A Tennessee nonprofit organization continues its drive to provide equal opportunities to all after amassing more than $2 million in pledges to help undocumented students go to college.
The Equal Chance for Education (ECE) announced that one donor has pledged $1 million over 10 years to support noncitizens pursuing higher education. Another donor has pledged $200,000 to the cause.
Angela Evans, the group’s publicist, disclosed that both donors have chosen to remain anonymous.
Smaller donations amounting to more than $200,000 have also been added since Thursday, earning the gratitude and surprise of nonprofit leaders.
“I will always be in awe of [the] generosity of ECE supporters, in Nashville and throughout the US. After these most recent gifts and commitments, notably, the $1 million gift pledged, ECE will be able to enroll more dedicated and deserving scholars this fall,” ECE Executive Director Molly Haynes said in a statement.
Paying It Forward
The outpouring of donations can be credited to two events: a fundraiser with author Jon Meacham and journalist John Seigenthaler and an article posted on the organization’s website about ECE Founder Dr. Michael Spalding and its first recipient, Melissa Patino Gonzalez.
The story goes back 60 years, when Spalding was a broke teenager needing assistance to enter college and how the generosity of an old golf buddy paved the way for his dreams to come true.
Apart from individual donors, the organization experienced a boost of support from benefactor TheDream.US, a nationwide college fund for undocumented students.