Claflin University hit a milestone in 2011, when 45 percent of its alumni contributed to the Orangeburg, S.C. -based HBCU. The record number of contributions comes amid the school's "First to 50" campaign, its effort to become the first HBCU to have an alumni giving rate of at least 50 percent. Under the campaign, the school opened a call center in March to reach out to alumni for donations as well as launched fundraising drives in Atlanta and New York, where many alumni reside. The school's alumni association also has gotten in on the act with each chapter holding drives and annual fundraising events. Claflin's fundraising efforts haven't gone unnoticed. In February, the school's capital campaign brochure won a gold medal at the 27th Annual Educational Advertising Awards for schools with less than 2,000 students. And the school itself rated No. 1 in the annual alumni-giving category among HBCUs last year by U.S. News and World Report.