HBCU Alumni Giving Rates

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Lincoln University Receives Endowment From Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.®
November 10,2020

LINCOLN UNIVERSITY, PA — Lincoln University has received an initial endowment of $50,000 from Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated® in partnership with the AKA Educational Advancement Foundation®.


“We would like to thank the women of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. for investing in our university,” said Lincoln University President Brenda A. Allen. “This $50,000 will go a long way in establishing an endowment that will allow us to give grants to our students to help them to matriculate uninterrupted through Lincoln and into their careers.”

Allen said that for every $1,000 in grant aid provided to a Lincoln student, the odds of that student graduating increase by about 20 percent.

“With this generous gift, we will be able to incorporate these grants into our students’ aid packages so that they can be educated and empowered to lead their communities and change the world.”


The donation comes on the heels of the sorority’s recent third annual HBCU Impact Day initiative where more than $1.5 million was raised in one day for the support of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Last year, AKA began the process of donating to HBCUs through the AKA-HBCU Endowment Fund to donate $10 million within four years. The sorority gifted $1.6 million to the first 32 of 96 HBCUs at a ceremony held at AKA’s International headquarters in Chicago. Each HBCU received $50,000 in unrestricted endowment funds as part of a phased approach to help schools reduce student debt through scholarships, fund industry-specific research, recruit and retain top faculty, and other critical operations.

Dr. Glenda Glover, AKA International President and Chief Executive Officer, said, “Given the current economic state of our world, in which we are dealing with a global health pandemic and widespread injustice against people of color, now more than ever is the time for historically Black sororities, fraternities, and other HBCU supporters to step up and be of service to our historic institutions of higher education.”

https://www.mychesco.com/a/educatio...tive-american-heritage-with-virtual-programs/

Spoiler: rest of article

“I know first-hand the immense challenges HBCUs are facing during this time of uncertainty,” added Dr. Glover, who is also the president of Tennessee State University and an HBCU graduate. “However, I also know that these institutions are resilient and resourceful, which is why Alpha Kappa Alpha is fully committed to investing in our HBCUs and preserving their educational legacy for generations to come.”


While HBCUs have gotten much more favorable attention in the press over the past few months, COVID-19 continues to adversely affect most colleges and universities. Many HBCUs have adjusted to the challenges of educating through a global health pandemic, but financial support is still needed to help maintain daily operations.

Although HBCU Impact Day has passed, Alpha Kappa Alpha is still accepting donations to support the AKA-HBCU Endowment Fund’s 10 million dollar goal. Interested donors can make contributions by texting AKAHBCU to 44321, giving by mail or online at HBCU Community Impact Day - Alpha Kappa Alpha Education Advancement Foundation, Inc.. For more information on the AKA Educational Advancement Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, and the sorority’s commitment to HBCUs and the endowment fund visit www.AKAEAF.org.

 

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Prairie View A&M University receives $10M from anonymous donor

Ruth Simmons, president, Prairie View A&M University




https://www.bizjournals.com/profile...2547387c5d0d7fd5e0c557c1?iana=comcard_seefull
Nov 11, 2020
Prairie View A&M University received a $10 million donation from an anonymous donor.

The funds will go to assisting students who are suffering financially, especially due to Covid-19, according to a Nov. 10 press release. Students have lost their jobs, may have contacted Covid-19 or are facing other financial hardships, the university said.

“I am pleased to announce that the generosity of an anonymous donor will allow the university to establish an initiative to assist juniors and seniors impacted by the Covid-19 crisis to remain enrolled and graduate on a timely basis,” said PVAMU President Ruth Simmons. “Called Panther Success Grants, these unrestricted funds will be the critical difference in enabling these students to continue and complete their studies.”

The Panther Success Grants will be available to in-state, out-of-state and international students, providing $2,000 a semester or $4,000 annually. PVAMU cites that figure as the amount students typically contribute to their education from their wages at work.

Students don’t need to apply for the grants — the donation will go automatically toward juniors or seniors who have started at PVAMU for the first time in college as a full-time freshman in fall 2015 or later. Students need to be on track to graduate within six years. Funds will be deposited directly to student accounts. It is not applicable to graduate students.

