Contact Information
Nathan Ersig ’98
Senior Director of Development
Phone: 563-387-1510
The Legacy Trust Scholarship Program
Thank you so much for the blessing of my scholarship. My family is grateful as well. As a first-year student, it was especially hard this year, and to know that others around me are supporting my endeavors and desire to gain an education–so I can truly change and impact the world around me–is amazing and truly inspiring.
Desmond Bunting '24Recipient of the Farwell Endowment Scholarship
Student scholarship support remains one of the most important, and ever-present, institutional needs. Making a Luther education affordable is essential for recruiting students, and scholarship assistance is often the deciding factor. Nearly 100 percent of our students receive financial aid, and 75 percent work on campus and in our community to meet their college costs. In 2022–23, Luther provided $55 million in student aid from college funds, with 13 percent of that total aid being donor-funded through endowed and annual scholarships. With additional donor support, we seek to grow this percentage, enabling the college’s general operating budget to be allocated for other priorities supporting the student learning experience.
The Legacy Trust was established in 1986 in connection with the 125th anniversary of the college. The initial objective was to add at least $250,000 to Luther’s scholarship endowment fund each year. Response to the program has been extraordinary over the years, with more than $110 million in cash and planned gifts raised. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, Luther students—most of whom could not otherwise afford to be here—now benefit from more than 925 scholarships that have been established at Luther. As we look ahead, scholarship support remains critical as students search for ways to meet the rising costs of higher education. You can help ensure a quality education for our students by establishing a scholarship through the Legacy Trust program.
• Annual Scholarships
• Endowed Scholarships
We believe every student who qualifies should have access to a Luther education—regardless of their ability to pay. Removing cost as a barrier allows Luther to compete with other top institutions in recruiting talented and deserving students for generations to come. We aspire to meet the unmet financial need of every student!
Students who receive financial aid from Luther also invest in their education through family contributions, loans, and student employment. The average unmet need at Luther is $5,751. This gap often means students then take on additional loans to make up the difference between the cost of attendance and their financial aid packages. For many families, this option isn’t feasible or appealing. The sole purpose of the Promise Scholarship is to help close the gap in unmet financial need.
Promise Scholarship—$25,000 minimum commitment
Provides a general scholarship of approximately $1,250 annually to students, specifically to cover unmet financial need. Designed to be awarded to an incoming student and renewed each year the student is in attendance at Luther College.
Promise Scholarship—$100,000 recommended commitment
Provides a general scholarship of approximately $5,000 annually to students, specifically to cover unmet financial need. Designed to be awarded to an incoming student and renewed each year the student is in attendance at Luther College
Named Access and Opportunity scholarships underwrite critical full- or partial-need scholarship support based on the average annual Luther-funded financial aid award for high-promise students with the greatest need.
Access and Opportunity (Partial Need)—$300,000 minimum commitment
Provides a scholarship of approximately $15,000 annually to a student based on preferences of the donor. Awarded to an incoming student and renewed each year the student is in attendance at Luther College. The awards are based on financial need, and donors may choose to give preference to students based on field of interest, major, location, etc.
Access and Opportunity (Full Need)—$600,000 minimum commitment
Provides a scholarship of approximately $30,000 annually to a student based on preferences of the donor. Awarded to an incoming student and renewed each year the student is in attendance at Luther College. The awards are based on financial need, and donors may choose to give preference to students based on field of interest, major, location, etc.
The Legacy Trust Scholarship Program recognizes donors who have established annual or endowed scholarships.
Contact Information
Nathan Ersig ’98
Senior Director of Development
Phone: 563-387-1510