A letter that Vice-President for Advancement George Cotton sent
to President Larry Robinson said that his strategies were what got the numbers
up.
“In less than three years, the strategies I have been able
to implement have moved annual fundraising from an average of $3 million
dollars to an unprecedented $8.5 million,” Cotton wrote.
Robinson wrote about the $8.5M as an accomplishment of his
administration in his self-evaluation for 2016-2017. But he didn’t mention
Cotton. Robinson did call attention to contributions of the National Alumni
Association (NAA), new FAMU investment manager, FAMU Foundation Board of
Directors members, corporate partners, and individual donors.
FAMU has not posted any document to FAMU.edu that has a
detailed breakdown of the all the major contributions in 2016-2017 and who gave them.
But what can be said for sure is that FAMU owes a big “thank you” to the
many long-time, regular financial supporters who opened up their checkbooks to
give even more during 2016-2017.
The second annual Investing In Champions Annual Giving
Campaign led by former Athletic Director Milton Overton, Jr. was another huge
success in 2016-2017. It brought in more than $780,000, which was a 100
percent+ increase.
Overton directly reached out to many long-time FAMU
supporters during his fundraising efforts. The three “Platinum Champions” for 2016-2017
were Richard C. Mathews, Colonel (Ret.) Keith F. Stubbs, and the Leon County
FAMU NAA Chapter.
The full list of donors is available here.
$500,000 from Bernard and Shirley Kinsey
Bernard Kinsey, a former FAMU NAA president, and his wife
Shirley are also true Rattlers who give to FAMU year-after-year. The $500,000
they pledged will go to the Marching 100.
$400,000 from National Society of Black Engineers
The National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) has supported
FAMU for decades. On November 6, 2016, FAMU issued a press release that
announced that FAMU and NSBE had “signed an agreement to disburse nearly
$400,000 in funding from Northrop Grumman to 24 deserving students over the
next three years.”
The press release added that: “Associate Dean of Engineering
Reginald Perry and [College of Engineering] Director of Diversity and Inclusion
Charmane Caldwell were instrumental in the college receiving the grant.”
More than $300,000 from the FAMU National Alumni Association
A January 31, 2017 unaudited report from the FAMU National
Alumni Association stated that the organization had contributed $310,044
(unaudited) to the university in 2016-2017 up to that date. The report listed:
NAA Retention Scholarship ($147,782), NAA Chapter Scholarships ($99,850), NAA
Scholarships ($50,000), Unrestricted Contributions to the University ($8,050),
and Endowed Scholarship ($4,362).