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April 18, 2008
Contact: Marilyn S. LeFeber,
810.238.5651,
mlefeber@mott.org
Mott grant caps $6-million campaign to endow Southern Education Foundation
FLINT, Mich. -- With the help of a $1.8-million grant from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the Southern Education Foundation (SEF) in Atlanta has fulfilled the match requirements to create a $6-million endowment for the Center to Serve Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Income from the endowment will provide about $300,000 annually to support technical assistance, research and training for leaders of the nation's 103 historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).
"The endowment will provide a reliable financial base for the Center to Serve and guarantee its long-term stability through inevitable fluctuations in fundraising," said Lynn Huntley, president of SEF.
"The Mott grant -- which provides the final match for a $3-million endowment challenge issued by the Mellon Foundation in 2006 -- will enable us to continue assisting HBCUs with a number of pressing issues, among these accreditation, alumni development, graduation rates, technology planning and Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts."
Other donors contributing matching dollars included the Coca-Cola, Ford and Southern Company Charitable foundations.
According to Huntley, the nation's HBCUs often have little cash to spare for improving their institutional effectiveness as they struggle to keep tuition low and access open to low-income students.
The Center to Serve was established in 2003 to assist the leaders and faculties of these historical institutions in their pursuit of academic effectiveness, faculty credentialing and fiscal stability. The center draws upon the know-how and practical knowledge of HBCU executives, as well as experts and advisers from other sectors.
"Thanks to the leadership of Lynn Huntley, SEF is recognized as an important resource and champion for HBCUs," said William S. White, Mott president. "We are pleased to take advantage of this opportunity to help strengthen the Center to Serve as it continues to help these important institutions.”
Over the past 40 years, the Foundation has granted more than $35 million in support of HBCUs.
SEF is the South's only regional nonprofit focused exclusively on improving education for low-income students and communities from preschool through postsecondary education. In December 2007, SEF marked its 140th anniversary, issuing a special report on its recent work with HBCUs. The report also provides a retrospective on the organization's accomplishments, including a timeline on the history of Southern education and SEF's role since the end of the Civil War.
The Mott Foundation, established in 1926 by an automotive pioneer, is a private philanthropy committed to supporting projects that promote a just, equitable and sustainable society. It supports nonprofit programs throughout the U.S. and, on a limited geographic basis, internationally. Grantmaking is focused in four programs: Civil Society, Environment, Flint Area and Pathways Out of Poverty. Besides Flint, offices are located in metropolitan Detroit, Johannesburg (South Africa) and London. The Foundation, with 2012 year-end assets of $2.28 billion, made 439 grants totaling $91 million. For more information, visit www.mott.org.
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