The Daily Bruin Scholarship Campaign 2024

$11,465
57%
Raised toward our $20,000 Goal
42 Donors
16
days left
Project ends on November 01, at 12:00 AM PDT
Project Owners

DBANxSpark: The Daily Bruin Scholarship Campaign 2024

Help Daily Bruin staffers get the experience they need to become competitive professionals in journalism and media. Your support of the Daily Bruin scholarship will enable hard-working UCLA students to learn the reporting, editing and design skills that will prepare them to follow Bruin alums who have gone on to top journalism jobs and Pulitzer Prizes. 

The Daily Bruin, the third-largest newspaper in Los Angeles by circulation, has served for more than a century as the paper of record of Westwood and the essential training ground for UCLA students interested in journalism and careers in the media. Generation after generation, The Bruin has produced award-winning journalists and media professionals of distinction.

Whether they studied English, political science or microbiology, Daily Bruin alums usually agree: "We majored in the Bruin." Balancing rigorous academics at UCLA and the near-full time commitment to maintain the award-winning standards of the Daily Bruin is challenging and sometimes stressful. The Daily Bruin Scholarship is designed to reduce some of the stress for students who devote countless hours in Kerckhoff Hall, racing to get the paper out. Stipends at the Daily Bruin have fallen over the years, especially in comparison to skyrocketing rents near campus. With ever-rising tuition and cost of living in Westwood, it is more difficult than ever for staffers at The Bruin to persist and pursue careers in the press and media, which are essential to not just the UCLA community, but the world. 

In addition to our Pulitzer Prize winners, Daily Bruin alumni include legendary comedian Carol Burnett '54, diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner Ralph Bunche '27, former politico and NPR president Frank Mankiewicz '47, Washington Post managing editor Matea Gold '96, longtime ESPN anchor Cari Champion '98, former National Geographic CEO Gary Knell '75, Federal Public Defender of California's Central District, Cuauhtemoc Ortega '03, and Frank Spotnitz '82, who wrote and produced "The X Files" and created "The Man in the High Castle". 

Thirty-one students have been honored with the Daily Bruin Scholarship since its inception in 2019, created by the Daily Bruin Alumni Network. This year, six Daily Bruin staffers will receive $2,500 merit scholarships funded by YOUR donation to the Spark campaign. The scholarships go to staffers who have shown dedication to the Bruin and want to pursue careers in journalism and related fields. Three other staffers will receive scholarships from the recently created endowments at DBAN - one funded by the family and friends of legendary Variety reporter Dave McNary '74, who helped start DBAN and served on its first board. An endowment created by DBAN founder Lawrence Ma '95 and Daily Bruin alums Zachary Aron '94 and Robina Riccitiello '84, will fund two other Daily Bruin Scholarships. In an effort to help Daily Bruin students get key work experience, DBAN has partnered with the Orange County Register to create a 10-week summer fellowship with the OC Register's Demographics & Equity Team, with the stipend supported by the alumni. 

With your support this month, DBAN will raise the money for the six merit scholarships and the Orange County Register fellowship for 2024-25.

The DB Scholarships enable promising student-staffers to rise through the ranks from cub reporters to editors, to practice the craft elbow-to-elbow with professionals from the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register, and to prepare for the competitive journalism and media job market when they graduate.

Great news arrived this year from yet another Daily Bruin alum - Fern Seizer who worked at the Daily Bruin in the early 1950s and met her husband Bob as they competed for stories. In honor of her husband and their great love for their time at the Daily Bruin, Fern has created the Bob Seizer Daily Bruin Scholarship Endowment that will fund scholarships for Daily Bruin students in perpetuity. Her generosity will help launch the careers of many young journalists. 

Working at the Daily Bruin creates bonds that last a lifetime and gives the student-journalists the training that enables them to succeed in the real world. In the daily trials and tribulations of putting out the newspaper, in print or online, the student-staffers make lifelong friends and gain valuable skills that have produced stellar journalists, as well as leaders in law, business, government, entertainment, education, the arts, technology and philanthropy. 

Contribute today and support the promising student-staffers of The Daily Bruin! The Daily Bruin Scholarship Fund is an official account of the UCLA Fund, and your tax-deductible contributions count toward Chancellor’s Society status. We also encourage and accept employer-matched contributions.


CLICK HERE TO READ THE UCLA FOUNDATION'S DISCLOSURE STATEMENTS FOR DONORS

Should this fund reach the campus minimum required for the establishment of an endowment or quasi-endowment, The UCLA Foundation reserves the right to convert this fund to an endowment or quasi-endowment. Please click here to learn more about how the UCLA Foundation invests and manages its endowments. 

Our way
of Thanking You

$10

The Invaluable Intern

Every penny for your thoughts or the scholarship counts! (fully tax deductible).

0 of Unlimited Claimed
Estimated Delivery: November 2025

$50

AP Styling!

Now you are doing it by the book: the AP stylebook! (fully tax deductible).

5 of Unlimited Claimed
Estimated Delivery: November 2025

$100

The Staff Writer

Congratulations, you have been made a Staff Writer! We will show our appreciation in a donors honor roll ad in the Daily Bruin this year! (fully tax deductible).

7 of Unlimited Claimed
Estimated Delivery: November 2025

$250

The Energetic Editor

You are moving on up in Kerckhoff 118! In addition to the shout-out in the paper, you will receive the official 2024 DB Staff swag, to be determined by the staffers next quarter! (a $225 tax deductible gift)

4 of Unlimited Claimed
Estimated Delivery: November 2025

$500

Front Page News

You are such a boss! Way to go! In addition to the aforementioned perks, you will receive a print of the Daily Bruin front page on a date of your choice! (a $465 tax deductible gift)

1 of Unlimited Claimed
Estimated Delivery: November 2025

$1,000

The Scoop

What's the scoop? Your generosity will help a Daily Bruin staffer get the chance to uncover their own UCLA scoop. You will receive all the aforementioned perks, plus two tickets to the 2025 DBAN Reunion and special recognition at the dinner. (Total fair market value $845.)

2 of Unlimited Claimed
Estimated Delivery: November 2025

$2,500

The Pulitzer

Wow - now you are really showing your Daily Bruin spirit with a gift that can change a students life and career trajectory! With your donation, you will be funding an entire Daily Bruin scholarship next year! You will also get all the aforementioned perks and our enthusiastic appreciation. (Tax deductible gift of $2,345)

0 of Unlimited Claimed
Estimated Delivery: November 2025
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