Bennett College surpassed its fundraising campaign, with an announcement Monday that it had raised $8.2 million on a quest to restore its accreditation.
The eight-week social media blitz surpassed its $5 million goal, eliciting cheers at a lengthy ceremony at the college’s chapel that was broadcast on YouTube.
Bennett will appeal its accreditation revocation to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, which acted in December to remove Bennett’s membership. The accrediting body cited financial problems at the private, historically black college for women — one of only two such schools in the nation.
Bennett President Phyllis Dawkins said the checks rolled in with increasing speed in the past week, ranging from a $20 cash donation from a stranger on the street to two $1 million gifts last Friday. Students from colleges across the nation, especially other historically black institutions, sent money through mobile applications. Children collected quarters. Alumnae worked on the campaign, and banks, corporations and Papa John’s Pizza Foundation gave large donations, Dawkins said.
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