Society benefiting Southern begins new membership, fundraising drive

A recently formed group aiming to raise funds for cash-strapped Southern University says it has set an enrollment goal of 100 founding members by the end of this summer and 1,000 members by the end of January 2014. The 1880 Society of the Southern University System Foundation says membership events will be held in New Orleans and in Shreveport later this summer to help boost enrollment. Local business leaders and 1880 Society founding members Jacqui Vines and Richard Lipsey co-chaired an initial membership event in Baton Rouge last week. Fifteen charter members established the society in the fall of 2011, saying they have the potential to generate $1 million annually for the university. The 1880 Society is a cumulative giving initiative in which individuals make multiyear pledges. The goal is to have 1,000 individuals give at least $1,000 per year to reach the $1 million goal. Last week, 18 new members joined the society, according to Ernie Hughes, SU System vice president for advancement. Over the past three years, state support to the SU System—which last year declared a financial emergency—has been cut more than $40 million, the society says. The group currently has 45 founding members and has raised more than $125,000, Hughes says. More information about the society is available here.