“The Panther Success Grants will make it possible for eligible students to continue to progress toward degree completion and relieve them of the stress of wondering how and if they will be able to continue as a PVAMU Panther,” said Sarina R. Willis, vice president for enrollment management. “These grants result from the kindness, care and concern that this donor has for our students.”

Funds will continue to be distributed until the $10 million is depleted.

Gifts such as the one given to PVAMU are becoming increasingly important to universities. Many historically Black colleges and universities are privately run and have relatively small endowments compared to other campuses of similar sizes and vintages — making them particularly dependent on tuition revenue to balance their books.

An analysis by The Business Journals identified 100 HBCUs with reported enrollment numbers in fiscal 2019. The group collectively shed about 9.2%, or 30,000 students, in the 10-year span of 2010 through 2019. Early feedback from the fall semester indicates those numbers have worsened.

PVAMU has been growing in recent years and ranks as one of the largest HBCUs in the country by enrollment, according to The Business Journals' analysis. As of fiscal year 2019, it was No. 5 with 9,516 students, just behind Texas Southern University in Houston. This year, the school reported fall 2020 enrollment of 8,900 students, according to Houston Business Journal research.

In October, the HBJ spoke with Simmons about her history, how the university helps struggling students and how it responded to the Covid-19 pandemic.

"We were certainly scrambling," Simmons said of the campus's closure in the spring. "There’s nothing in our history like this."

 

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NBA Star, TSU Alum Robert Covington credits alma mater for his success, gifts donation for new construction project
November 12, 2020


NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Nashville, TN- Houston Rockets forward Rob Covington is paying it forward to his alma mater Tennessee State University and announced today he would fund a major project on the campus. The 2013 TSU graduate said the University played a major role in his personal and professional development, and now he will play a pivotal role in helping to develop its future basketball program at the “Covington Pavilion”.

TSU President Glenda Glover and university officials join Robert Covington and his family to break ground for the Covington Pavilion on the main campus. (Photo by TSU Media Relations)

Covington’s gift is the largest of this magnitude to an HBCU by a former athlete who was a product of its program.

“I want to thank the city of Nashville for embracing me, and Coach Brian ‘Penny’ Collins, Dr. Mikki Allen, President (Glenda) Glover and the University for giving me the opportunity to do something special like this,” Covington said.

“I love my alma mater, I’m not donating a new practice facility for the recognition or because I NEED to – I am doing it because I truly WANT to. I know what the school didn’t have when I was here as a student and I want future generations of kids to have the best resources available to them, to build their futures both on and off the court. I want them to step on this campus and feel like their dreams can come true here, because mine really did.”

TSU Athletics Director, Dr. Mikki Allen, left, and President Glover congratulate Robert Covington moments after the NBA star and TSU alum announced his project during a ceremony in the Gentry Center. (Photo by TSU Media Relations)

Covington will fund the project, with construction slated to begin late spring in 2021. The facility will have two practice courts, locker rooms and offices for the men’s and women’s basketball programs.

“We are extremely proud of Mr. Robert Covington’s success and are grateful for his contributions to the University,” said President Glover. “Most importantly, his success on and off the court speaks volumes about the caliber of students TSU and other HBCUs produce. We thank him, his family and the Allergic To Failure Foundation for this generous gift.”

TSU Director of Athletics Dr. Mikki Allen said the new facility will have an impact on the entire athletics program at the institution, but also speaks to Covington’s commitment to TSU.

“Rob and I have a shared vision for TSU Basketball becoming a nationally recognized program,” Allen said. “The fact that Rob has decided to make an investment of this magnitude accelerates this process and helps bring us closer to this vision becoming a reality.”

