On the campus of Nashville’s Fisk University tomorrow, school officials will celebrate the largest fundraising year ever recorded – 8.3-million dollars in the last 12 months.
The celebration also marks a turnaround. When Fisk received a one-million dollar gift in December, the historically black university was merely concerned about remaining solvent. The Andrew Mellon Foundation gift included two-million dollars in matching funds which spurred a flurry of fundraising from alumni and corporations.
Fisk President Hazel O’Leary says the final donations came in this week.
“Wachovia Bank, just in time, delivered a check for 100-k. That actually pushed us over the 1.4 for the Mellon match.”
Fundraising totals for the fiscal year ending this week are two-and-a-half times more than the previous year. 34-percent of the money came from Middle Tennessee donors.
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