UNCF head on how historic $70M donation will bolster HBCUs

Geoff Bennett:

The UNCF has just received a landmark $70 million gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott in what amounts to one of her largest gifts ever.

The money will be used to bolster the endowments of historically Black colleges and universities, helping to close longstanding gaps in resources and financial stability. It's part of a billion-dollar capital campaign that UNCF is leading to ensure that HBCUs can thrive well into the future.

For more on what this gift means and the broader outlook for HBCUs, we're joined now by Dr. Michael Lomax, UNCF president and CEO.

It's always great to see you, sir.

So, let's start with the basics. This is a $70 million gift, a historic gift. How will the money be used? And what immediate impact will students at HBCUs see?

Michael Lomax, President and CEO, UNCF: Yes, it is a $70 million gift, and it follows on a $10 million gift, which MacKenzie Scott made to UNCF five years ago during the early days of the pandemic.

It's an opportunity for us to try to close the endowment gap between HBCUs and their non-HBCU peers. Right now, HBCUs, if you put all 101 of them together, their total endowments would probably be in the $6 billion range, right? And that's to serve 250,000 students.

And there are PWIs in this country, non-HBCUs, which have $6 billion of their own in their endowment. So we're way behind on the wealth gap if the — if you're gauging wealth by what the size of your endowment is.

Geoff Bennett:

PWIs meaning predominantly white institutions.

Beyond the dollars themselves, how do you plan to leverage this gift in your messaging, in your partnerships to attract more donors and more institutional support?

Michael Lomax:

We're trying to make sure that people understand that we're a good bet and that their funds will be very well used, and gifts like this will help tell that story.

But we're also trying to tell people just how important this gift is for the — in the case of UNCF, we have 50,000 students attending the 37 institutions that we represent. And we really just don't have enough support to help those students get to, through college and onto careers without taking out tremendous debt.

So scholarships are very important for us. It's what we're best known for. And this — these endowments will help our institutions cover more of the costs of their students, of faculty, of facilities, and make them less reliant on debt to borrow, to get those things done, or for their students to borrow and pay their tuition.

Geoff Bennett:

At the same time, there can be this concern around large philanthropic gifts, in that they unintentionally let federal and state governments off the hook.

So how will UNCF make sure that philanthropy doesn't become the substitute for longer-term structural support provided by state and federal governments?

Michael Lomax:

Well, right now, philanthropy is not going to be leading what the federal government does. The real question is, in my mind, whether philanthropy is going to raise the bar on the amount and size of the gifts that they make available to HBCUs.

I have been doing this job for 21 years, and we didn't start receiving gifts for the operations of our schools or unrestricted gifts for them in the 10-plus-million-dollar category until five years ago. Since then, UNCF, which receives no federal funding, has raised over $1.3 billion.

And we have used those dollars to strengthen and support our private historically Black colleges and universities. At the same time, the federal government has — gave billions of dollars of additional support to HBCUs during the pandemic. And, as recently as last week, the Department of Education released over 435 million additional dollars to HBCUs.

So we believe that, right now, HBCUs are recognized as an extraordinary value in American higher education, accessible to all, and that we're really showing what you can do to support low-income students go to and through college. And we believe the federal government's going to step up.

When we announced this gift this week, one of our individual institutions, Huston-Tillotson University, and their president, Melva Wallace, announced a $150 million gift from a Texas foundation, the Moody Foundation. I don't think in my entire time as president of UNCF I have seen a gift of that size and magnitude to an individual private college.

Last year, Michael Bloomberg gave $175 million to HBCU medical schools. So we're seeing good signs of increased philanthropic support. I think MacKenzie Scott is showing what individual donors can do to support institutions that have been doing the work with too few resources in the past.

Geoff Bennett:

Well, take me back to that moment. What was your reaction when you got the phone call about this $70 million gift?

Michael Lomax:

I got a call with one of MacKenzie Scott's representatives. And they said: "This time, we believe in what you're doing. We're going to give you a gift. You will be able to announce it immediately and you can say it came from us."

And then I said: "Oh, by the way, what's the amount of the gift?" And the individual said $70 million. Well, uncharacteristically, I was speechless and taken aback and very excited and profuse in my gratitude, as I remain today.

I have been doing this work for a long time. And I have asked a lot of people for support. But this is one of the rare instances when someone I don't know reaches out to me as the CEO of UNCF and says: "We have been watching what you do. We respect what you do. We value what you do. And we want to contribute to what you do and we want you to decide how those funds are used."

MacKenzie Scott is rewriting the book on individual philanthropy and she's making a huge difference. And what I say today is, God bless MacKenzie Scott and thank you.

Geoff Bennett:

Dr. Michael Lomax, UNCF president and CEO, great to see you, and always good to speak with you, sir. Be well.

Michael Lomax:

Thank you. Have a great day.