The 220 Quarterback Club began as a group of retirees having a weekly lunch and donating $500 each week to the football program. From those humble beginnings, the group has grown into one of the most effective fundraising affinity groups for not only FAMU Athletics but groups across the university. In this week’s meeting, which was broadcast on Facebook and YouTube, club president Eddie Jackson announced a new campaign of $1 million for FAMU Athletics.
While the group is not an officially recognized Direct Support Organization (DSO), they have lent unprecedented support to FAMU Athletics over the past years. Recently, the group raised $50,000 for FAMU’s women’s athletics teams in a matter of eight weeks. It was that campaign’s success that nudged Jackson to reach higher heights.
“I’m going to officially announce two weeks from today, the kickoff of a million-dollar campaign for women’s sports and general athletics,” Jackson said. Most of the money from the $50,000 we raised came from those watching our weekly YouTube program we do every Wednesday. I want to raise $1 million over the next five months.”
Jackson is working on the platform to accept donations
Jackson will make the official announcement and protocols for the fundraiser at the 220 Quarterback Club’s March 20th meeting. He indicated that he needed to initiate internal controls and methods of accumulating the funds.
Over the years, the group has had its hand in supporting all programs within FAMU Athletics. They bought the pitching machine for the softball program, provided the coolant recovery system for FAMU football annually, supported the sports nutrition stations, and supported the various coaches with funding for requests that came in. As the popularity of the group grew, so did the asks. The group’s objective is to support the coaches and student-athletes with the resources they need to be successful both in the classroom and on the field or court.
Jackson is not new to FAMU Athletics or raising money for FAMU. He began his trek as sports information director for the great Jake Gaither. From there he was promoted within the university and began working directly with FAMU President Dr. Frederick Humphries. At no time in the history of the school did it raise more money than during the Humphries era. The system of attracting monies to FAMU, spearheaded by Humphries, Eddie Jackson, and the fiscal administration was part of the formula that helped the school acquire the No. 1 ranking overall by the Princeton Review in 1997. That’s not an HBCU ranking, that was every college and university in America.
The atmosphere is right for FAMU Athletics fundraising
With the reigning HBCU football national championship team, SWAC women’s cross country and SWAC Indoor Track & Field championship teams, Florida A&M is doing what was expected of them when they changed conferences from the MEAC to the SWAC in 2021. The university has retained its ranking as the Top Public HBCU by U.S News and World Report for the fifth consecutive year and is making headlines for all the right reasons. The Rattler nation has gained momentum that had been lost over several years of struggle in various areas.
Jackson, who adamantly supports not only athletics but programs across the campus is eager to get the fundraising campaign going, using technology to aid the process. “The 220 Quarterback Club is having its own capital campaign. I think we’re going to make it happen for our university,” he said.