Thanks to 63 ASOR members, March Fellowship Madness 2021 was a success. We didn’t reach our goal of $20,000, but we made tremendous progress ($14,000) towards earning the $150,000 challenge gift to endow BIPOC fellowships.

Since 2007, ASOR has awarded over 830 fellowships, grants, dig scholarships, and travel awards totaling more than $900,000. During the past month, we focused on raising $20,000 for BIPOC scholarships and our diversity challenge campaign. Thanks to an extraordinary challenge gift, every dollar of the $14,000 contributed during March will be matched with two dollars. We thus raised a total of $42,000 in March towards endowing BIPOC fellowships in perpetuity.

The generous 2-for-1 challenge gift by ASOR Trustee Carolyn Midkiff Strange means that a contribution of $25 will be matched with $50; a gift of $100 will be matched with $200; a gift of $1,000 will be matched with $2,000; and so forth. The $14,000 contributed by ASOR members during March Fellowship Madness goal moved ASOR much closer towards raising the $75,000 that is needed to fully “earn” this transformative $150,000 challenge gift. Thank you to all 63 people who contributed! If you have not yet contributed, or if you are in a position to make another gift, there is still time. We have until June 30, 2021 to raise the remaining $40,515 to earn the entire $150,000 challenge gift.

In addition to supporting BIPOC stipends and scholarships in 2021, ASOR will use these gifts to endow research scholarships, internships, and travel fellowships dedicated to BIPOC students and early career scholars. These fellowships and grants will be a foundation for future efforts, and will serve as a tangible sign of ASOR’s commitment to long-term change.

Extending social equity and equal opportunity throughout all sectors of our world is one of the foremost imperatives facing us today. You can join ASOR in making a lasting difference. Consider a gift of any amount to help us earn this extraordinary challenge gift.