Twelve HBCUs are getting an awesome back-to-school gift! The United Negro College Fund (UNCF) just announced a multi-million-dollar donation from The James and Judith K. Dimon Foundation to strengthen HBCU endowments. The historic gift is backed by New York billionaire couple James (Jamie) Dimon, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chairman and CEO, and his wife Judith (Judy) Kent Dimon, organizational psychologist. The charitable duo are well-known in the philanthropy circuit and their foundation’s core mission focuses on education, economic mobility, health and social services for young people and families.  

The 12 fortunate schools that will receive $1 million in permanent endowment capital through The Dimon Fund to Advance Economic Opportunity are:

Benedict College (Columbia, SC)
Dillard University (New Orleans, LA)
Edward Waters University (Jacksonville, FL)
Huston-Tillotson University (Austin, TX)
Jarvis Christian University (Hawkins, TX)
Johnson C. Smith University (Charlotte, NC)
Miles College (Fairfield, AL)
Oakwood University (Huntsville, AL)
Shaw University (Raleigh, NC)
Stillman College (Tuscaloosa, AL)
Tuskegee University (Tuskegee, AL)
Voorhees University (Denmark, SC)

While they are not the first billionaire philanthropists to make such significant contributions to our beloved HBCUs (We’re looking at you MacKenzie Scott!), this donation does have unique benefits. Established as The Dimon Fund to Advance Economic Opportunity within UNCF’s $1.5B capital campaign, the monetary gift will provide much needed permanent endowment capital to those 12 selected UNCF member schools. This is all part of their foundation’s $5 million institutional match within UNCF’s pooled endowment fund. Recipient schools were selected for the strength of their leadership and for their proven record of preparing educators, nurses and other healthcare professionals. Fifty percent of all teachers are HBCU graduates and HBCUs are responsible for training about 70% of all Black physicians.

The positive financial impact of this scale of gift must not be overlooked. By growing endowments, The Dimon Fund to Enhance Economic Opportunity will help expand capacity for long-term planning and secure academic and infrastructural capital. Together, UNCF and The Dimon Fund are fighting to combat inequity and understand that this fight requires resources to ensure students can succeed and ascend. Also worth noting is that while large donations of this kind often go to larger and/or more well-known HBCUs such as Howard University, Hampton University and Spelman and Morehouse Colleges, many of the 12 selected institutions are not necessarily household name schools. This is truly advancement as smaller and lesser known HBCUs are a necessary and important part of our culture.

“Our country’s future and strength depend on our young people. Our system of HBCUs continue to serve as the springboard to success for thousands of students in pursuit of the American Dream.  As the children of first-generation high school and college graduates, we were imbued with a thirst for knowledge and a drive to succeed—principles that we have passed on to our own children and that we wish to share with all the students at the selected HBCUs.  We are honored to help UNCF strengthen the long-term financial viability of these critical schools of higher learning,” said Jamie and Judy Dimon in a UNCF press release.

This partnership was cultivated under the leadership of Johnnetta B. Cole, PhD, UNCF president-in-residence, co-chair of UNCF’s capital campaign and former Spelman College President and the school’s first woman President.

“I am enormously grateful for this generous donation and the unwavering support of HBCUs by Jamie and Judy Dimon. Their gift is both a vote of confidence and a catalyst,” said Dr. Cole in an official UNCF statement. “By accelerating endowment growth, this commitment from The Dimon Foundation will strengthen the financial position of these vital institutions and expand their capacity to make long-term decisions benefitting students, faculty, and the broader communities they serve as they prepare the teachers who awaken young minds today and the healers who will mend our communities, tomorrow.”

Author: Bridgette Bartlett Royall

Read the original article on Essence.