FedEx Corp. pledged a donation of $1 million over a four-year period Wednesday to support Teach For America’s growth, recruiting efforts and diversity goals.

Their growth plan aspires to place 7,500 corps members in 33 regions across the country by 2010. Thirty-three percent of those teachers would have diverse backgrounds.

TFA currently recruits at over 400 campuses in the United States with UW-Madison being one of their biggest prospects and more incoming money from FedEx Corp. means more focus and attention on UW-Madison students, TFA recruiter Garrett Bucks said.

In the past Bucks has worked both as a TFA recruiter on the UW-Madison campus and on other campuses throughout Wisconsin.

“Next year I am only going to be working at UW-Madison and that’s just because out of any of the campuses I have worked with, by far I have found the highest quality students and the sheer multitude of great matches for our program here at UW-Madison,” Bucks said.

“Every new donation we get goes directly toward two things: making sure that we find the most diverse, most qualified, absolutely without a shout of a doubt most mind-blowing leaders that we know, and then training them and supporting them better than the year before.”

In addition to FedEx’s donation, Bucks said many other large supporters have contributed as part of the overall growth goals for 2010.

Amy Robinowitz, TFA’s vice president for communications, said TFA’s other national partners include Wachovia Corporation, Lehman Brothers National Bank and Amgen Foundation, a bio-tech company who has heavily contributed to TFA’s math and science initiative.

“However, FedEx support means a lot because we know that the task of improving Teach For America is never done, so we are always looking for new supporters,” Bucks said.