With less than two weeks left to collect donations, the Black Cultural Center task force has not yet reached its fund-raising goal of $40,000.

The money is intended to be spent on repairs necessary to reopen the center at 517 Welch Ave.

The center closed in 2003 because of structural damage caused by a burst water main.

Task force members said they are confident they will meet the goal by their April 16 deadline.

“Altogether, through pledge cards and cash donations, we’ve raised approximately $26,000,” said Ashley Holloway, Black Cultural Center representative for the Black Student Alliance.

About $5,200 of the total amount of money collected has come from donations given directly to the task force, said Venise McCown, task force member and junior in psychology. She said about half of the donations to the task force have come from community members, and half have come from students.

Holloway said the task force hopes to collect 1,500 pledge cards, although it has only collected 266 to date. The pledge cards allow students to put donations on their U-Bills.

McCown said the majority of fund raising — about $20,000 — has come from the ISU Foundation.

Holloway also said $4,000 was donated by the Ames Police Benevolent Association.

“We do our best to reach out to everybody; we’re very happy to be able to donate to them,” said Ken Kaufman, Ames Police detective and secretary-treasurer of the association.

“They did not specify any dollar amount at all — we came up with the specific dollar amount.”

Holloway said the task force will increase fund-raising efforts this week.

“This week coming up, we’re going to be everywhere on campus. We are going to paint the campus orange,” he said, referring to the orange arm bands given to donors.

Donation boxes will be placed in more than 20 locations around campus, including Parks Library, Beardshear Hall, the Jischke Honors Building and the front desk of the Memorial Union, Holloway said.

McCown said tables will also be set up between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. through Friday outside the Memorial Union commons and the Union Drive Community Center. Students can also place donations and collect information between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. at the Union Drive Community Center, she said.

Holloway said the center is expected to reopen in fall 2005.

“Construction is going to start April 16 on the house,” he said. “That’s expected to be finished sometime in August. There will be a reopening ceremony in September.”

Holloway said questions of who will own the center and who will operate it have yet to be decided.

“As of now, the Black Student Alliance will own the house,” he said.

“Our goal is to get the house fixed first and then talk about turning it over to the university.”

A barbecue for donors will be held between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. April 12 near the Campanile, Holloway said.

About 200 people are expected to attend, and donations can be made at the event, he said.

Thomas Hill, vice president for student affairs, said he is confident the $40,000 will be raised by the April 16 deadline.

“If we don’t have the money in hand, we’ll have pledges for it,” he said.

Hill said he thinks the reopening of the center is important to Iowa State.

“The Black Cultural Center chronicles the history of Iowa State, of African-American students in particular,” he said.

Hill said while it was open, the center provided a “home away from home” for students.