A Promise Multiplied
The Vision
Talent can be found in every Maine community, but opportunity is not always distributed as widely. The Promise Scholars Program identifies first-generation, limited-income students with leadership potential and a commitment to service, then surrounds them with the financial, academic, and personal support they need to thrive. Growing Promise’s endowment to $20 million will make that support permanent-helping USM serve at least 100 Scholars at a time, generation after generation, and preparing more talented graduates to build their lives and careers in Maine.
The Impact
In March, an anonymous donor made a transformational $5 million commitment to our recently launched Promise 10 for 10 Campaign — and issued it as a challenge to others who believe in Maine students.
The gift immediately changed the scale and momentum of the campaign. Launched to raise $10 million in new endowed support before Promise’s 10th anniversary in 2027, Promise 10 for 10 set an ambitious goal: bring the program’s total endowment to at least $20 million and secure its future in perpetuity.
By the close of the fiscal year, donors had responded with an additional $2,350,000. Together, generous commitments from supporters like Dick and Missy Curran, the Schiavi Family Foundation, John and Deb ’06G Nelson, and the estate of Nancy Spear Usher ’60 brought the campaign to nearly three-quarters of its goal in just six months.
Their response reflects what makes Promise so compelling. The program begins with financial aid, helping students cover tuition, fees, housing, and meals and move toward graduation with little to no debt. But Promise is more than a scholarship. It is completed by mentorship, career development, networking, and a communiry of belonging that helps students navigate college, persist through challenges, and begin to see new possibilities for themselves.
“The essence of Promise is simply the belief in students — and their belief in themselves,” says the program’s Director, Daniel Barton. Donors see that belief become tangible as Scholars grow into leaders, graduates, and professionals contributing to communities across Maine.
Promise alumna Elizabeth Muana ’23, ’25G describes the program as a source of “belonging and resilience” that gave her the confidence to keep dreaming bigger. Today, she works as an infectious disease specialist in Bangor — one example of how an investment in a student becomes an investment in Maine’s future.
The matching challenge invites donors to multiply their impact. Every new commitment moves Promise closer to a future in which its success is not constrained by annual fundraising or limited resources, but sustained by an endowment strong enough to welcome and support 100 Scholars at a time.
The campaign’s progress is a vote of confidence — in a program with a record of student success, in young people whose potential deserves to be recognized, and in the role USM graduates will play in Maine’s workforce and communities. The momentum is real. So is the promise still ahead.