Create Your Impact 

Provide scholarships to students for years with our named annual and endowed scholarship options. When you give a named/endowed fund, the university doesn’t use your actual money to award students with scholarships. Instead, your money is invested. The interest earned from your invested money is used to fund scholarships.  Whereas a regular scholarship is a one-time thing, and named/endowed scholarship keeps producing income, in this way your donation can fund student scholarships for years.

• To establish an Named Annual Scholarship at Briar Cliff, we ask that you to donate a minimum of $1,000.
• To establish an Named Endowed Scholarship at Briar Cliff, we ask that you to donate a minimum of $25,000.

Help a greater number of students, contact us to give to an established scholarship fund today! 

While we love to discuss the commonalities of Briar Cliff University student experience, every single student who enters our community has their own story. They might have switched majors late in their academic career, experienced significant life changes while attending BCU, or just have a passion for educating and coaching. Founded on Catholic Franciscan values, our caring community strives to support every student’s journey. Common experiences can be very powerful, several members of our alumni and donors community have found inspiration and value in supporting unique journey scholarships, Peggy O’Neill Beyers is just one example. 

When Peggy O’Neill Beyers attended Briar Cliff University from 1962 to 1966, she did so with a physical handicap. During that time, accessibility requirements were vastly less regulated, so Beyers wanted to enjoy a normal college experience at an institution with a culture of caring that would be there to assist her. She was welcomed into our caring community with open arms. In her time at The Cliff, Beyers received boundless physical, academic, and financial support from faculty and peers. This support allowed Beyers to discover newfound independence that she had never known before. Peggy’s husband established an annual scholarship in honor of his wife to provide the same educational experience his wife had at Briar Cliff.

Begin a unique journey scholarship to honor your story! 

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Throughout our 90+ year history of creating ethical leaders, Briar Cliff University is proud to educate young professionals who can grow in their internships with many of whom gain full-time employment after graduation with area businesses. This mutually beneficial relationship between our University and local business cannot be understated. 

Gelita USA, Inc. is the world’s leading supplier of collagen proteins for the food, health, nutrition, and pharmaceutical industries, and a proud supporter of Briar Cliff University. Throughout the years, this organization has employed a number of Briar Cliff current students and alumni as biologists, chemists, sales professionals, interns, and organizational leaders. Gelita's leadership sought to give back to Briar Cliff to support the students graduating from the programs with which they have the greatest need. Every year, 3 full-time Briar Cliff University students majoring in Chemistry, Biology, and Environmental Science receive the Gelita Endowed Scholarships. 

The process starts with simple conversations. Contact us to schedule a meeting with our team and your place of work. 

Connect us with your organization. 

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At Briar Cliff University, we strive to provide solutions and scholarships to meet the ever-changing and ever-evolving needs of our student populations, whether it’s material requests, coordinating student internships, or financial assistance. We are grateful to our alumni and donor community for their time, talents, and treasure to advance the mission of this very special place on the hill. 

Doug Loots, Scott McGregor, and Mike Akins are three proud alumni and college friends to this day. They contacted Briar Cliff with their desire to establish a scholarship to help students complete his/her degree. During their time at Briar Cliff, the three men noticed there are many scholarship opportunities for incoming freshmen, but it was more difficult for upperclassmen to find scholarships. Therefore, they created the Finish-Line Annual Scholarship that is awarded to a full-time student in their final year of college, who demonstrates a financial need and is from Nebraska, Iowa, or Missouri. 

Be the solution to a problem.

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At Briar Cliff, we like to say that generosity inspires. Offering challenges and matching endowments are fun fundraising incentives that often inspire more gifts. Over the years, we have had a wide variety of loyal small businesses, alumni classes, families, or individuals offer significant donations as a challenge to motivate their peers to join them in impacting our students.

Interested in seeing your money to multiply? 

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When a family has multiple members from many generations attend and graduate from Briar Cliff University, that family and those students become what is known as a “Legacy Family” or “Legacy Student." Throughout our 90+ year history of creating ethical leaders, our Cliff community is proud to play a part in educating many legacy families. 

One such legacy family is the Schroeder Family. With over three generations of Schroeders having attended and graduated from Briar Cliff University, the Schroeder family set out to establish an endowed scholarship in their name. The Schroeders believe in the value of a Briar Cliff education and are loyal alumni supporters of the institution. Therefore, they chose to commemorate this proud tradition by helping to provide scholarship to the next generations of students.

Family is the number one influencer on a college decision, and we are so proud to be an institution and a high education experience that generations of families trust.

Start a legacy family scholarship or issue a challenge today! 

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The Senior Legacy Gift is an annual tradition that allows the current graduating class to leave a lasting impact on campus. In previous years gifts include: 

• Heffernan Mall Fire Pit 

• Tom Patterson Memorial Scholarship

• Campus beautification projects

• Donations to the annual scholarship fund

Every year a committee of seniors meets to discuss the fundraising opportunities and reflect on a needed project that can better Briar Cliff. At the end of the school year during the Toast to the Tassel celebration, the committee will present the gift and monies raised.

Want to help out our seniors?

Select “other” in the dropdown menu and indicate Senior Legacy as your designation.

Honor your loved one by creating a lasting impact on our Clifftop campus with a memorial beautification project. We are humbled and proud that our campus serves as a welcoming home for many during some of the most memorable and formative years of their young lives. Commemorate an existing life milestone in your life or join with family and friends to recognize the passing of a beloved Charger by leaving a mark on The Cliff forever. Past examples include memorial benches, a fire pit, basketball hoops, the Mac Lab and so much more. Contact us to ask about sponsoring a room, a tree, a garden, or another idea you may have.

Ask what campus improvement project you sponsor or contribute to? 

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