Fisk University, facing increasing demands from its national accrediting body for more substantive documentation about its long-term financial viability, is beating the bushes for more funds from supporters by the end of this month as part of efforts to demonstrate its fundraising potential.
Faced with an April 15 deadline to file its report with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) Commission on Colleges, Fisk is trying to raise $3.1 million by the end of March as part of its plan of “demonstrating fundraising viability,” says one Fisk official who declined to speak for attribution.
Officially, the school has been mum on its fundraising experience since SACS put it on “warning status” in December, demanding more proof that Fisk can comply with several “comprehensive standards” of financial viability required of all member schools. SACS, based in Atlanta, is the principal accrediting agency for colleges and universities in the South.
In a recent electronically distributed newsletter sent to Fisk supporters, the school’s office of institutional advancement gives an upbeat but mixed picture of its efforts as of February.
The report says contributions by Fisk trustees, long a focus of criticism about their weak financial support, was up 55.7 percent from last year; $674,925 compared to 2010’s total of $413,639. Foundation support for the historic school, home of the internationally famous Jubilee Singers, also was up significantly, the Fisk report says.
However, contributions by civic, social and religious organizations dropped by 44 percent. Alumni donations and gifts have also continued to slide, says the report. While exact numbers of contributions for the month of February were not detailed in the report, it does state that Fisk alumni have given the school more than $500,000 since its 2011 fiscal year began July 1, 2010.
“We’re on track to do well,” says another Fisk official intimately involved in the school’s fundraising efforts.
