Black colleges seeking more money from alumni
ETTRICK, Va. (AP) — Making money, administrators at Virginia State University have learned, takes money.
The majority black school has spent millions of state dollars renovating buildings, partly to heighten school pride among alumni they hope will respond by opening their own wallets.
It's working: Alumni support has risen from 7% five years ago to 10%, and individual gifts have increased from hundreds of dollars to thousands, development vice president Robert Turner said as he showed off libraries and academic buildings recently.
"This" — Turner said, surveying the hilltop campus — "obviously converts to good will."
As state and private funds shrink, historically black colleges are refreshing outdated efforts to solicit former students, by adding specialized staff, crafting personalized "asks," improving campuses and increasingly using Internet outreach.
They're targeting a wider base — more blacks are graduating — and younger alumni who've moved into a broader range of careers.
At VSU, efforts as subtle as adding a donor recognition dinner have heartened alumni like Anthony Spence.
"If I'm going to give my money to a university, I want to be sure that it's used for the very best," said Spence, 41, a Miramar, Fla., entrepreneur who's given about $60,000...
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Black colleges seeking more money from alumni - USATODAY.com
