STUDENT CARE INITIATIVES IMPACT REPORT
"By any measure, the Emergency Assistance Fund and Panther Retention Grant programs at Georgia State University are incredibly effective. They both address students’ acute needs with direct aid and, in doing so, enable them to stay in and focus on school. Simply put: they work. Generous support from donors help make them possible. On their behalf, we can't thank you enough.
This report provides you with a snapshot of the incredible impact you've made through your giving to student care initiatives like Emergency Assistance Fund and Panther Retention Grant. What’s captured in the various data points, yet also immeasurable, is the value of the opportunity you help to create for students through your giving. With just a few dollars of support, you've enabled students to continue pursuing their dreams, inspired by the knowledge that others believe in their potential enough to invest in it."
– Michael Sanseviro, Vice President for Student Engagement
Emergency Assistance Fund Fast Facts
10,696
$1,192.40
The Donor Difference
Tuition, fees and state support cover less than two-thirds of the actual cost of a Panther's education. Support from donors like you help make up the difference. For many students, your support of Emergency Assistance Fund or Panther Retention Grant can be the difference between continuing their education or not.
Statistically, students who drop out or stop out of school are more likely to not return to their studies than they are to complete their degree. The vast majority of Emergency Assistance Fund or Panther Retention Grant recipients complete the semester and remain in school through graduation. The Panther Retention Grant program has been so successful that more than 60 colleges and universities across the country have replicated it at their institutions.
A college degree can change a family's economic trajectory for generations to come. Thank you for transforming Panther lives through your giving.
A Message from the Office of Student Success
Panther Retention Grants Fast Facts
1,683
$1,162.55
Transforming Student Success by Expanding Student Care
When the COVID-19 pandemic began, Georgia State swiftly took action to expand its emergency financial support options for students. Thanks to generous donor support, the university rapidly expanded the Emergency Assistance Fund in the early weeks of the pandemic to help meet students’ widespread and immediate needs of food, housing and other expenses.
The pandemic-era funding from the CARES Act, which expired in June 2023, allowed the university to further expand these student care initiatives. While donor support of the Emergency Assistance Fund and Panther Retention Grant continues at generous levels, student need remains widespread and significant; each year, more than 3,000 students apply for emergency support. Each year as well, there are several million dollars in unmet student need.
Since 2019, more than 1,800 donors contributed over $1.1 million to the Emergency Assistance Fund and Panther Retention grants. Both the Emergency Assistance Fund and Panther Retention Grants are important components on GSU’s institution-wide commitment to student success. We're so grateful for donors like you who help make it possible.
As a former foster child, I often find myself in challenging financial situations as I pursue my graduate degree since I don’t have outside financial support. The Georgia State emergency fund has helped me avoid eviction and hunger multiple times.
Now nearing the end of my program, I have confidence that I don't need to worry about my basic needs being met; instead I can focus on my research and next steps for my graduate career.
Thank you to those who donate to help scholars like me. I hope to one day be in a position to honor your generosity by helping other Panthers."
– Nyla Henderson (M.A. '23)
"I greatly appreciate the generosity of donors. Without Emergency Assistance Fund support, I would have dropped out of school to focus on generating income to survive.
As a former foster child, I often find myself in challenging financial situations as I pursue my graduate degree since I don’t have outside financial support. The Georgia State emergency fund has helped me avoid eviction and hunger multiple times.
Now nearing the end of my program, I have confidence that I don't need to worry about my basic needs being met; instead I can focus on my research and next steps for my graduate career.
Thank you to those who donate to help scholars like me. I hope to one day be in a position to honor your generosity by helping other Panthers."
– Nyla Henderson (M.A. '23)