the late Vance Burch

Changing lives by: creating a scholarship fund at K-State that would impact hundreds of students’ lives.

K-State connection: Vance Burch, a Harrisonville, Mo., native, graduated from K-State in 1932.

How he did it: The Vance L. Burch Scholarship was funded in part by a gift of appreciated stock to the KSU Foundation. The foundation helped him create a charitable remainder unitrust that provided him with lifetime income and tax deductions.

Why he gave: “I have repeatedly observed that giving to the scholarship fund is an extremely gratifying activity,” Vance said in 1989. “It affords a satisfaction that no other use of money offers. I am not putting on a halo, but it is just thoroughly satisfying.”

Impact: To date, more than 200 students from the College of Business Administration have received the Vance L. Burch Scholarship since it was first awarded in 1996, just three years before his death.

K-State success story: Cassie Hicks, a 1999 graduate of K-State’s College of Business Administration, received the scholarship in 1997 and 1998. As a senior program manager for Microsoft’s Windows Live International Product Group based in Dublin, Cassie is by all rights a K-State success story. Cassie hopes to follow in Vance’s footsteps and help K-Staters achieve their dreams.

What people are saying: “I paid for school myself, which meant taking out student loans and working 25-plus hours per week while attending classes,” Cassie said. “Receiving the Burch scholarship, which rewarded my performance and involvement as a student, was not only a financial relief, but also a much-needed acknowledgement of my efforts.”