Our Crowdfunding Groups
Thank you for your generous support. While this project has ended you can still support this campaign by visiting https://umfoundation.com/ignite.
Begun as a campuswide initiative during the tenure of Chancellor Robert Khayat, the Ole Miss First Scholarship Program provides mentoring and leadership development in conjunction with tuition assistance for outstanding students.
Over the course of their four years at Ole Miss, scholars meet with their mentors and attend monthly dinners to receive the support, guidance and encouragement they need to take chances, explore opportunities and make a difference. Whether they are future engineers, graphic designers or fiction writers, Ole Miss First scholars find common ground in their desire to succeed. The scholars come from a variety of backgrounds, each possessing unique characteristics that help make Ole Miss First a truly special organization.
Help us add to the Ole Miss First experience by providing experiential learning opportunities off campus. Traveling to historical sites, museums, cultural events and exploring cities as a group offers our Ole Miss First students the chance to learn about new concepts and expand their horizons.
Once funding is secured for this experiential learning initiative, our 40 Ole Miss First scholars will travel together to the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum in Jackson, providing opportunities to supplement studies in sociology, history, political science, art and religion, and grow together as a group of high-achieving student leaders. We hope this will only be the first of many trips!
Ole Miss First is a family, a cohort of students growing together through mentoring and activities created especially for our students. Trips as an Ole Miss First family – even small ones – have a big impact on scholars.
“My freshman year, we took a field trip to the Emmett Till Museum in Sumner, Mississippi, and were able to broaden our perspectives and gain learning experiences from beyond the walls of the classroom,” said Francesca Patawarn, a junior engineering major from Tupelo. “I would love the opportunity to do this again with my fellow OMF scholars!”
Every gift makes a difference for our Ole Miss First scholars. Please give today!
Currently, 40 of the best and brightest students at the University of Mississippi are members of the Ole Miss First scholarship family. Please give one dollar for every member of the Ole Miss First cohort. Every gift makes a difference!
A little more than 80% of students at the University of Mississippi receive some form of financial aid or scholarships. Private donor support enables many students to pursue their dreams and succeed in the face of adversity. Please make a gift to support Ole Miss First!
Your $250 donation covers the admission fee for all 40 Ole Miss First scholars to tour the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum in Jackson.
Your $500 donation pays for every member of the Ole Miss First cohort to purchase a ticket to the most technologically advanced music museum in the South. Scholars will learn about Mississippi's role as the birthplace of popular American music.
One $1,000 gift can pay for transportation for all 40 Ole Miss First scholars to the Civil Rights Museum in Jackson. Make a huge impact on our students!
Nearly 20 years ago, then-Ole Miss Chancellor Robert C. Khayat envisioned a program that provided deserving students who wanted to attend UM with the financial help needed to do so while also welcoming them into the Ole Miss family with mentorship and support. Ole Miss First was born. One $5,000 gift can meet the goal for the Ole Miss First Experiential Learning Fund. Give to honor Khayat's vision and help all our scholars grow today!