1887 Strikes raises $350,000 … and counting

Florida A&M University’s second annual 1887 Strikes Day of Giving concluded Friday afternoon, one day after it began.

1887 Strikes was created last year by the FAMU University Advancement team to attract donors and alumni to raise money for FAMU.

During the first year the 1887 Strikes Day of giving raised $213,256. This year the goal for 1887 Strikes was to  increase the number of donors to more than 1,500 and increase the total number of funds raised.

Those goals were met — and then some.

1887 Strikes raised $349,169 with gifts from 2439 donors — almost 1,000 more donors than last year.

Shawnta Friday-Stroud, vice president of University Advancement and executive director of the FAMU Foundation, wanted this year’s day of giving to reach more people.

“We recognize that we are in a pandemic, where many people have been impacted financially. The biggest thing for us is getting more people to donate, even if it is smaller amounts,” Friday-Stroud said.

For 1,887 minutes, alumni and donors were encouraged to give to any college, school or department at FAMU, including the School of Journalism and Graphic communication, FAMU Cares, University Housing to name a few.

“We have been recruiting people to serve as ambassadors and doing lots of social media posting.

We want to try to meet our alums where they are and get them excited,” Friday-Stroud said.

The day of giving started off with many of the Rattler faculty, including President Larry Robinson, doing the viral TikTok dance the Junebug challenge across different parts of campus. There was also a vibe at five hosted by WANM 90.5, a drive-thru donation parade on the “Set,” and a 1887 Strikes live featuring FAMU celebrities and alumni.

“The work was long, but it was good productive work. I take pride in it. Everything I do is about student success and expanding the brand of FAMU,” Carmen Cummings-Martin, alumna and associate vice president of Alumni Affairs, said.

Other alumni were doing their part and helping FAMU move forward. The president of the National Alumni Association, Gregory Clark, says their goal for this year is $25,000.

“As alumni our job is to always support the institution. It is all about FAMU having the resources to educate the best and the brightest students attending the university,” Clark said.

He noted that even though the event is over, that donations are still being accepted.