“The college relies on the support of our alumni and friends to continue its longstanding tradition of excellence. These gifts have played an essential role in our ability to educate and train the next generation of leaders and provide students with exceptional social science and public policy education.
To our current donors, I want to thank you for your generous support of our many programs. You can take great pride in the fact that you are making a significant difference in the lives of our students.
If you have not yet made the choice to become a donor, I encourage you to explore our website and see for yourself the many great things going on in the college. Once you do, I am convinced you will want to be part of the growing number of alumni and friends investing in our outstanding students at this fine university.
All contributions, regardless of size, are important and highly valued. Note also that gifts can be earmarked for a program or use of your choosing.
– Tim Chapin, Dean, College of Social Sciences and Public Policy
Give NowThe College relies on the support of our alumni and friends to continue our longstanding tradition of excellence. Our alumni and friends’ gifts of their time and treasure play an essential role in our ability to educate and train the next generation of leaders and provide students with exceptional social science and public policy education.
Meet the Team
Katherine Cline Ashler
Katherine Cline Ashler leads College of Social Sciences and Public Policy’s team as Assistant Dean for Development.
In this role, she leads COSSPP’s fundraising efforts, manages the College’s development team, and works closely with our alumni and friends to connect them with opportunities to support student success and make transformational gifts that align with their interests and values
“I love connecting with our College’s successful and inspirational alumni and friends to help them bring their philanthropic visions to life” – Katherine Cline Ashler
If you would like to discuss making a gift, please contact Katherine at kcline@foundation.fsu.edu or call 850-294-3343.
Ryan Sonntag
Ryan Sonntag serves as the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy’s Associate Director of Development.
In this role, he works with alumni, parents, current and former faculty, and philanthropic leaders to connect them with opportunities to support the success of our incredible students, faculty, and programs.
“COSSPP’s Development Team is fundamental to the college’s success, as our donors’ philanthropy makes it possible for us to provide a range of opportunities for students that cannot be covered by State of Florida funds.” – Dean Tim Chapin
“I am looking forward to working with COSSPP’s incredible alumni to build on 50 years of excellence,” Sonntag said. “The opportunity to give my time and talents to benefit my alma mater is a privilege, and I am excited to be a part of FSU’s legacy!”
If you would like to discuss making a gift, please contact Ryan at rsonntag@advance.fsu.edu or call (850) 644-6284.
Elizabeth Jones
Elizabeth Jones serves as the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy’s Assistant Director of Student and Alumni Engagement.
In this role, she builds relationships among our alumni, fosters student engagement, and provides alumni with meaningful ways to stay involved in our community and continue growing beyond their time at FSU. To subscribe to COSSPP’s Alumni and Friends Newsletter for updates about events and opportunities, sign up here. Find our archive of newsletters in the sidebar of our Alumni News page.
Connect with Elizabeth to share news about important milestones in your lives and careers, as well as with your interest in speaking and mentorship opportunities with our departments, clubs, and honors societies at elizabeth.jones@advance.fsu.edu or for more information about opportunities to connect with our community and share your successes, visit cosspp.fsu.edu/alumni/connect-with-us.
When you give to the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy, you are supporting our faculty, students, and programming, helping us continue to be a marketplace of ideas and advance the academic excellence of our programs!
Development Goals
Our objective over the 2022-2026 period is to strengthen these initiatives:
- Foster excellence in undergraduate programs to prepare students for life after graduation.
- Increase opportunities for career-enhancing applied master’s degrees.
- Engage doctoral students in research that provides solutions to today’s most pressing problems.
- Recruit and retain the best faculty by increasing named professorships and eminent scholar chairs.
Gift Types
There are many ways to support the College and opportunities that most closely align with your interests and priorities. Some donors choose to support students through scholarships and awards to advance their academic journey. Other donors are motivated to create opportunities for faculty to grow and flourish in their research and teaching through faculty support. Many donors want to assist the College with its most pressing needs and provide unrestricted funding to be utilized across the College for immediate and emerging opportunities for all our students and programs.
Your gifts will create pathways of success for programs, faculty, and students preparing for meaningful careers, advanced professional development, and active roles in public life.
College-Wide Annual Fund Gifts
Annual fund gifts to the General Development Fund are among the most important and valuable to the College as they can address critical College-wide initiatives and needs across all departments and programs. Specifically, this support helps us provide faculty, student, and programmatic support for student groups, academic symposia and conference travel, opportunities for our faculty and students to share the knowledge they gain inside and outside of the classroom, and critical needs opportunities to enrich the academic experience.
Department and Designated Fund Gifts
Want to support the department or program you graduated from? What about one of our vital centers and institutes? (Choose a specific area from the giving form drop-down menu.)
Endowed Gifts
Establishing a permanent endowment fund means that your gift will be awarded in perpetuity, and your legacy will continue to benefit not only the students, faculty, and programs of today but also in the future. Only the annual investment income generated by the endowment is used each year to support a donor-designated purpose. The endowment principle remains unspent to ensure your legacy is preserved.
Endowment funds provide an opportunity to name an award, scholarship, fellowship, professorship, or program in honor or memory of the donor or any person chosen by the donor. (For more about endowments, please contact our Senior Development Director, Katherine Cline Ashler, at 850-294-3343 or by email.)
Planned Gifts
What will your legacy be? Many donors are taking steps through bequests or planned gifts to the college to make a difference for generations of students in the future. Your bequests and other planned gifts have a profound and lasting impact on the college’s program development, scholarship, and research. Careful estate planning also yields special advantages for donors and their heirs as they provide support in a significant and lasting way. (Learn more.)
Stock Transfer
Stocks are easy to give and offer great tax advantages. By donating publicly traded stocks, bonds or mutual funds, you avoid paying capital gains tax on the securities and receive an immediate charitable income tax deduction for the full market value of the gifted securities. The best stocks to give are those that have significantly increased in value—particularly those stocks producing a low yield that have been owned longer than one year.
For more information about making a stock transfer, please contact our Senior Director of Development, Katherine Cline Ashler, with any questions or needs at kcline@advance.fsu.edu, call 850-294-3343, or use this link for specific instructions.