Student Leader Fellowship Program

The Student Leader Fellowship Program (SLFP) is a two-year, nationally recognized leadership program. Committed to developing competent, ethical, and community-centered leaders, the SLFP provides student fellows with a series of unique experiences such as a fall retreat, a two-credit leadership class, a community mentor, a Community Service Internship and a thorough workshop series.

#NMUGivingDay is here!

Get ready...it’s Giving Day! One BIG day to show your LOVE for NMU and a chance to DOUBLE your giving.

To celebrate NMU's 125th anniversary, we are announcing $125,000 in donor incentives! And for 24 hours, your giving could be matched for 2x the impact!

That means when you give 1x a student receives two times the LOVE for 2x the opportunities, 2x the experiences, 2x the connections and endless possibilities!

Giving Day will be ONE BIG DAY for You! ONE BIG DAY for NMU! And another great day to be a Wildcat!

Give 2x the Love!

Giving Day will be twice as exciting as before! All eligible annual fund donations will be matched at a dollar-for-dollar rate up to $100,000. For example, if you give $100, the match will add another $100, resulting in a total donation of $200. This means that the designation will receive double the original donation. Here are the match specifics:

On Giving Day, donors who make a gift to a qualified annual fund will have their gift matched one-to-one, with a maximum per-donor gift match of up to $5,000.
Gifts made to endowed funds, named annual scholarships or capital project funds, payments on existing pledges, and gifts made via payroll deductions will not be included in the Giving Day match.
The minimum match gift requirement is $10.

Giving directly to the SLFP helps fund essential program components like the annual Fall Retreat, internship planning meetings, networking, and social events, and support for the Skill Builder! workshop series and the graduation ceremony.

By donating to the David L. Bonsall Endowment Fund, you are not just ensuring the future of the SLFP, but also becoming a part of its rich legacy. The fund's ultimate goal is to make the SLFP a self-sustaining program, guaranteeing its place as a cornerstone of the NMU student experience for generations to come.

The endowment fund was renamed to honor a key contributor and role model of the SLFP - Dave Bonsall. Dave was instrumental in creating the SLFP. He helped write the initial grant that started the program and was involved with coordinating and sustaining the program for 22 years. Dave is still involved with the SLFP in several ways. Perhaps most importantly, Dave lives his life in a way that exemplifies the vision and goals of this tremendous program. For these reasons and more, the SLFP endowment will forever bear his name.

How to Designate your donation to the SLFP!

On the donation page, under "Designation" you will scroll down to one (or both!) of these two options!

Every gift helps provide SLFP students with mentor relationships, community internships, the Fall Retreat, a graduation ceremony and everything in between.

There are two ways you can direct support to our program. Annual gifts designated to the SLFP fund provide immediately available financial resources to expand the SLFP experience. A gift directed to the David L. Bonsall Endowment adds to an ongoing source of income that enhances stability and allows for future program growth.

Both options are significant to funding SLFP’s current and future needs and we thank you for giving to this exceptional NMU tradition.

Impact of the SLFP

Since its creation in 1991, the 1,362 graduates of the SLFP have logged 146,003 volunteer and community leadership hours at 590 different sites in the Marquette community and worldwide. In addition, over 900 individual community members have served as leadership mentors and role models for SLFP members. The synergy between student leaders, community members, and nonprofit/volunteer organizations has positively impacted countless lives.

During the second year in the program, student fellows put their leadership skills into action through community service internships. These provide extensive opportunities to practice their leadership in the community. Student fellows design their own internships, choosing from existing sites or a limitless variety of new possibilities. Through the community service internships, approximately 4,500 hours of community service are provided annually.

Student Fellows in the Student Leader Fellowship Program are expected to attend a minimum of 15 workshops during the two years they are in the program. Student Fellows can also attend other presentations or workshops that can count as a Skill Builder! credit (up to 5) by completing a write-up about them. If you are interested in presenting a Skill Builder! workshop, please complete the Skill Builder! Planning Form.