Donors give $3 million to Pinckney scholarship after Charleston shooting
Charleston, S.C. (WLTX) - A group of anonymous donors has come together to create a college scholarship fund in honor of Rev. Clementa Pinckney, the pastor who was killed last month in the Charleston church shooting.
Charleston Mayor Joe Riley and Rev. Norvel Goff, the interim pastor at Mother Emanuel AME Church, announced details of the fund Thursday afternoon at a news conference in Charleston.
Riley said the donors have committed $3 million to what's simply known as the Reverend Pinckney Scholarship Fund, which has already been registered as a non-profit in the state.
Money raised through the fund goes to provide college and advanced degree scholarships for members of the extended Mother Emanuel church community, including relatives of the victims.
Riley, Henry Louis Gates Jr., and William M. Lewis Jr. will serve as board members of the corporation. The board at Mother Emanuel AME will establish the grant making process.
People can donate to the fund by going to www.pinckneyfund.org/ or by sending a check to the following location:
Reverend Pinckney Scholarship Fund
c/o The Mayor's Office, City of Charleston
80 Broad Street, Charleston, SC 29401
Pinckney and eight others were murdered inside Mother Emanuel on June 17. The last of the victims, Rev. Daniel Simmons Sr., was laid to rest Thursday.
