Alumni and friends of Brigham Young University at ExxonMobil Corporation will contribute to the largest corporate-employee matching donation ever received by BYU.
Forty-six current and retired employees of ExxonMobil are donating a total of $34,684. The company will match these gifts at a ratio of 3-to-1 --a gift of $104,050--bringing the total to $138,734. The BYU President's Leadership Council is also matching the ExxonMobil employee donations with an additional $23,585, bringing the final total to $162,319.
The ExxonMobil check for the matching gift portion of the donation will be presented to BYU President Cecil O. Samuelson Monday, June 9, at the home of BYU donor and Provo resident Dessie Thomas. The gift will be presented by Ben Markham, an alumnus of BYU's chemical engineering program and vice president of engineering, ExxonMobil Research and Engineering.
Dessie, a centenarian and widow of an ExxonMobil retiree, donates annually to BYU, and ExxonMobil matches Dessie's (and other ExxonMobil employees') donations 3-to-1 up to $5,000. The large check will represent the company's matching gift for all ExxonMobil employee donations made to BYU in 2002.
Those making contributions designated how the funds should be used. Some chose scholarships or mentored student learning, while others chose a specific college. Others left the designation to the discretion of BYU, taking advantage of additional fund matching through the BYU Annual Fund.
ExxonMobil has long been supportive of education. In 2002, the company donated more than $22.4 million in matched gifts to more than 900 colleges and universities.
For information on donating to BYU visit www.byu.edu/giving.
Writer: Elizabeth B. Jensen
