CofC Launches the Drive for the 250th

In recognition of the College of Charleston’s 250th anniversary and to continue the momentum of the institution’s inaugural CofC Day, a 24-hour day of giving, the College has launched the Drive for the 250th, which aims to showcase fundraising priorities and engagement activities throughout CofC’s anniversary year.

The College had a monumental day on Jan. 30, 2020, with the kickoff of its 250th anniversary celebration and the first-ever CofC Day. In addition to celebrating on campus, 600 alumni celebrated at 16 alumni club gatherings around the country and as far away as London. Through the various events, communications and opportunities to proudly engage with the College, more than 1,400 alumni, students, faculty, staff and friends expressed their philanthropic support with more than $5 million committed to the College.

This outpouring marks the beginning of increased engagement and philanthropic efforts to prepare for the College’s future under the leadership of President Andrew T. Hsu. The Drive for the 250th at the College of Charleston aims to leverage advocacy and support from the Cougar community around the world in order to maximize and redefine the College’s strong liberal arts and sciences tradition for the future.

More than $2.5 million of the gifts from CofC Day are dedicated to scholarships, with the remainder impacting everything from program support such as dean’s funds to capital projects like campus preservation and the Student Success Center at 58 George St. These gifts represent a key step in supporting the university’s next era of greatness and the lives of the students and faculty.

The Drive for the 250th aims to continue that excitement to help the College prepare for the 21st century through innovative programs that will give the institution a national platform.

During the Drive for the 250th, the College will be focusing on 10 fundraising priorities:

The 1967 Legacy Program will empower African American students to succeed by preparing them to be leaders and contribute to a global society.

The 21st Century Library project will expand the Libraries’ infrastructure to make it a central hub for media production, experiential learning and creative cooperation.

The Campus Preservation Fund will preserve, refresh and renew the campus’s historic homes and buildings.

The Center for Networked Discovery will bring together teams of scholars with shared research interests to discover answers to questions using modern data tools.

The Center for Undergraduate Research and Creative Inquiry will bring students and faculty together for high-level intellectual collaboration and high-impact results.

CofC Opera will make opera available to the Charleston community beyond Spoleto Festival, USA.

Engineering at CofC will bring the best of a liberal arts and sciences education together with the technical literacy needed to thrive in our increasingly technology-driven world.

The Global Leadership Institute will use international experiential learning to prepare students for living in a globally connected world.

Merit Scholarships will help the Honors College attract and retain highly engaged, intelligent and diverse students.

The Student Success Center will create a home of student success resources at the College, including career development, civic engagement and undergraduate research.

Throughout the year, more will be shared about each of the priorities and how they will build a foundation for a future of savvy students who are prepared for a technology-driven, globally connected world.

Please visit 250.cofc.edu to learn more about what is happening to celebrate the College’s 250th anniversary and to learn more about the Drive for the 250th.