FAMU Counts Down To Annual Day of Giving ‘1887Strikes’ April 20-21

Florida A&M University is preparing for its 4th Annual Day of Giving ‘1887Strikes,’ which runs from 9 a.m. Thursday, April 20 to 4:27 p.m. Friday, April 21. Friends, alumni, faculty, students, and staff are being asked to financially support a broad range of initiatives and scholarships to benefit students.

Donors can designate their gifts to schools and colleges, endowed scholarships, athletics or FAMU Cares, which provides emergency assistance to students.

“Our students have tremendous ability, tenacity, and ingenuity; however, they need financial resources to remain on track and finish their degrees on time. Your generosity shows a commitment to student success, which pays dividends for generations to come,” said President Larry Robinson, Ph.D. “Once again, I remind everyone to don’t just give until it hurts, give until you go numb. This is for a worthy cause – one that you can feel.” 

This year’s goal is 950 new donors and an overall target of $500,000. The drive is also to retain old donors to increase the giving rate, especially among alumni.  The ‘1887Strikes’ site is live for individual donors to begin to give. The Annual Day of Giving raised $666,000 in 2022 and more than $1.3 million over the past three years.

Shawnta Friday-Stroud, Ph.D., vice president for University Advancement and executive director of the FAMU Foundation, describes ‘1887 Strikes’ as an all-hands effort to support students.

“We’re calling all Rattlers to give, no matter how small,” Friday-Stroud said.

This year’s Annual Day of Giving runs 1887 minutes, from 9 a.m. Thursday, April 20 to 4:27 p.m. Friday, April 21. Tune in to the kickoff ceremony at FAMUTube1887 and on Facebook. To give, visit 1887Strikes.com.

All stakeholders are also encouraged to participate in the Dark Cloud Challenge (information available on the site). Annual Day of Giving festivities will coincide with Set Friday activities from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Friday at the Will Packer Performing Arts Amphitheater. The Office of University Advancement is recruiting ambassadors for individual colleges and schools to drum up participation in the fundraising effort