In recognition of the 125th Anniversary of Black Alumni Presence at
Penn, our Black Alumni Society (BAS) has taken on raising
a gift fund with a "stretch" target of $500,000. This fund will support
several key campus-based institutions/initiatives which
positively impact the ongoing presence and experience
of African-American students, faculty, administrators,
and staff at the University.
The "Honoring Legends" Fund will be used to make a gift to each of the following institutions/initiatives:
- 250 in 5/DuBois Scholars Fund
- W.E.B. DuBois College House
- MAKUU Black Cultural Center
- African American Resource Center
- Center for Africana Studies
Below is additional information detailing each of the Fund's beneficiary institutions and initiatives. BAS firmly believes that no honoring and celebration of our venerable "Legends" can be complete without doing our part to positively impact the future of Blacks at Penn in a tangible way. Our donations will make a lasting statement as our contribution to the Penn legacy. It is in this spirit that we have created the "Honoring Legends Fund" and set such an aggressive target. We hope that you will also be touched, moved and inspired to give generously to this investment in the future of Blacks at Penn.
We thank you for your partnership.
We invite you to participate at one of the following gift levels:
- Patrons - $5,000
- Friends - $1,881
- Associates - $500
- Supporter - $125
- Other amount
DONATE ONLINE TO THE BAS HONORING LEGENDS FUND
Or
Please make checks payable to "The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania" with "BAS - Honoring Legends" in the memo section and mail to:
Black Alumni Society - Honoring Legends Fund
c/o E. Craig Sweeten Alumni House
University of Pennsylvania
3533 Locust Walk
Philadelphia, Pa 19104
Matching Gifts - If you or your spouse/partner is affiliated with a company that has a matching gift program, please obtain a matching gift form from the human resources office where you work and include the completed form with your donation.
Beneficiary Institutions/Initiatives
"250 in 5"
The "250 in 5" initiative is an historic fundraising campaign that was conceived by several African American Penn alumni to raise $250,000 in 5 years for the W.E.B. Du Bois College House Endowed Scholars Program. The "Du Bois Scholarship" was established in 1997 in celebration of the 25th anniversary of Du Bois College House. The Scholars program provides financial support to upperclass residents of the W.E.B. Du Bois College House who have demonstrated academic excellence and leadership abilities and who would otherwise be unable to meet the cost of a Penn education.
Co-founders Lolita Jackson SEAS'89 and David France C'89, spearheaded this unprecedented campaign and were pleased to recently announce that the fund had reached the $1.0 million mark in pledges thanks to a special $85,000 "wrap-up" pledge from the Black Alumni Society to top off its five year commitment to the campaign. The portion of the 125th Honoring Legends fund to be distributed to 250 in 5 will complete the funding of this pledge.
W.E.B. Du Bois College House
The W.E.B. Du Bois College House at 3901 Walnut Street provides a vibrant, supportive living environment for the pursuit of African-American scholarship. Small and intimate, the House is often the center of activities sponsored by African-American faculty, staff, students, and the West Philadelphia community. One of the oldest College Houses on campus, Du Bois recently celebrated its thirtieth anniversary. It is also distinguished by being the first College House to offer its own endowed scholarship, made possible by the Black Alumni Society. Each year recipients are selected from an annual pool of nominees chosen by the Faculty Master, House Dean and staff. The depth and richness of the W.E.B. Du Bois College House experience generates loyalty among resident students and alumni, who maintain their involvement by supporting and sponsoring programs, attending events and by offering community service.
More info
MAKUU
MAKUU is the Black Student Cultural Center at Penn. Established in 2000, and located in the ARCH building at 3601 Locust Walk, MAKUU seeks to provide a cultural laboratory for students of the Black Diaspora to invent, organize, and collaborate with one another, and the entire Penn community. It houses a wide range of resources for individual Black students and organizations and provides limited financial support for student events and programs.
More info
African-American Resource Center
The African-American Resource Center's (AARC) mission is to enhance the quality of life for faculty, staff and students at the University of Pennsylvania, with a particular focus on those of African descent. AARC contributes to making Penn a leader in higher education by constructively and proactively helping to create a teaching-learning community of real and harmonious diversity. The Resource Center is a model for the academy and the society at large. Any Penn administrators, faculty, staff or students can use these free and confidential services as needed.
More info
Center for Africana Studies
The Center for Africana Studies is a space for the critical examination of the human, cultural, social, political, economic and historical factors that have created and shaped the African American and African Diaspora experiences throughout the world. As an academic and research center, we place primary emphasis on the ways that African Diaspora experiences and traditions have functioned on a global scale and resonated within the spaces of a variety of national projects. The Center provides an intellectual setting in which interdisciplinary dialogues are encouraged.
During its more than 30-year existence, The Center has initiated a variety of student- and faculty-based programs to expand the understanding of ideas, knowledge, experiences and approaches to the study of African and African Diaspora history, society and culture. The Center sponsors the Afro-American Studies Summer Institute for incoming first-year students and several co-curricular programs, including: the Artist and Scholar-in-Residence Programs, The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Lecture in Social Justice, The Africana Film Project, and The Honorable A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr. Memorial Lecture.
More info
