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North Carolina A&T State University, the largest HBCU in the country, is celebrating a record-breaking year of fundraising. The Greensboro, N.C., school raised $88 million since last year bringing the total to $181.4 million to complete its eight-year campaign, according to an announcement from administrators.
The amount now lists A&T’s assets at $153 million, including its endowment, making it the most of any public HBCU, NPR reported.
There has not been a year like that ever in our history,” says Todd Simmons, N.C. A&T’s Associate Vice Chancellor for University Relations told the news organization. “Nor has there been a year like that in the history of nearly any other public HBCU in America.”
Thurgood Marshall College Fund President Harry L. Williams, called it a record-breaking year. “We have never, ever seen anything like this for HBCUs,” he said.
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“More than 21,300 donors took a hard look at North Carolina A&T and invested in its promise and potential. Our students, faculty, and academic programs earned those investments, and the total of that generosity is a reflection of the quality of this community of scholars,” said Chancellor Harold L. Martin Sr. on the school’s website. “We’re grateful for what this says about our university now and excited about what it means for our future.”
Along with private donors and alumni, MacKenzie Scott, philanthropist, and ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, donated $45 million to North Carolina A&T.
In comparison to other institutions, HBCUs have smaller endowments at their disposal. Some HBCUs have used their recent gifts to invest in their endowments as a way to grow funds for generations to come.
“Our institutions just do not have those robust endowments that we can lean on when we go through difficult times just like we just went through,” Williams continued. “So therefore by investing in the endowment … that is going to help with the sustainability of our institutions.”