| The highways
and byways of Montana are more colorful these days, especially
when you focus on vehicle license plates. At last word, the
State of Montana has authorized more than 100 organizations
to design sponsored plates, which are available to vehicle owners
willing to pay extra in support of a favorite cause. |
| Despite
the huge range of choices, a significant number of Montana drivers
continue to display their preference for MSU and the Bobcats.
In the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2004, MSU received $164,000
as its share of the sponsored license plate program. Since MSU
got its first check in 1991, license plate donations have added
up to more than $1.2 million. |
| "Every
year it goes up a little more,"says Joan Ferraro, controller
for the MSU Foundation. MSU uses the money for scholarships.
|
| The annual
windfall was created by the Montana Legislature in 1989 when
it authorized special plates for the stateÕs colleges
and universities (currently 16 institutions of higher learning
offer plates, including the six units of the university system,
three junior colleges, two tribal colleges, two colleges of
technology and three private schools). |
| In 2001,
the legislature expanded the sponsored plate program until it
seems as if half the environmental, humanitarian, cultural and
educational organizations in the state have jumped on the bandwagon.
Organizations applying for a plate must pay $4,000 up front
or show 400 paid applications for their plate. The first year
vehicle owners pay a fee that includes $15 for the state, followed
by an annual fee set by the sponsoring organization. (MSU supporters
pay $35 the first year and $20 per year afterwards.) |
| As MSU's
take has grown despite competition from every other good cause
on the block, the allotment of funds has changed. "Originally
we put the license funds into the foundation's permanent investment
and only spent the income," Ferraro explains. "We
dedicated the money to Presidential Scholars and for athletic
scholarships. But in April 2003, we made some changes." |
| Ferraro
says that because ever-rising tuition increased the need for
scholarships, the money is now used to fund general university
scholarships as well as presidential and athletic scholarships.
"And because the legislature didn't say we had to put the
funds into permanent investment, we now put half of the receipts
into investment and the other half goes directly to scholarships." |
| Montana
vehicle owners who want to support MSU (and let the driving
world know they're doing so) can order the MSU plates at any
time at their county motor vehicles office. |
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