THE "WHY" TO DONATING

Recently Students United, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, asked me to serve on their fundraising cohort - and I said yes. An obvious question I was asked to dissect was - why. Why did I say yes to joining this fundraising effort?

My varied experiences with the organization made my mind go in many directions.

• Because I understand the funding principles of the organization and support their commitment of keeping their own student fee (67 cents per credit) low by expanding their fundraising efforts.

• Because I understand that resources are power and want to help give students power in their own educational systems.

• Because they have a history of doing the work for students on reshaping education policies around campus sexual assault, textbook affordability, campus sustainability, and diversity and equity efforts on campuses. That work needs to continue.

• Because I LOVE the Students United (students and staff) family and have confidence in them and their student leaders to not just move the organization in the direction of its mission, but push and challenge themselves towards growth and evolution - something that has continued to make them relevant for over 50 years.

But all of that felt like my because not my why. So I took a little time to really think about that question... why? I’d like to share what I determined was my why and at the end if you feel compelled to - I’d greatly appreciate you consider donating to this organization's core mission as well.

Learn more about Students United: I don't want to take a lot of space telling you exactly who or what Students United is. But they are a 501(c)3 nonprofit that is recognized in Minnesota state statute at the sole representative voice of the public Minnesota State university students. The organization, like all nonprofits, has a board. However, their board is the seven Minnesota State university student body presidents. So when they say they fight for students... they mean it, because they are the students (and yes, it was wild for my boss's boss to be college students).

My Why

College was the most transformative four years of my life. It was an opportunity filled with choices.

Choosing to go to Winona State University - my world expanded. Do you remember those hollowed chocolate balls (shaped like bunnies around Easter)? It was like I was living within that in my small town, with a lot of privilege and likeness. Then I went to college and that chocolate ball was smashed. I realized that I didn’t even know what I didn’t know. I was suddenly immersed in an environment that was encouraging me to expand my ideas, thoughts and opinions.

I traveled abroad my sophomore year of college - an experience like none other - in London and across the whole of Europe. And through all of this… I became a better human.

It was my junior year that I was introduced to Students United, and I began meeting student leaders from across the state who all came to the organization for different reasons, with different journeys. And again, I felt my world was not just expanding but being pushed to broaden in a way it wouldn’t have on my own.

And then I stayed there. In a world where everyday someone would challenge a thought I had, or would approach a problem from a different angle. I went from being a student myself to being a staff member who got to watch and be humbled by the brilliance of college students' power.

I worked with student leaders who worked overnight jobs, three jobs, or 50 hour work weeks just to pass that threshold of opportunity I was given by my parents, so they could have the choice to attend college.

I saw students who had to persevere through experiences and life circumstances that made obtaining a college degree increasingly difficult. Students who pushed past situations (housing and food insecurity, LGBTQ+ students losing the support of their families, parents returning to school balancing their school load with their children's, and students who struggled with addiction) that would have made most throw up their hands and say enough - but these students pivoted toward Students United and said “Let's fix this.” “Let me not be the norm.” These leaders chose to turn around and give a hand up to those who were following.

These students, with limited spare time, gave that time to us and to their fellow students. They understood the power in being present and putting their voices in the center of higher education decisions. And they understood that Students United was the best tool they had as a student to do just that - make a difference. By being able to tell their stories to Minnesota higher education legislative committees, or to sit with US Congress Members in their offices in DC and discuss policies and issues that affected them everyday back in Minnesota.

So this is my why - to give the next generation an equitable opportunity of choice. And because of my lived experience of seeing years of student leaders step up and make change through Students United. I know this organization is the tool to give students the power and leverage they need to make Minnesota State universities an opportunity of education and betterment for all Minnesotans (and those outside of MN).

What college did for me, where it has brought me, is not something I take for granted. I picked up my entire life on a whim and moved to Texas with absolutely no plan, and I got to do that because I had trust in my education and my hire-ability. I knew I could make a life just about anywhere I went. That was a choice I got to make because of the opportunities my life has been presented with.

To me that’s Students United. It is an organization that is fighting to give every current and future public Minnesota State university student the opportunity to have a college experience. By making it affordable, accessible, and an environment that supports all students.

On the day the student leaders of Students United win that fight, I’ll stop donating. But until then, they are my why.

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Advice: Donate. The organization is trying to raise $40,000 in the next couple of months. If you donate please donate here use my name under "whom in the cohort did you meet with"!