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Fresno State students will soon be able access more grants and scholarships with the help of two gifts from a local philanthropic organization.

On Monday morning, it was announced that the Perenchio Foundation had provided two gifts to the university totaling $5.5 million. Established to direct the philanthropic wishes of Jerrold Perenchio, the foundation donated $500,000 to the Good Samaritan Fund to immediately help students in need during the 2020-21 academic year.

The foundation also donation $5 million to create the Perenchio Family Endowed Scholarship Fund to support Fresno State students from all backgrounds and majors, including “Dreamers,” immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children.

“By helping to remove barriers to achieving a college degree, the Perenchio Foundation is profoundly transforming the lives of current and future students, our next generation of leaders, thereby making a lasting gift to the hometown that gave Mr. Perenchio his start in life,” said Joseph I. Castro, Fresno State president.

Perenchio, whose parents emigrated from Italy, was born in Fresno, but later moved to Los Angeles. He eventually established a career in the entertainment and communications industry, ultimately becoming chairman of Spanish-language broadcast network Univision. Perenchio died in 2017.

Perenchio was conferred an honorary doctorate by Fresno State in 2011.