Finish Line Scholarship in the hands of administrators who can apply the award where it’s needed when it’s needed.
- Any continuing student enrolled in any MSU Billings program within 30 credits of graduation;
- Earning Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP);
- With preference to Montana residents and students who demonstrate financial need.