In July 2000, the Senior Vice President for External Affairs (now the Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations) initiated the establishment of the UGA Parents & Families Association and the Parents & Families Fund as a special giving program of the UGA Foundation Development Office. Having traditionally targeted parents of current students for unrestricted support to the University, the new structure created a programmatic approach to further engage these families in institutional advancement. The purpose of the Parents & Families Association is:
- To enhance communication between parents & families and UGA,
- To enrich the college experience for both parents & families and their students,
- To involve parents & families in campus and regional activities to promote UGA, and
- To support financially the Parents & Families Fund.
Parents are solicited for contributions through newsletters, phone calls, and other means. Money contributed to the Parents & Families Fund is distributed annually in the form of grants to organizations, departments, and projects that are designed to enhance programs for undergraduate students, including student life. Applications are solicited from all areas of the University.
The Parents & Families Council, the leadership entity for the Parents & Families Association, then reviews grant applications. The Council meets each spring to finalize the awards process. Grants have been awarded for a variety of projects, from helping sponsor the annual Convocation Ceremony to helping furnish student lounges in the Lamar Dodd School of Art and in Food Science; from a Georgia Museum of Art Film Series to a Business and Dining Etiquette class in the Warnell School of Forest Resources.
Contributions to the Parents & Families Fund determine how much is available for grants each year. A complete list of the most recent grants is available at http://www.uga.edu/information/parents.html.
Last Updated on June 21, 2019