The Most Ambitious in the Institution's History

(BLACK PR WIRE) The Campaign for Spelman College is a $150 million fundraising effort that aims to actualize the ambitious goals identified in the institution’s strategic plan for 2015. This is the largest such venture the college has embarked upon in its 128-year history.

Beverly Daniel Tatum, Ph.D., Spelman College president, said. “Young women who are choosing to be at Spelman are ready and willing to put the determination, and commitment into their education, so they can solve the problems that wait for them when they graduate. Yet they have to be able to graduate.”

Among the primary goals of the campaign are to graduate 5,000 incredibly talented young women—many first-generation and economically challenged—over the next decade. To date, the campaign has raised more than $80 million in leadership gifts during the silent phase, putting Spelman that much closer to achieving this fundamental goal.

“Spelman College provides a unique educational opportunity for African-American women and has a tradition of producing some of the brightest, best-educated graduates in the country,” said Frank Blake, chairman and CEO, The Home Depot. “Ensuring this outstanding institution has the resources, now and into the future, to prepare these young women for the demands of the global community and the ever-changing economy is critically important.”

The overarching goal of the campaign is to acquire the necessary resources to provide students with a transformational experience based on academic rigor and career development that leads to a life-changing commitment to community involvement and positive social impact. The primary goals of the campaign are to ensure that each student receives: the financial support she needs to complete her education; more global engagement opportunities; enhanced research experiences and career-related internships; increased access to alumnae connections; individualized leadership development experiences; and expanded service learning and community engagement activities.

“Spelman is a national treasure, with a rich and productive history, where our students grow to be responsible leaders in their respective worldwide communities,” said Yvonne R. Jackson, chair, Spelman College Board of Trustees. “This campaign will shore up the support so many of our students need to finish college; and it will add support to continue strengthening our academic programs to advance Spelman’s mission of empowering women to excel intellectually, think creatively, serve wholeheartedly and lead boldly.”

For more information about The Campaign for Spelman College, visit: http://www.spelman.edu/changemeansaction