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Posted
on Sat, Apr. 26, 2003, The State Newspaper
Benedict
exceeds goal, starts new fund drive
By JOHN C. DRAKE
Staff Writer
If
Benedict College president David H. Swinton asks you
to lunch, you'd better have your checkbook handy.
Even
as Benedict marks the end of a six-year fund-raising
campaign that netted the school more than $30 million,
officials are eager to start a drive to fund a new
athletic complex and add to the school's endowment.
They
hope to raise about $20 million through some of the
same methods that allowed Benedict to exceed the goal
for its most recent campaign by $5.1 million.
The
amount raised is significant given the difficulty all
colleges nationwide, and particularly small private
black colleges, have had enticing donors in the slumping
economy.
The
historically black college in Columbia announced the
results of the six-year campaign in a press conference
on campus Friday. The gathering was a pep rally for
donors and alumni, with officials encouraging them
to open up their pocketbooks again.
" We
need to strengthen our endowment," Swinton said. "We need to do everything we can to put our college on a solid foundation, so
our future is secure."
Most
of the $30 million raised in the "Fulfilling the Dream" campaign already has been spent at the 3,000 student campus, with more than
a third going to cover day-to-day expenses.
The
rest went to a variety of building projects and other
campus improvements.
Some
didn't believe Benedict would be able to raise $12
million when the campaign began in 1996, Swinton said.
The school raised about half of the amount in a so-called
two-year "quiet phase," before it made the public push in 2000.
Benedict
College doesn't have a large number of rich alumni
who are able to give large gifts.
" Unfortunately for institutions like Benedict College .‘.‘. they
don't have the connection with the money people," Swinton said.
The
largest amount donated by an alumnus was $125,000.
Swinton
said the college is particularly in need of funds for
scholarships, since the state offers less need-based
financial aid than help offered to students with high
academic achievement.
" We try to give an opportunity to any high school graduate who wants
to get an education," he said. "And that costs us. Our students don't get that state support."
Swinton
and others said potential donors are convinced to give
once they see the campus and what the school is doing.
" We
have good people, and I think this place sells itself," said Charlie Johnson, chairman of the board of trusteeswho gave $1 million. "Our people see what's going on, and they commit to being a part of it."
The
next campaign will raise money for the school's new
athletic complex, bring additional funds to itsendowment,
and pay for renovations to the historical Antisdel
Chapel on campus.
Down
the hall from the press conference, students eating
lunch had ideas about how the money should be spent.
They
want newer computers, better dorms, cheaper tuition,
more study facilities and more extracurricular activities.
Students
said they understand why the college has attracted
so many donors.
It has an open enrollment policy, which means the school admits students
who would be rejected from other colleges.
" If
it weren't for Benedict, a lot of young black people
wouldn't be in college," said Joshua Williams, a freshman.
Students
believe donors will continue to support the college.
Queshonda
Moore, a senior, said people don't want to see Benedict
face the severe financial difficulties that have plagued
such other historically black colleges as Atlanta's
Morris Brown College. Morris Brown lost its accreditation
over financial mismanagement after its debt got out
of control.
" We're
a struggling college," Queshonda said. "They [donors] know we need an education. They don't want to lose this."
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