A lead gift of $10 million from the estate of Captain William L. Bullard ’59, the largest in the school’s 79-year history, set the pace and the effort, which started on June 1, 2017, went public with $14 million. At the campaign’s kickoff dinner, another $100,000 in gifts and pledges was presented to President Brennan.
From that point on, the momentum never waned. In fact, the interest in assisting students who want an MMA degree has only increased with time.
Since the campaign’s inception, twenty-eight endowed funds were created, and thirty pass-through scholarships were established. In addition, gifts were made to many already established scholarships, which added to the campaign and, most importantly, provided additional scholarship funds for deserving students.
During the three-plus years of campaign counting, Maine Maritime Academy experienced a 70% increase in the market value of its endowed scholarships. While some of this growth was a result of investment income, a large percentage was the result of gifts added to the endowment.
These funds will now establish scholarship opportunities in perpetuity. With every dollar raised, the life of a student at MMA is transformed. And, through this effort we have begin to create a sea change at MMA; we are engaged in creating a culture of giving at MMA.
We can transform MMA with scholarship support. The MMA trustees and administration invite you to partner with us to create a lasting impact on the future of prospective students and on the life of the academy. Together, we are launching Opening Doors, Changing Lives: The Scholarship Campaign for Maine Maritime Academy, with the target goal of generating $20 million over the next three years, including both long-term (endowed) scholarships and a boost to current use (passthrough) scholarships to immediately address student need. These funds will be strictly designated for undergraduate and graduate scholarship aid. We are dedicating our energies toward the next significant step in our institution’s history: to grow the college’s endowment so that we can fund scholarships in perpetuity. Our goal is to put $18 million of our $20 million initiative into the endowment. The remaining $2,000,000 will be for current use (pass-through) funds directed to immediate scholarships. We hope you will recognize this need and respond to the call.
Why Are Scholarships Our Most Pressing Need?
Currently, Maine Maritime Academy can’t compete with schools with large endowments or those offering tuition discounts to prospective students. In order to attract and retain the students who succeed at MMA—students who are focused on the academic and training programs we offer and equipped with a passion for handson learning—we must increase the amount of scholarship support available.
The Need for Scholarship Support
In addition to rising costs and a decrease in State appropriations over time, the need for scholarship support also stems from a short fundraising history at the academy, and our relatively young age as a college. We are engaged in creating a culture of giving at MMA. Creating that culture means educating every stakeholder, beginning with current students and extending to our oldest alumni. We need the entire MMA community to understand the need and to have a hand in the sustainable future of Maine Maritime Academy.
Endowed Scholarship Awards
(historical & projected)
student’s life;
open a door to
their future.
Power Engineering Technology
Scholarships have really helped me. They take away a lot of pressure about when the bill is going to get paid and how it’s going to get paid. I can focus on academics and involvement in campus activities and not stress about bills.
Striving to Remain Affordable: Cutting Costs is Not Enough
Maine Maritime Academy has consistently worked to contain costs while protecting our most important assets: students, faculty, and staff, as well as the high standards that define our academic excellence. But, with approximately 80 percent of our students requiring need-based scholarship assistance, our best efforts are not enough. The number of students with demonstrated financial need who have their need fully met is 15%. Our operating budget is strained, and students are graduating with substantial debt. The class of 2018’s average student loan debt was $54,993 at graduation. Loan debt does not stay steady; it grows as interest—currently about 4.5% to 6% annually—is added to the principal.
Facts You May Already Know
- Accepted students will choose to go where the cost of their degree is affordable.
- In the current economy, our biggest challenge is to provide an affordable price tag for an MMA degree.
- MMA’s cost of attendance forces many accepted students to choose a college or university that can offer more financial aid.
Facts You May Not Know
- Attending the academy is expensive: In-state unlimited license majors are paying $38,342 to attend this year; Out-of-state students are paying $52,562. For all other majors, Maine students pay $27,688, and out-of-state students pay $41,908. (These figures reflect the total cost of attendance: tuition, room and board, and fees. See chart below for historical tuition data.)
- Roughly 80% of the student body receives some type of financial aid in the form of scholarships or loans.
Annual Cost of Tuition
(1975-2019)
Marine Engineering Technology
Scholarships have relieved a lot of financial stress for me and my family, and it’s comforting to know that people are out there willing to pay it forward and help me out.
opportunity
of an MMA
education a
reality for
a deserving
student.
The Opportunity
Your scholarship contributions will allow MMA students to live out their potential, their goals, and their ambitions without an excessive financial burden of debt upon graduation. These same students are the next generation of mariners who will uphold Maine Maritime Academy’s reputation in the maritime industry and set us apart in the competitive world of higher education. Doubling Maine Maritime Academy’s endowment will be a catalyst toward a secure and vibrant future, assuring continued leadership in the maritime world. With your generosity, and the dedication of other alumni, friends, and family, this goal is achievable.