The President shares a moment with the Covington family near an architect’s rendering of the Covington Pavilion. Construction is slated to begin late Spring 2021. (Photo by TSU Media Relations)

“As the Director of Athletics, I’m extremely gracious and thankful for Rob becoming a stakeholder in helping to change the national trajectory of our basketball programs. The narrative is shifting in the landscape of college basketball recruiting in respect to HBCUs landing 5-star talent. Through this historic gift, the Covington Pavilion will now undoubtedly put Tennessee State University in the mix.”

 

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Golfers Who Give Back

November 19, 2020

Cameron Champ helps fund golf scholarships at Prairie View A&M while also honoring his grandfather

Cameron Champ lines up a putt on the second green during the final round of last week's Masters. Champ wore one black and one white shoe as part of his efforts to highlight racial injustice.




Cameron Champ tied for 19th in his Masters debut last week and in the process walked away with a couple of pieces of crystal, rewards for a pair of memorable eagles on the second and eighth holes during the third round. But he also left Augusta National with something much more enduring: Inspiration.


After hearing that Lee Elder, the first Black man to play in the Masters in 1975, would join Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player as an honorary starter for the 2021 tournament and that a pair of scholarships in Elder’s name will be awarded annually to the men’s and women’s golf programs at Paine College, a historically Black college and university in Augusta, Champ felt compelled to do something himself.


On Thursday, Prairie View A&M University, an HBCU in Prairie View, Texas, announced a $40,000 donation from the Cameron Champ Foundation and Chevron to establish two scholarships for its men’s and women’s golf teams. The scholarship fund will be named after Champ’s late grandfather, Mack (Pops) Champ.





“When Lee Elder walked on the Augusta grounds, it sent a message, ‘We belong,’ ” Champ said. “My grandfather had such an incredible influence on my life and always inspired me in many ways. I’m so grateful for Pops introducing me to the game of golf, but also for teaching me that there’s so much more to life than golf. He always stressed the importance of giving back and paying it forward.


“Last week, Augusta National Golf Club chairman Fred Ridley addressed how access and opportunities are still barriers to the game, and he hit the nail on the head when he said that the time to do more is now,” Champ continued. “That really sparked this idea, and I thought, what better way to honor PaPa Champ than to take up the challenge to do more, right now.”

After his win at 2019 Safeway Open, Cameron Champ celebrates with his father, Jeff Champ, and spoke to his grandfather, Mack, on the phone. Not long after, Mack, who get Cameron into golf as a kid, passed away from stomach cancer.




The mission of Champ’s foundation is to “transform the lives of youth from underserved and underrepresented communities through a focus on athletics, academics and healthy living.” And with the creation of the scholarships, Champ will help further that cause even more.


“Mack Champ was born in Columbus, Texas, in a segregated neighborhood with limited resources. His determination to fight against systemic racism and discrimination fuels our work,” said Glenn Weckerlin, the foundation’s board chairman. “We recognize that the pandemic has disproportionately impacted communities of color and has placed a heavy burden on the university and its already stretched funding. We are thankful that we can collaborate with such a historic institution to provide deserving student-athletes from diverse backgrounds opportunities that they might not otherwise have. We are delighted to contribute to student dreams and hope our actions will inspire others to follow suit—the time is now

 

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Savannah State University Foundation Announces Melvin D. Williams Endowment Fund

November 18, 2020


Dr. Frank Williams (older brother of Melvin D. Williams, nephew of Hall) & Mrs. Sula Hall (widow of Hall)
Savannah State University (SSU) alumni Melvin D. Williams has generously gifted the SSU Foundation, Inc. with a $25,000 endowment fund to establish the James Monroe Hall Scholarship for needbased students.

Williams, retired president of Nicor Gas and senior vice president of Southern Company Gas, earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from Savannah State University. The scholarship honors his late uncle, also an SSU alumni.

With esteem, class and distinction, Hall, (. ‘59), devoted his life’s work to educating youth, uplifting his community, and sup- porting his beloved SSU. A proud military veteran of the U.S. Army, Hall was a lifetime member of the NAACP, Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum, Woodville-Tompkins High School Hall of Fame and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. The first in his entire family to graduate from college, Hall gave his all to help others and exemplified an unwavering dedication to his family and friends.

