Last month, after many Marquette community members inquired about making contributions to provide additional financial support to furloughed employees, the university launched an Employee Emergency Grant Fund to support furloughed employees.
To maximize the support of furloughed employees, the deadline to contribute was May 31. In total, the fund received $40,220 from 259 donors.
Next week, Human Resources will email a brief form for furloughed employees who wish to seek funds to fill out and return. Grant decisions will be evaluated by a committee of leaders from University Academic Senate and University Staff Senate and Human Resources.
Because all funds raised were received in quarter four of fiscal year 2020, this fund will remain available through fiscal year 2021. This account will be closed at the end of fiscal year 2021. At the time the account is closed, any funds remaining in the account will be transferred to the Bridge to the Future Scholarship Fund, which provides financial aid assistance to students whose changing economic circumstances jeopardize their ability to continue their Marquette education.
The fund was created through a partnership between University Advancement, Human Resources, Staff Senate, Office of Finance and Office of the General Counsel. Academic Senate chairs, Staff Senate chairs and a Human Resources representative are all actively involved with this fund in their roles as members of the committee that evaluates grant decisions for the Employee Emergency Fund account.