Florida A&M University (FAMU) is urging alumni to step forward to support the University before the fiscal year ends on June 30.
“Alumni giving is a strategic pillar that reflects the strength of our University,” said President Larry Robinson, Ph.D. “We’ve always asked our supporters to give beyond the hurt and until they go numb. Now we’re asking our alumni simply to give until they feel the joy and satisfaction in their hearts of knowing they are contributing to the success of current and future generations of Rattlers.”
While the University has received a record $12.7 million in giving for the current annual campaign, the number of alumni who have donated to FAMU has lagged.
The portion of alumni who donated to the University in 2020-2021 has slipped to 6.4 percent from 6.5 percent a year ago. By comparison, 10.9 percent of North Carolina A&T State University alumni donated to their alma mater last fiscal year.
In August 2020, the FAMU Board of Trustees established a 9 percent alumni participation rate goal. To meet that benchmark, the University needs 1,797 additional alumni donors to step forward with their contributions.
Earlier this year, the University held a successful Annual Day of Giving, which raised more than double the amount raised in 2020. The second annual Day of Giving, “1887Strikes,” raised $459,549.19 in gifts from 2,800 donors. The gifts represent a 215 percent increase over the 2020 campaign. But individual giving was hampered by the cancellation of homecoming activities, when affinity giving, donations from sororities, fraternities, and classes, takes center stage.
“We need all alumni from all colleges and schools to make a contribution, no matter how big nor how small, to www.FAMURising.com no later than June 30, to boost our alumni giving rate for this fiscal year,” said Shawnta Friday-Stroud, Ph.D., vice president for University Advancement and executive director of the FAMU Foundation. “We sincerely thank our alumni for their continuous direct financial support to FAMU.”