“James Monroe Hall was quite community oriented and involved in his church,” said Sula Hall, widow of Hall. “He worked extremely hard while he was a student. He attended Savannah State College on an athletic scholarship and this was one of the goals he achieved.

He was the first in his family to get a high school diploma and the first to attend college. Simply put, he was an ordinary man doing extraordinary things. He often said, ‘If he could help someone, then his life would not be in vain.’”

The fund was established with an initial gift and is solely for the purpose of attracting and providing financial awards to students enrolled and matriculating at Savannah State University.

Donors may contribute additional gifts to the fund at any time.

The SSU Foundation is a Georgia non-profit corporation with the purpose of receiving, investing and administering the private support of Savannah State University. The mission of the Foundation is to support and enhance the University by encouraging charitable gifts from alumni and friends leading to academic programs of excellence. This allows the University to build upon a growing reputation of quality and value beyond the traditional resources provided by state appropriations or student tuition and fees. If you would be interested in financially supporting the University or contributing to the James Monroe Hall Scholarship, contact University Advancement by calling 912-358-3059 or visit www.savannahstate.edu/university advancement/

 

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Tech Founders Donate $160K to Morris Brown for eSports

• November 23, 2020

“It is imperative that we continue the work of creating opportunities
that will allow our children to thrive in the generations to come,” said
PCX Co-Founder Erich Thomas.

Atlanta – Pharaoh’s Conclave (PCX), Georgia’s leading organization for
diversity and inclusion in competitive video gaming, and the Thomas Family Fund are proud to announce a contribution of $160,000.00 to
Morris Brown College in honor and memory of the family patriarch, Ronald Floyd Thomas (MBC 2002). The gift was designated to establish the Ronald Floyd Thomas Center for eSports and Innovation. The Morris Brown College Board of Trustees unanimously approved the decision to establish the center in October 2020.

Jakita O. Thomas, Ph.D. and Erich Thomas founded Pharaoh’s Conclave(PCX) in 2017. PCX is a company that uses education and exposure to video gaming to address diversity and inclusion in the technology industry by leveraging eSports.

PCX will now complete its “Cradle to Career” model with the opening of the Ronald Floyd Thomas Center for eSports and Innovation at Morris
Brown College, the alma mater of Erich Thomas’s father. The focus on
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) will help to
address the lack of diversity in eSports and technology.
" My wife and I both grew up in
Atlanta; we are both graduates of HBCUs, and are now watching the fourth generation of our family attend HBCUs."says Erich Thomas.


“When my husband, Ronald Floyd Thomas, entered Morris Brown College to complete the work on his degree, he fully embraced becoming a true “Brownite.” Funding the establishment of the Ronald Floyd Thomas Center for eSports and Innovation at Morris Brown College is a fitting tribute
to a man who valued education and the contributions of Historically
Black Colleges and Universities to our culture and family. Morris Brown College, in the words of her Alma Mater, was “a welcome true to everyone until thy work was done.” It is in keeping with his commitment to educational opportunity that a program exists to equip this generation of scholars with the skills to excel in STEM and be on the cutting edge
of this new technology at—Dear Old Morris Brown,” said Geri Thomas, Grant Advisor of the Thomas Family Fund.



“I am so grateful for the gift from the Ronald Floyd Thomas family and Pharaoh’s Conclave. This designated gift will help take our new eSports program to the next level. I am so excited that Morris Brown College can lead as Georgia’s first State approved eSports Performance degree program. The institution has two tracks including a certificate and a degree. Additionally, high school students will be able to dual enroll
and complete high school with 24 college credit hours in eSports. Morris Brown will lead in eSports education and competitive gaming. This gift just catapulted us forward. We will immediately begin plans to remodel an area on campus into the Ronald Floyd Thomas Center for eSports and Innovation, which will include top notch eSports equipment. Moreover, we
will begin recruiting the best gaming students to attend Morris Brown and compete competitively on our eSports team,” said Dr. Kevin James, President of Morris Brown College.

