Billionaire Robert F. Smith’s surprise $40 million gift to pay off the student loan debt of Morehouse College’s 2019 graduating class Sunday morning was transformative, and follows his recent $1.5 million gift to the school.
Smith’s gift is the largest commitment ever made to an HBCU, and tops Ronda Stryker(a Spelman Trustee) $30 million gift to Spelman College in December 2018. FAMU’s largest gift is a $5 million bequest from John W. Thompson, a FAMU alum, and Chairman of Microsoft, made in 2014.
Here’s hoping Mr. Smith’s gift marks an turning point in which HBCUs begin to reap some of the benefits of the higher ed fundraising boom. HBCUs certainly have plenty of need and no shortage of opportunities for funding to suit donors taste wether it is for brick and mortar projects or scholarship needs.
In 2017, universities raised over $43 billion. Higher ed donors across the board remain committed to boosting access and reducing economic barriers to college. And mega-donors like Michael Bloombergand Ronald Perelman recently made massive gifts to help elite universities attract low- to middle-incoming students, but shunned HBCUs.
Hip-hop legend Dr. Dre's $70 million gift to USC raised eyebrows and questions in 2013, as to why not an HBCU.
Of the 462 gifts of $1 million or more to higher education in 2017 only two of them went to HBCUs, according to the Journal of Philanthropy.
For higher ed mega-donors concerned with social justice, impact and remedying inequality, supporting HBCUs should be low-hanging fruit. However, it isn’t.
Although African Americans tend to give a larger share of their discretionary incomes to charity than do white Americans, they also tend to have less accumulated wealth, even at similar levels of educational attainment. According to the New York Times,for every $100 in white family wealth, black families hold just $5.04.