Claflin, Benedict awarded grants

March 12, 2008

$1.05 million for each school will help boost fundraising

By JAMES T. HAMMOND - jhammond@thestate.com

Benedict College will receive $1.05 million from the Kresge Foundation and the United Negro College Fund to supercharge its fundraising potential, officials at the private, historically black college said.

Also, Claflin University will receive a similar $1.05 million grant, sending two of the six UNCF awards announced Tuesday to South Carolina colleges.

"This UNCF grant is specifically designed to substantially increase giving to the university from alumni and trustees," said the Rev. Whitaker V. Middleton, vice president of institutional advancement at Claflin University.

The three-year grants will be used to enhance the colleges' fundraising programs targeted at alumni and trustees. If they reach their initial fundraising goals, Benedict and Claflin will be eligible for an additional $500,000 in each of the fourth and fifth years, college officials said.

The funds will not be spent on the colleges' educational missions directly, but are specifically targeted to boost the institutions' long-term ability to raise more private gifts.

The Kresge Foundation is a $3.9 billion private foundation that supports communities by strengthening the nonprofit organizations that serve them, according to the foundation's Web site. It was founded by Sebastian Kresge, who started the retail chain that became Kmart.

Benedict President David Swinton said that institutions helped by the Kresge Foundation in the past have strengthened their fundraising, and he hopes the result will be similar here.

"We're trying new things. We've implemented online giving," Swinton said. "We got the board to accept a $1 million challenge."

By improving practices, Benedict and Claflin will improve their competitiveness in the crowded philanthropic marketplace, the UNCF said in its announcement of the grants.

Love Collins, Benedict's executive vice president for institutional advancement, said the money will allow the college to hire three new fundraising professionals in addition to improving its fundraising infrastructure and procedures.

Collins implemented a similar grant at Dillard University in New Orleans. He also worked on a major capital campaign at Howard University in Washington.

Benedict's office of institutional advancement raised almost $2 million from private gifts in the year that ended June 30, 2007, Collins said, a period that ended a week before he arrived on the job.

So far this financial year, his office had raised $1.28 million, Collins said. When the Kresge grant is booked, his team will be well ahead of its performance for all of last year.

Collins has challenged the Benedict trustees to raise $1 million this year. So far, they have met 21 percent of that goal, he said. In addition, the alumni are seeking to raise $1 million, and have reached 28 percent of that goal.

The stakes will rise considerable as Benedict incorporates the Kresge grant and the benchmarks that it includes. Collins said Benedict will have to meet incremental goals to continue to receive the money. Those goals are $3.5 million in the first year, $4.5 million in the second year, and $6 million in the third year.

Sheryl Good, president of the Benedict College National Alumni Association, said she believes the school's graduates are capable of giving more, but just have not been in the habit of giving.

"We have to do a better job of raising expectations," she said. Benedict is poised to do a better job of telling its story, she said.

Source: The State Newspaper

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