 

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Two GSU students selected to receive Shade Room scholarship
Dec 10, 2020

GRAMBLING, La. (KMSS) – Two Grambling State University students have been named the first recipients of The Shade Room First Generation scholarship.

The Shade Room established the scholarship fund for first-generation African American students. 

Selected were Natasha Jacobs of Monroe, Louisiana, and Jacques Lockhart of Lake Providence, Louisiana. Jacobs’ major is elementary education 1-5 mild moderate. Lockhart is a nursing major.

“The Shade Room Scholarship will mean everything to me.  It will allow me to finish my studies at Grambling State University.  I have exhausted my financial aid and I am classified as a senior,” Jacobs said.

“Graduating college has been a dream of mine for years and I finally had the courage to enroll. I want to make a difference in the classroom and help the students achieve their goals,” she said.

The scholarship will help Lockhart continue his studies.

“I currently do not receive any money from financial aid and I’m struggling to pay for school,” he said. “I’m a nursing student at Grambling State University and nursing is very time consuming so I’m only able to work weekends, which is not a lot of money to pay for school. I have been working hard to save up for college, but with the exorbitant costs of tuition and nursing school, my part-time jobs haven’t been enough.”

“The scholarship effort was a part of our mission to create as many endowments at HBCUs as we can,” said Shade Room Founder Angie Nwandu. “Grambling was the first HBCU we started with.” 

“The minimum GPA is low because I graduated with a 2.8 GPA and couldn’t get into law/grad school,” Nwandu said. “I would like to give college students like me an opportunity for success.” 

 

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ATLANTA (Dec 2020) --
Spelman College, with the help of the Coca-Cola Foundation, recently established a new scholarship in the name of one of the institution’s trustees, Helen Smith Price.


The Helen Smith Price, C’79, Endowed Finish Line Scholarship will provide financial assistance to help high achieving students successfully complete their experience at Spelman. Sophomores, juniors and seniors in good academic standing are eligible for the annual need-based scholarship.

Price recently retired after serving as the president of The Coca Cola Foundation. After earning her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Spelman, she obtained a master’s degree in business administration from Clark Atlanta University.

 

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Walker’s Legacy, Howard University Launch Scholarship Fund For Women Entrepreneurs

From the lack of access to capital to the biases that exist in the realm of business, when stepping into entrepreneurship women of color are often faced with barriers. Walker’s Legacy—a company centered on leveling the playing field when it comes to business ownership—is on a mission to change the narrative by investing in the futures of HBCU students. The company recently teamed up with Howard University for the creation of a scholarship fund for aspiring women entrepreneurs.


The $25,000 fund—dubbed the Walker’s Legacy Scholarship for Enterprising Women—is a collaborative initiative being led by Walker’s Legacy and the Howard University School of Business. Over the span of five years, young women who are a part of the institution’s business program and are facing financial hardships will receive an award of $2,500, a mentorship opportunity with Howard University alumna and Walker’s Legacy creator Natalie Cofield and access to the company’s global network of multicultural women entrepreneurs. Yuvay Meyers Ferguson, Ph.D., who serves as assistant dean of impact and engagement at Howard University School of Business, believes the initiative will be instrumental in empowering the next generation of women leaders. “Championed by our very own graduate, CEO Natalie Cofield, this gift continues the legacy of empowerment that is proven to skyrocket the trajectory of Howard University’s School of Business students,” she said in a statement. “We are proud that our students will be able to further their entrepreneurial aspirations with the support of these grants as they become the business leaders of the future.”


Cofield says the sense of community that she experienced while attending Howard inspired her to pay it forward. “My time at the Howard University School of Business molded me into the woman that I am today. We look forward to supporting women from the nation’s most prestigious HBCU this school year and beyond,” she said in a statement.

 

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Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., Alpha Lambda Chapter Alums Announce $112,500 Scholarship Endowment to Xavier University of Louisiana

New Orleans, LA – Today, eight Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., Alpha Lambda Chapter Alumni Members signed an agreement with Xavier University of Louisiana to donate $112,500 to the university, establishing the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., Alpha Lambda Chapter Alumni Scholarship Endowment. This agreement comes after an initial donation of $25,000 towards the launch.

