The Park Scholarships program is pleased to welcome Meghan Hunt to its staff. As the assistant director of development, Hunt will plan, organize, and implement strategies to increase engagement and annual giving.
This position supports efforts to fully endow the Park Scholarships program. In 2013, the Park Foundation announced a $50 million gift—the largest single gift in NC State’s history—to launch an endowment for the program. Since then, more than 2,000 members of the Park Scholarships community have made a gift to the program.
Hunt will advance the mission of Park Scholarships by growing the level of engagement and financial commitment of members of the Park Scholarships community including alumni, students, families, volunteers, faculty, staff, donors, and friends. Serving as a key point of contact for fundraising and development-related efforts, Hunt will be integral in ensuring the operational efficiency of fundraising and development-related work across the program. Hunt will manage and support stewardship and annual giving activities including Park March Madness and NC State Day of Giving, as well as coordinate community engagement events including sPark and class reunions. She will also strengthen the fundraising efforts of the student-led Park Philanthropy Council and the Park Alumni Society to grow student and alumni participation in giving.
Hunt has a longstanding passion for engaging alumni and students in philanthropy that began during her time as a student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. As an undergraduate, she served for four years as a member of the Order of the Bell Tower, the official program of student ambassadors and tradition keepers. As chair of the organization’s alumni relations committee, she helped organize the 30th alumni reunion weekend.
She earned a degree in history and most recently worked in development roles for the UNC Health Foundation, Ackland Art Museum, and UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media. In these positions, she was instrumental in creating and managing special events, revamping institutional scholarship and awards processes, guiding crowdfunding campaigns, and increasing alumni and corporate giving.
Hunt has extensive experience in volunteer management through serving on the Junior League of Durham and Orange Counties Board of Directors. She also volunteered for various UNC committees, where she led efforts to diversify board leadership and pilot a peer mentoring program.
Hunt is excited to join the Park Scholarships staff and enthusiastic to connect with members of the Park Scholarships community.