Purpose

• Recognize students receiving the Chicano/Latino Awards;
• Raise funds for the Chicano/Latino Scholarships;
• Promote visibility for Portland State University and their Latino support programs;
• Establish the Gala as an annual event;

Corporate Benefits: Corporate sponsors will be recognized on all promotional materials and by having corporate name and/or logo displayed on event banners, invitations, program and other promotional items. This will bring name recognition for the sponsors and to nurture the goodwill that can promote recruitment and overall marketing.

The First Annual Chicano/Latino Scholarship Gala was held on Saturday, September 27, 1997. This was a successful event in that all expenses were paid and adequate funds were raised to award the first two scholarships, since then the Chicano/Latino Gala has raised over $ 200,000.00 for scholarships to needed students. The event also generated a moderate budget to be utilized for pre-planning and marketing for the Annual Chicano/Latino Scholarship Gala, and program support.

The successes of the annual gala, driven by a volunteer but an energetic group of faculty, staff, students and friends confirmed that such an event is a viable means of achieving the objectives for the event. Since the inception of the Chicano/Latino Scholarship Gala, the College and Liberal Arts & Sciences, with the support of our sponsors, were able to present over one hundred $1000.00 + scholarships to PSU students to help them with tuition, books, and promote the academic component of the certificate program.

The gala objectives are as follows:

Celebrate the accomplishments of the Chicano/ Latino students and serve as the primary scholarship fundraising event to support the economic disadvantage of Chicano/ Latino students at Portland State University; Celebrate the accomplishments of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences in promoting the recruitment and retention of Chicano/Latino students and faculty. Provide an opportunity for corporations, organizations and individuals to invest in the education of the fastest growing ethnic population in the State of Oregon and the United States in general.

Financial Aid in higher education has been diminished. It is therefore imperative that external corporate and private donors come to the rescue. Support for the Chicano/Latino Scholarship Gala that provides scholarships to Latino students. We have provided 250 scholarships to our Latino students of all ages our student population ranges from eighteen (18) years old to ninety six (96) years old, and acknowledges the historical and current contribution these communities have made for the state and country. Furthermore, the scholarships and other opportunities being made possible by the funds being generated by the event are an investment with long term benefits for the state as Hispanics constitute the fastest growing community in the state with an equally impressive purchasing power. Thus, in addition to receiving the appropriate recognition, corporate sponsors will be able to establish relationship with students for recruitment purposes. Furthermore, the corporate name and logo will become recognizable and meaningful symbols in the Latino community, whose product and corporate loyalty have long been recognized and tapped by a growing number of companies.

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