The inaugural endowment donors include Dr. Otis Gowdy, Jr. (XU ’95; PBS F’94)(Meridian, MS), Dr. Trevonne Thompson (XU ’97; PBS F’94)(Chicago, IL), Dr. Vincent Ekenga (XU ’12; PBS F’08)(New Orleans, LA), Mr. Ian Heisser (XU ‘95; PBS Spr ’91)(Seattle, WA), Dr. Elton J. Smith (XU ’97; PBS F’95)(Wilmington, Delaware), Dr. Anthony Montegut (XU ’97; PBS F’94)(Omaha, NE), Dr. Antwar Harrell (XU ’96; PBS F’94)(Houston, TX), and Donald R. Naylor, Jr., Esq. (XU ’97; PBS F’94)(Houston, TX).

The alumni members pledged the endowment in honor of the 80th Charter Anniversary of the Alpha Lambda Chapter, which was chartered on July 24, 1940.
The endowment was announced on Friday, January 8, 2021, in honor of the 107th Founding Anniversary of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. as part of their re-dedication to the high ideals of Brotherhood, Scholarship, and Service the fraternity has espoused since its founding on January 9, 1914.

This gift is the latest partnership initiative that will empower current and future Xavier students with access to the institution’s exceptional education. Xavier has a long history of producing more African American physicians than any other institution in the United States. The institution has also produced some of the nation’s top attorneys, military officers, artists and musicians, pharmacists, engineers, educators, and business leaders - many of whom are Phi Beta Sigma, Alpha Lambda Chapter Alums. The Inaugural Donors hope to prolong this history of excellence with this Endowment.

 

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Top-Ranked Minority-Owned Finance Firm Invests in Future of Historically Black Colleges and Universities

February 01, 2021

NEW YORK -- Siebert Williams Shank & Co LLC (SWS), the nation’s top-ranked minority- and woman-owned investment banking firm, is helping to establish the next generation of African American business leaders by donating $200,000 to support educational programs at Howard University and Spelman College, two of America’s preeminent Historically Black Colleges and Universities

President and CEO Suzanne Shank has been a board trustee of Spelman College for seven years and firm Chairman Christopher Williams and equity partner Gary Hall are both alumni of Howard, along with several employees at the firm. Mr. Hall is also the parent of a Howard sophomore.

The firm hopes to motivate other financial institutions who have not yet supported these institutions to do so.

Ranked among the top corporate and municipal finance firms, its founders included Muriel Siebert, the first women to own a seat on the New York Stock Exchange.

The donation also comes approximately one year following the merger of Siebert Cisneros Shank & Co. and The Williams Capital Group, creating the top minority- and women-owned investment bank in the U.S.

The gift to Spelman will establish an Innovation Lab fellowship program which will support students to learn and put into practice key elements of business strategy and entrepreneurship over a year-long program. The Innovation Lab will allow students to develop and sustain business models, participate in mentorship and internship programs, and develop a variety of business skills.

The gift to the Howard University School of Business will support its 50th anniversary strategic initiatives, a comprehensive plan that includes student retention programming, career placement opportunities, technology enhancement, curriculum development, and undergraduate scholarships.



“We are grateful for this generous gift from Trustee Shank’s firm to Spelman’s Innovation Lab, a space on campus that enables students to experiment with technology to realize their entrepreneurial and creative efforts,” said Mary Schmidt Campbell, Ph.D., president of Spelman.

“On behalf of the School of Business, I want to thank the Siebert Williams Shank Foundation for their support and partnership,” said Anthony Wilbon, Ph.D., dean of the Howard University School of Business. “The fact that there are two Howard University alumni at the helm of America's top-ranked woman and minority-owned investment bank speaks volumes about the value of a Howard University education. We are very grateful that both Mr. Gary Hall and Mr. Chris Williams have continued to support their alma mater, and there is no doubt in my mind that this contribution is a true testament to the Howard University tenets of truth and service. We could not be more grateful.