Fayetteville State University Receives $5.8M Gift from Anonymous Trust

The Largest Single Private Gift in FSU’s History
Date: June 17, 2022

Fayetteville State University (FSU) always has taken pride in educating students from diverse socio-economic backgrounds. During the institution’s storied 155-year history, prospective students, whose families had difficulties in financing their education, relied on us to make that dream of earning a college degree reality. With that, we are excited to share some great news about a transformative gift that will help FSU provide a quality education to students from various walks of life, particularly the Tier I and II counties of Eastern North Carolina. This investment clearly demonstrates that people believe in the mission of FSU and the impact we are making on students and the citizens of this great state and nation.

Fayetteville State University (FSU) announced today that it has received a $5.8M grant from Anonymous Trust — making this the largest single private gift to the university. At a press conference today at the Charles W. Chesnutt Library on campus, university leaders announced that the grant will support multiple initiatives that foster student success with a focus on students from Eastern North Carolina.

In this historic year for FSU, fundraising has increased exponentially. In 2021, FSU raised a total of $1.57 million in philanthropic support. The gift from Anonymous Trust boosts the University’s fundraising projections for 2022 to nearly $8 million dollars in overall gifts and donations by the close of the fiscal year (June 30), which would also set a record for a single year at Fayetteville State University, according to Interim Vice Chancellor of University Advancement Chris Davis.

Chancellor Darrell T. Allison, Anonymous Trust representatives Kimberly Breeden and Margaret Turlington, as well as FSU student Morgan Jackson, addressed an audience of special guests that included FSU Board of Trustees members, legislators, faculty, staff and students, and members of the media.

“This is truly a pivotal moment in the life of our University and the lives of our students,” Chancellor Allison said. “The funding from the Anonymous Trust will significantly advance our goals in recruiting, retaining, and graduating our talented students regardless of their circumstances. We are deeply grateful for this gift and the opportunities it affords FSU to both be its best and do its very best for the students enrolled at Fayetteville State University.”

For the Anonymous Trust, this gift furthers their mission to uplift communities through education and create opportunities that might not be possible otherwise.

“We are thrilled to partner with Fayetteville State to bolster and advance their programs aimed at expanding access to a quality education for talented students regardless of their circumstances, especially from underserved and underrepresented communities,” said Turlington, director of Simple Gifts Fund at Anonymous Trust. “We made this investment because we are committed to the region served by Fayetteville State, and we are confident in the leadership at FSU. We believe they have both the vision and commitment to help change lives and open doors for students. Anonymous Trust is proud that our joint efforts will have an impact throughout students’ entire college experience and even beyond.”

The student success initiatives at FSU will boost student retention and graduation rates with a priority focus on students graduating in four years, minority male recruitment and retention, and student initiatives that support career readiness and access to employment opportunities upon graduation.

The $5.8 million funding, provided over three years, will help support strategic efforts such as:

  • FSU’s 30-60-90 Free Summer School program that is designed to keep students on track towards degree completion within four years by offering up to seven (7) free credit courses over the summer.
  • The Bronco Boost initiative, an immersive on-campus summer transition program for incoming first-year and transfer students from Tier 1 and Tier 2 counties in Eastern North Carolina.
  • Need-Based Opportunity Scholarships, for first-time, high-performing first-year and transfer students from Tier 1 and Tier 2 counties in Eastern North Carolina.
  • FSU’s Minority Male Initiative, to recruit, retain and support students through mentorship and enhanced community partnerships.
  • FSU’s College of Education Reading Clinic, an ongoing program that enables FSU students to provide tutoring services to enhance literacy to first through fifth graders in Cumberland and surrounding counties.

About the Anonymous Trust

The Anonymous Trust’s mandate is to serve rural and underserved communities in eastern North Carolina. Since its inception, a primary tenet of the Trust is that all children deserve access to quality education, and educators deserve access to opportunities often only afforded to teachers in urban districts. The Trust partners within the communities it serves to understand needs, assets, and challenges and to engage with the community to help identify resources to build capacity, amplify results and engender hope.

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