This has happened a few times now, not sure why:

The Emporer's Fund has 7767225 coins.

Name Donations Don Req Lvl Req
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<24 Asn> Lyristal : 107501 coins Yes Yes
<51 A-P> Kharghurln : 297146 coins N/A N/A

<818/77%hp 423/51%m 802/72%mv 7 PM> People near you:
(PK) Kharghurln The Imperial Throne Room

<818/77%hp 423/51%m 802/72%mv 7 PM>
The bleeding stops.
Your hand returns to normal.

<820/77%hp 426/52%m 815/73%mv 8 PM> promotion lyristal y
Perhaps when you have increased your donations.

I'm pretty sure I can promote from echelon 2 and upwards with funds about like this, but when promoting from Oath to echelon 2 I sometimes run into this.

I spruced up the echoes to make it very clear. Also, the value required is from your donations, not the Emperor's Fund.