Givens Foundation Gala

                                                            

                                              GIVENS FOUNDATION GALA: CELEBRATING 40 YEARS!

                                                                                 October 20, 2012
                                                                               Sofitel Minneapolis
                                                        5601 West 78th Street, Bloomington, MN 55439

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                                                                                                                     Givens Gala Sponsorship Overview
                                                                                                                        Givens Gala Sponsorship Packet


Our Inaugural Gala
Join the Givens Foundation for African American Literature on October 20, 2012 when we will celebrate 40 years of service to the Twin Cities community by hosting an inaugural gala at the Hotel Sofitel Minneapolis. The gala will feature a Harlem Renaissance theme, live jazz music, an awards ceremony honoring the Foundation’s founders and the Givens Collection’s Patron Families, a silent auction, dinner and dancing.

Celebrating 40 Years of Service
Forty years ago, the Givens Foundation was established to provide scholarships in support of the academic success of African American students who wanted to go on to higher education. Then, in 1985, the Foundation’s mission took on a literary focus when twelve community families partnered with the University of Minnesota to purchase a 3,000 piece-collection of African American Literature from a collector in New York. Now known as the Archie Givens, Sr. Collection of African American Literature at the University of Minnesota, this Collection has grown to have more than 18,000 African American literary works and cultural objects representing more than 230 years of African American literature and life.

Today, the Givens Foundation for African American Literature remains the only organization in Minnesota exclusively dedicated to advancing and celebrating black literature and writers. Our literary arts education residencies, African American author series, community reading campaigns, and programs for writers illuminate the cultural resources and creative imagination found within African American literature to enrich cultural understanding for diverse audiences of all ages. In 2012, our inaugural gala will raise funds to sustain the mission and programs of the Givens Foundation as we look forward to another 40 years of service.