Why we do our annual fundraiser

Jana Epperson, Isla Mujeres Scholarship Program’s financial administrator and banker explains “Why we do our yearly fundraiser? Thanks for asking!”

Although our students each have a wonderful team of sponsors to cover most of their monthly education and living expenses, there are a lot of additional expenses involved. 

* Sometimes we have a new student who needs registration fees, a new laptop and glasses to get started and we haven't yet formed a team for them. 

* Sometimes a student is using an old broken down phone or laptop and they need to be upgraded. 

* Graduation fees are very costly and we often use 'General Funds' to help pay those costs. 

* Many times, we have helped out a student outside of our normal roster. Students have come to us in the past who have excellent grades, but just not quite enough financial means to finish up their degree or to pay the graduation fees. 

* We recently used some funds to purchase a laptop for a current student's younger brother, who has excellent grades. Reliable electronics are a must have for a student to be successful these days and that's expensive. A cell phone is important for students to stay in touch with family and for safety reasons. 

* Our overhead is LOW. We spend about $30 a month on transfer fees to get funds to the students and last year I spent $19 on 'Hello My Name Is' stickers for our big party and $40 in shipping fees to mail out prizes from our fundraiser. That's it! The rest of the money goes to students for living expenses and education. Don't you love that? 

Thank you for your generosity and kindness. These students will not only change the future for themselves and their families, but they make Isla a better place.