Scholarships: A Lasting Impact
Perhaps no other philanthropy has as rich and as deep an effect as providing scholarship support. We invite you to contribute to this historic scholarship initiative by creating your own named scholarship fund. You may choose the method that means the most to you. For example, you may name your fund for yourself, a favorite professor, a family member, or an individual who has been instrumental in your life.
Named Scholarships
Need-based scholarships support those students who qualify for aid as determined through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. Roughly 24% of our student body receives a need-based scholarship (2017-2018 academic year).
Merit-based scholarships help the academy to recruit and retain the most highly qualified students. Often, these students wish to enroll at MMA, but we lose them to other prestigious colleges that offer better financial aid packages. Maine Maritime Academy currently has two levels of merit-based scholarships including the Presidential award ($6,500) and Dean award ($5,000).
Diversity scholarships allow the academy to recruit those populations that are underrepresented in our community. Those currently underrepresented are women, African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, and Pacific Islanders.
These scholarships are designed for upperclassmen who have had a major change in their personal or family lives that would otherwise prohibit them from continuing their college education. Funds are used so a student does not have to withdraw from college.
Current use or pass-through scholarships are annual gifts that go directly to supporting one or more students. Like an endowed gift, the donor may restrict their gift to a particular major, demographic area, GPA, etc. A current-use scholarship may fall into any of the four categories mentioned above.
Please speak with Christopher Haley to learn more or to set up your named scholarship: 207-326-2232; christopher.haley@mma.edu.
An endowed fund is like a savings account. MMA uses the interest earned for scholarship aid. A pass-through scholarship is like a checking account. A gift is made and the entire gift goes immediately toward scholarship support.
Miranda McIntire, Class of 2019International Business & Logistics
Cory O’Connell, Class of 2020Marine Transportation Operations
Rachel Borisko, Class of 2019Marine Biology/Small Vessel Operations
The quiet phase of Opening Doors, Changing Lives: the Scholarship Campaign for Maine Maritime Academy began on June 1, 2017.
The public phase of Opening Doors, Changing Lives: the Scholarship Campaign for Maine Maritime Academy launches on March 28, 2019 with a kickoff dinner to announce the campaign total to date: $13.9 million.
During the first three months of the public phase of the Opening Doors, Changing Lives Scholarship Campaign, MMA received $2.75 million toward to the $20 million target. Campaign total to date: $16.6 million.
In the three months ending September 30, 2019, MMA received a total of $1.615 million including a $1 million documented bequest earmarked to scholarships and $615,728 from 88 additional generous donors.
At the close of the calendar year, the Opening Doors, Changing Lives Scholarship Campaign had reached $18.431 million, including $216,568 received from 142 donors during the previous quarter.
One year after the kickoff (March 28, 2019), the campaign had surpassed $19 million. During the first quarter of 2020, the campaign reached $19.356 million in receipts, including $925,572 in gifts from 89 donors.
For the three months ending June 30, 2020, 138 donors made 192 gifts to 36 different scholarships and contributed $278,916.
For the three months ending September 30, 2020, 20 donors contributed $768,401.
In December 2020, 18 months prior to its June 2022 end date, the campaign surpassed its target goal of $20 million.
on in the next
generation.
We came to Maine Maritime Academy nine years apart and for different reasons, but here we are serving as co-chairs for Opening Doors, Changing Lives: The Scholarship Campaign for Maine Maritime Academy. This is one of the most exciting times in the academy’s history. We have the distinct privilege of working with an incredible team of volunteers who are passionately committed to raising $20 million over the next three years. Though the campaign target of $20 million will double the amount of scholarship support MMA currently awards, the ultimate goal for this campaign is to help ensure MMA’s long-term viability and sustainability.
While this is not Maine Maritime Academy’s largest campaign, it is the largest undertaking for a single focus – scholarships for deserving students. What can be more important to MMA’s future than ensuring that a student who wants to attend the academy has a competitive aid package to assist them? We believe this is the most important endeavor MMA has undertaken, so we accepted our alma mater’s call to co-chair this fundraising campaign, and to support it.
When Maine Maritime Academy was founded in 1941, cadets did not pay tuition. Back then, 90% of the academy budget came from appropriations from the State of Maine. Today, less than 21% of its operating income comes from the State of Maine, making scholarship funding even more important to enable families to afford the cost of attendance.
We encourage you to consider supporting this campaign. Together, we can not only double the amount of scholarship support MMA provides, but we can also proudly open doors and change the lives of many more deserving students who seek a Maine Maritime Academy education.
Capt. Larry D. Burrill ’77, Co-chair
Mr. Wayne A. Norton ’86, Co-chairMariner Magazine Profiles
Throughout the campaign, each issue of Mariner magazine will include a series of profiles. These profiles include scholarship recipients, campaign donors, and volunteers who are involved in the goal of raising $20 million for an endowed scholarship program.
