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TSU advancement outlines $100M campaign vision, introduces new fundraising director

Tennessee State University Board of Trustees · November 21, 2025

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Summary

Tennessee State University's institutional advancement director reported cleared gift backlog, a CRM migration and a strategic plan to shift away from a dues‑based alumni model toward foundation-centered giving while proposing a $100 million campaign over three years.

Eloise Alexis, Assistant Vice President for Institutional Advancement, told the Board’s finance committee on Nov. 20 that her team has cleared a substantial backlog of gifts, is migrating to a new donor database and is pursuing strategic initiatives to increase alumni engagement and giving.

Alexis said the unit received roughly $2.1 million between July 1 and Nov. 7 and that, after inputting a backlog of roughly 800 transactions and more than $136,000 in delayed gifts, the institution appears about $36,000 ahead compared with the same point last year. "We are up about $36,000 once we got the backlog and all in," Alexis said.

She introduced Cassandra Griggs as the new director of fundraising and outlined two strategic initiatives: changing the alumni giving model from a dues‑based system to one that recognizes all contactable alumni as potential foundation donors and preparing for a comprehensive fundraising campaign. Alexis described a planning vision that would target as much as $100 million over three years, while noting that campaign feasibility and staffing must be addressed before public launch. "We will do a feasibility study and a SWOT analysis," she said, and the foundation is funding the first two years of a migration to Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge to automate gift processing.

Trustees asked about succession planning for alumni chapters, how students will be engaged as new alumni, and how large gifts criteria affect outreach. Alexis said the team will develop talking points for trustees and engage chapters and affinity groups in pilots. A student attendee volunteered to work with advancement on student engagement during the campaign planning process.