School of Dentistry philanthropic summary for July 1-Dec. 31, 2020
WVU Foundation and School reflect on gifts received
Please find a summary of gifts received by the WVU School of Dentistry below.
To our donors:
The impact you have on the School of Dentistry is powerful and impressive! During the first six months of the fiscal year, 231 donors committed a total of $960,029 to benefit your School of Dentistry. Of this, 79 donors gave $87,026 to benefit scholarships, an ever-pressing need to aid our students in reducing their overall debt upon graduation.
The first six months of the fiscal year also saw six new endowment commitments for the school. Dr. William Christopher Taylor and Dr. Edward Howard both established scholarships. Dr. Laura Lineberry and Dr. Imad Shammaa established new endowments for the benefit of the Department of Orthodontics, and Dr. Chad Westfall renewed a plan to enhance his existing endowment for Orthodontics.
Several alumni continued with annual major gifts, including Dr. David Whiston for his charitable care fund providing for the underserved, uninsured and underinsured patients presenting to our clinics. Dr. Tom Arkle renewed a gift to Orthodontics, and Dr. David Sheinkopf renewed a gift for his scholarship fund. Looking to the future, two of our alumni – Dr. JD Robinette and Dr. Charles Houghton – documented their planned gifts to benefit the School of Dentistry.
In addition to the gifts noted above, Day of Giving also saw collaborative commitments from Dr. Lora Graves, Dr. Bryan Dye and Dr. Sanjay Chaudhry to endow a charity care fund available for patients of our Delta Sigma Delta students.
Please know: Every. Dollar. Matters. Now, more than ever!
I will borrow from a well-known advertising campaign for education, “The More You Know.”
Did you know that almost all dollars donated to the school are “use restricted?” In other words, you the donor determine the purpose – whether it’s for scholarship, research, faculty enhancement, facilities and technology upgrades, or a specific department.
The $900,000-plus raised in the first half of the year are not available for general operations or to fulfill a budgetary shortfall. We direct your funds given to ensure the biggest impact possible for the purpose defined. I will continue to share a few funds and their specific purpose, and I will highlight a particular purpose along with the funds already established to address the need. You will find those in the School of Dentistry eNews shared with alumni and friends of school.
Alumni can also support the School through gifts in kind, the charitable giving of goods and services to benefit the School of Dentistry. Dr. Byron Black provided such a gift on Day of Giving to support the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.
Please reach out to me anytime by phone at 304-216-3784 or via email at kcoombs@wvuf.org to talk about a particular need or fund, ask questions or make a commitment of your own.