Issue 1 – 2020
Issue 2 – 2019
Issue 3 – 2019
Scholarships
On June 1, 2017, Maine Maritime Academy started the silent phase of Opening Doors, Changing Lives: The Scholarship Campaign for Maine Maritime Academy. The $20 million target was designed to double the amount of scholarship support available to deserving students. Below is a list of new endowed and pass-through scholarships established since June 1, 2017. We are grateful to the following individuals for making Maine Maritime Academy one of your philanthropic priorities.
Endowed
- The Class of 1959 Endowed Regimental Scholarship Fund
- The Class of 1965 Regimental Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The Brodsky Family Future Mariner Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The Captain (USN Retired) and Mrs. Larry D. Burrill, ’77 Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The Casco Bay Alumni Chapter Emergency Endowed Scholarship
- The Diane Cavanagh Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The Malcom C. “Mac” Cianchette ‘73 Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The Collins Family Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The Carolyn and James Hart Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The Lawrence (Class of 1946) and Adele Ingraham Memorial Maritime Scholarship Fund
- The A. Edward Langlois, Jr. Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The Longmaid Family Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The Mariner Memorial Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The McBride Family Leadership Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The McBride Family Maritime Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The Susan B. Mitchell Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The Maine Maritime Academy Parent’s Association Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The CDR Gerard L. (Rod) Nelson ’43-2, Retired and Anna M. Berry Nelson Regimental Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The Charles E. Raymond ‘65 Scholarship Fund
- The Jon A. Thurau ’55 Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The Melissa A. Valliere ’01 Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The Douglas A. Ward ‘68 Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The J. Douglas and M. Lourdes Wellington MMA Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The RADM Mark R. Whitney ’84 Leadership Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The Mike and Kari Winget Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The Thomas H. Cook Deck Officer Memorial Scholarship Fund
- The William Mahoney ’56 Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The Ann Symington Endowed Scholarship Fund
Pass-Through
- The Captain and Mrs. Larry D. Burrill ’77 Pass-Through Scholarship Fund
- The Jimmy Card Memorial Pass-Through Scholarship Fund
- The Casco Bay Chapter Emergency Pass-Through Scholarship Fund
- The Cianchette Regimental Pass-Through Scholarship Fund
- The John N. “Jack” Cutliffe ’55 Memorial Pass-Through Scholarship Fund
- The Ashley E. Douglass ’07 Women in Business Pass-Through Scholarship Fund
- The Kirsten J. Friberg Pass-Through Scholarship Fund
- The G and H Towing Pass-Through Scholarship Fund
- The Greenleaf Family Pass-Through Scholarship Fund
- The Christopher N. Gridley Memorial Pass-Through Scholarship Fund
- The Maine State Credit Union – Norman R. Dubreuil Pass-Through Scholarship Fund
- The McBride Family Leadership and Maritime Pass-Through Scholarship Fund
- The McBride Family Leadership Pass-Through Scholarship Fund
- The McBride Family Maritmie Pass-Through Scholarship Fund
- The Susan B. Mitchell Pass-Through Scholarship Fund
- The Kelsey E. Nalette ’16 Memorial Pass-Through Scholarship Fund
- The NAODAN Chartering Pass-Through Scholarship Fund
- The National Cargo Bureau Pass-Through Scholarship Fund
- The CDR Gerard L. (Rod) Nelson ’43-2 USN, Retired and Anna M. Berry Nelson Regimental Pass-Through Fund
- The Paulsen Family Pass-Through Scholarship Fund
- The Charles E. Raymond Pass-Through Scholarship Fund
- The Scott Pass-Through Scholarship Fund
- The RADM Thomas K. Shannon Leadership Pass-Through Scholarship Fund
- The TK Foundation Maritime Pass-Through Scholarship Fund
- The Vision 20/20 Pass-Through Scholarship Fund
- The John S. Webb, Esq. Pass-Through Scholarship Fund
- The Captain William L. Pass-Through Bullard Scholarship Fund
- The Louise M. and Bruce R. Kelley Memorial Pass-Through Scholarship Fund
- The ND Paper Pass-Through Scholarship Fund
- The Ashley E. Douglas ’07 Pass-Through Scholarship Fund
Campaign Steering Committee
Co-chair
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mr. Wayne A. Norton ’86
Co-Chair
Gorham, Maine
Mr. Omar C. Chaar ’09
Windham, Maine
Ms. Katherine Greenleaf
(former Trustee)
Yarmouth, Maine
Rear Admiral Thomas K. Shannon ’82
St. Augustine, Florida
Mr. John S. Paulsen ’86
The Woodlands, Texas
Dr. William J. Brennan
President (ex officio)
Castine, Maine
Mr. Earle A. Cianchette ’77
Chairman of the Board
(ex officio)
Saco, Maine
Mr. Jason A. Oney ’96
Chair Advancement Committee Board of Trustees (ex officio)
Falmouth, Maine
Please contact Christopher Haley to learn more at 207-326-2232 or christopher.haley@mma.edu.
