| Hartsville,
SC — The Kresge Foundation has awarded Coker College a $500,000 challenge
grant to be used toward the construction and equipping of its new library
and information technology center.
“The Kresge Foundation is one of the most prestigious and discerning grant-making
institutions in the country,” said Dr. Jim Dawson, Coker College president.
“To be awarded a Kresge grant puts Coker in a very select group of colleges
and universities.”
Coker’s library and information technology center has a total project
cost of $10 million, which includes planning and construction, furnishings
and equipment, landscaping and building infrastructure as well as $1 million
to increase the college’s print and electronic library collection. Ground-breaking
for the 40,000 square-foot center, which is to be named for Charles W.
and Joan S. Coker, is planned for April and the facility is expected to
open in late 2006.
The Kresge Foundation grant is made on a challenge basis to assist Coker
College in raising the remaining $1.12 million required to complete the
new library project. The fund raising deadline is July 1, 2005.
“We are excited about the opportunity to meet this challenge,” said Frank
Bush, executive vice president of institutional advancement. “Kresge recognizes
Coker’s successful fund raising plan for the new library project and the
capabilities of the college’s strong and supportive donor base. This grant
challenges all of the college’s friends and alumni to support the new
library once again or for the first time.”
In 2004, The Kresge Foundation awarded 176 grants totaling over $119 million
towards projects involving construction or renovation of facilities and
the purchase of major capital equipment or real estate. Grant recipients
have raised initial funds toward their projects before submitting a proposal
to the Foundation.
“In this cycle of grant making, our Trustees were pleased to support a
range of organizations reflecting almost the entire breadth of the nonprofit
sector,” said John E. Marshall, III, President and CEO of The Kresge Foundation.
“This diverse group is responding to the new challenges presented by their
communities or sustaining activities that have demonstrated their effectiveness.”
The Kresge Foundation is an independent, private foundation in Troy, MI,
created by the personal gifts of Sebastian S. Kresge. It is not affiliated
with any corporation or organization.
-30-
January
4, 2005
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