McPherson College has raised $1 million in gifts and pledges to meet the $1 million challenge goal set by Florida philanthropist, automotive enthusiast and owner of the Brumos Collection, Dano Davis, the college announced. Additionally, the college met the challenge three months ahead of schedule, according to Amanda Gutierrez, vice president for automotive restoration at McPherson.
“One of the goals for this project was to make sure that everyone had a chance to participate,” she said. “This milestone was achieved through the generosity of many alumni and friends with gifts at all levels. And it included a lot of first-time donors as well.”
The college announced the donor challenge in June. The Davis gift supports developing business workshops that enhance the curriculum in the restoration major and scholarships to students in the restoration management track. The gift allows the program to explore other creative ways for students to experience multiple facets of the collector car world by working with industry professionals to share their knowledge, the school said.
“I was motivated to support McPherson College and specifically the automotive restoration program after visiting the campus and meeting several of the students there,” Davis said. “I wanted to motivate others and help them see the importance of generously supporting an endeavor that preserves the skills and knowledge to work on historic automobiles.”
The Davis gift is a major piece of the $20 million Building Community comprehensive fundraising campaign. A key component of this multi-year campaign is to increase funding for academic programs like auto restoration. Launched in 2019 with more than 50 percent of the goal met, the Building Community campaign will surpass its $20 million goal.
