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| Abbreviation | UNCF |
|---|---|
| Founded | April 25, 1944; 81 years ago (1944-04-25) |
| Founder | Frederick D. Patterson Mary McLeod Bethune |
| Type | Educational |
| 13-1624241[3] | |
| Legal status | 501(c)(3)[3] |
| Purpose | UNCF’s mission is to build a robust and nationally-recognized pipeline of under-represented students who, because of UNCF support, become highly-qualified college graduates and to ensure that our network of member institutions is a respected model of best practice in moving students to and through college. |
| Headquarters | 1805 7th Street NW Washington, D.C. 20001 |
| Coordinates | 38°54′51″N77°01′17″W / 38.9143°N 77.0214°W /38.9143; -77.0214 |
Area served | United States |
| Dr. Michael L. Lomax[4] | |
| Revenue | $350 million (2023)[2] |
| