The mystery is solved, and the gift just got bigger. Earlier this week, Morris Brown College President Dr. Kevin James thanked an anonymous donor on LinkedIn for a $700,000 gift to the historic Atlanta HBCU.

Now the donors have been revealed. They are Benny Clark and his wife, Eleanor Clark, both Morris Brown alumni, and they aren’t finished giving.

“We thank Mr. Benny Clark and his wife Mrs. Eleanor Clark, Morris Brown alumni, for the gift,” James wrote in an update. “I spoke with them yesterday and they are sending more funds in the next few days for a total donation of 1 million dollars!!”

James also shared where the money is going. “These funds will be used towards the restoration of Fountain Hall,” he wrote. “We are truly grateful!”

Few projects mean more to the college. Fountain Hall was built in 1882 as Stone Hall, the main building of Atlanta University. W.E.B. Du Bois kept his office there from 1897 to 1910 while teaching at the university.

Designed by architect Gottfried L. Norrman in the High Victorian Gothic style, the building was deeded to Morris Brown after Atlanta University reorganized in 1929. It was later renamed for Bishop William A. Fountain of the AME Church, and it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1974.

For years, though, the building has needed serious repairs. It landed on the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation’s “Places in Peril” list in 2019, and the college has estimated a full restoration at about $30 million. James has made it clear the building is central to the college’s comeback.

“We could not restore the school without restoring that building,” he said last year when Morris Brown received a National Park Service grant for the work. Early phases include restoring the building’s stained glass windows, installing a new roof and adding a new clock and bell.

The Clarks’ gift arrives at a meaningful moment. Morris Brown is marking its 145th year, and the campus is still mourning Dr. James Freddy Allen, the vice president of enrollment and student affairs who helped rebuild its student body, who died last month.

The college lost its accreditation in 2002 and nearly closed. It regained full accreditation in 2022 under James’ leadership, and enrollment has since grown from about 20 students to nearly 600.

When James first shared news of the gift, he wrote, “We needed this good news!” Now that good news has a name, a bigger number and a purpose: helping bring one of Atlanta’s most historic buildings back to life.