Fundraising for the Black Cultural Center has fallen short of its Saturday goal of $40,000, which has caused task force members to re-evaluate the timeframe set for the center’s reopening.

The task force has collected about $35,000 and hopes to collect the money for repairs so the center can re-open by fall.

In 2003, the center closed after it sustained $40,000 in damage from a burst water main. Task force members said reopening the center is important to the goal of increasing diversity in Ames.

Thomas Hill, vice president for student affairs, said the Saturday date was only an estimate and was chosen because students wanted to begin construction before the end of the semester.

“There have been some delays along the way,” he said. “This was a guide; this thing was not etched in stone.”

Hill said the pledge drive did not begin when planned. He said students were distracted by academics and unable to give their full attention to fundraising.

He said the plan to reopen the center would remain unchanged.

“What we’re dealing with is adjusting timelines; we’re not redoing the plan,” Hill said. “The most important thing is for us to develop a strategy to get the funds necessary to make the repairs.”

He said he would meet with task force members within a week to discuss planning.

“We’ll review everything, get updates on the status [of collections] and we’ll see where we are and make the necessary adjustments,” Hill said. “There is no specific timeline at this point.”

Jonnell Marion, the center’s task force chairman, said the center should be important to all students.

“The BCC is a home away from home for black students; however, it is a house of hospitality for everybody,” he said.

Marion, sophomore in marketing, said the group plans to meet with ISU administration and city of Ames officials in the near future about how to raise additional money.

Venise McCown, BCC task force member, said each of the Big 12 Conference schools have also pledged $100 in support.

McCown, junior in psychology, said although the date renovations are scheduled to begin has been pushed back, the center could still reopen by fall.

“The BCC will open. Unfortunately, our breaking-ground date has been moved back and we need to meet with the city of Ames to see what else we can do to get the community involved,” she said.

Marion said about $7,000 of the $35,000 collected has come from pledge cards. The Ames Police Benevolent Association also made a $4,000 donation, he said. The remaining money has come from fund-raising efforts by Hill and George Jackson, assistant dean of the graduate college, in conjunction with the ISU Foundation.