US companies, nudged by Black employees, have stepped up donations to HBCUs

Natalie Coles will never forget receiving an unexpected phone call in 2020. On the line was Virginia-based Dominion Energy, offering to give money to Wilberforce University, the small historically Black college where she is in charge of fundraising.

The giving to HBCUs is a new trend for corporations, which had largely ignored them before 2020, said Marybeth Gasman, a Rutgers University professor who researches HBCUs. Increasingly, HBCUs have been using the language of business to argue they not only have a high need but also are a good investment, she said.

Foundations have been more receptive when the school reaches out, said Vita Pickrum, the school’s vice president of institutional advancement. She said she would like to see foundations shape giving in partnership with HBCUS. Gifts to HBCUs typically are more restricted than those given to predominantly white schools, she said, which she would like to see change.

Those small institutions often operate as engines of economic mobility that lift students from poverty to the middle class, Lomax said. Many have near open-enrollment policies, educating nearly any student that wishes to pursue higher education. At Wilberforce University, the donation from Dominion supports scholarships and a lecture series on racial inequality in addition to the technology investments. It’s a lot to squeeze out of a half-million dollars, which Coles said reflects the way historically Black colleges and universities stretch their money.

“If a donor gives you the resources, and you can show impact in terms of how their gift made a difference, they will continue to give,” Brooks said.

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US companies, nudged by Black employees, have stepped up donations to HBCUsHistorically Black colleges and universities, which had seen giving from foundations decline in recent decades, have seen an increase in gifts particularly from corporations and corporate foundations over the last several years
Source: WOKVNews - 🏆 247. / 63 Read more »

US companies, nudged by Black employees, have stepped up donations to HBCUsHistorically Black colleges and universities, which had seen giving from foundations decline in recent decades, have seen an increase in gifts particularly from corporations and corporate foundations over the last several years.
Source: ksatnews - 🏆 442. / 53 Read more »

US companies, nudged by Black employees, have stepped up donations to HBCUsNatalie Coles will never forget receiving an unexpected phone call in 2020. On the line was Virginia-based Dominion Energy, offering to give money to Wilberforce University, the small historically Black college where she is in charge of fundraising.
Source: wjxt4 - 🏆 246. / 63 Read more »

US companies, nudged by Black employees, have stepped up donations to HBCUsHistorically Black colleges and universities, which had seen giving from foundations decline in recent decades, have seen an increase in gifts particularly from corporations and corporate foundations over the last several years. In their pitches, HBCUs have been emphasizing their ability to deliver returns on the investment in student mobility. Amid the reckoning over racial injustice spurred by the killing of George Floyd, a key factor in the giving by corporations has been the influence of their Black employees. The giving to HBCUs is a new trend for corporations, said Marybeth Gasman, a Rutgers University professor.
Source: AP - 🏆 728. / 51 Read more »