Bank of America has given $250,000 to UNC this July to create the new Bank of America Military Families Scholarship Endowment Fund for veterans and students from military families.
Virginia Parker, the Triangle market manager at Bank of America, said the bank had a longstanding relationship with UNC and has given almost $2 million to the University since 2011.
2020 marks the bank's 100th year of supporting the military, she said.
"This particular initiative with Chapel Hill really was in celebration of that 100th year," Parker said.
This new gift counts towards the University’s Red, White and Carolina Blue Challenge. In October 2017, UNC alumni Steve and Debbie Vetter, committed $20 million to launch the challenge and establish a need-based scholarship for students from low-income military families.
The Vetters challenged other alumni and community members to join them and raise another $20 million to match their gift, said André Williams, director of Development for Scholarships and Student Aid.
In 2019, UNC enrolled nearly 400 undergraduate first-year and transfer students who had affiliations with the military, according to an article from University Development.
“It’s really cool that they’re really focusing on military-affiliated students because it’s a common fear amongst my peers who are also military about finances,” said Reina Kinnaly, who graduated from UNC this past May with a degree in exercise and sports science.
Kinnaly is from Jacksonville, North Carolina, and comes from a large military family. Her father is a retired veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, and her grandfather was a Navy veteran. She also has an uncle who served in the U.S. Army and another in the U.S. Air Force, as well as an aunt who served in the U.S. Marine Corps.
