The scholarship or fellowship you have received is made possible by a generous donor, often a member of our College of Arts and Sciences alumni community, who is grateful for their education at IU. By paying this gratitude forward, they hope to make your College education as meaningful and impactful as possible.
We place a very high value on gratitude and acknowledgement. It is essential to thank your donor, their family, or the person the fund is named after.
Contact your department or the IU Bloomington Office of Student Financial Assistance
Here is a step-by-step guide to help you compose an effective thank-you and introduction.
Introductory Paragraph: Say thank you/express gratitude to the donor, family member, or representative for their support, and state the full name of the scholarship.
Example: “I am honored to be a recipient of the College of Arts and Sciences Scholarship.”
Example: “Thank you for supporting my education through the College of Arts and Sciences Scholarship in English.”
If you did not receive a named scholarship, please thank them for their support of student scholarships in a general sense.
Example: “As a recipient of this scholarship, I’m writing to thank you for supporting my education.”
Second Paragraph: Discuss your present situation. You might include volunteer activities, organizations you participate in, classes or professors you enjoy or are looking forward to, and what your plans look like after graduation (if applicable). You might also include what you have enjoyed about being a part of the College and your department specifically, or what makes IU special to you.
Conclusion: Conclude the letter by connecting your activities, interests, and goals to the financial support you are receiving. Use this as an opportunity to say how the award will help you achieve your goals or pursue your interests. Thank the donor one more time.
If you have questions about writing your letter that are not answered here, contact Gillian Johnston.
Submit your letter through the form above or directly through the MachForm portal by the deadline. You will receive an email notification once your form is submitted. The Office of Advancement will take care of compiling, designing, and mailing your letter.
If you experience any technical difficulties, please email Gillian Johnston at gijohnst@indiana.edu.
Also, make sure to save your square image as a JPG, JPEG, or PNG file.
Use this opportunity to provide updates to your scholarship supporter. Letters that do not have meaningful changes over previous letters will be returned to the student.
Yes, but please be sure to fine-tune your letter so that it is appropriate for the multiple donors or scholarships/fellowships. If you feel like writing separate letters, please be sure to indicate which award goes with which letter.
The Office of Advancement will address your letters and mail them on your behalf.
Inquiries regarding your scholarship/fellowship or financial aid should be directed to the IU Bloomington Office of Student Financial Assistance at 812-855-6500 or through their web form.
Yes. In February, you will be asked to provide a brief update on how your year is going to share with your donor/s.
You will receive an email from Gillian Johnston with detailed instructions on submitting your donor update letter.
