ETTRICK, Va.
Making money, administrators at Virginia State University have learned, takes money.
The historically Black school has spent millions of state dollars renovating buildings, in part, to heighten school pride among alumni they hope will respond with their wallets.
It’s working: Alumni support has risen from 7 percent five years ago to 10 percent, and individual gifts have increased from hundreds of dollars to thousands, said development vice president Robert Turner as he showed off libraries and academic buildings recently.
“This,” Turner said, surveying the hilltop campus, “obviously converts to good will.”
Black colleges are refreshing outdated efforts to solicit former students, adding specialized staff, crafting personalized “asks,” improving campuses and increasingly using Internet outreach to augment shrinking state and private funds with alumni dollars.
They’re targeting a wider base, including and younger alumni who’ve moved into a broader range of careers from what are no longer mostly teachers colleges.
