VirginiaBusiness.com January 19, 2011 Philanthropist gives $100,000 to Virginia State University Philanthropist Earl W. Stafford has donated $100,000 to Virginia State University. Stafford is chairman and CEO of the Reston-based Stafford Foundation and CEO of The Wentworth Group LLC, a holding company that provides financial services to small businesses. Stafford organized and funded the People’s Inaugural Project through which members of underserved and marginalized communities were able to attend the inauguration of President Barack Obama. A substantial portion of the VSU donation will be used toward the University’s Low Income Families with Talented Students (LIFTS) program. LIFTS is a first-of-its-kind financial aid program among state-supported, historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). LIFTS promises to meet 100 percent of a qualifying student’s financial need by providing 75 percent of a student’s need through scholarships and grants and limiting debt through student loans to 25 percent of VSU’s in-state cost of attendance over four years, regardless of state residency. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Program Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 404.592.4820 Skype:sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree Street NW Suite 200 Atlanta, GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (Lyrasis) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.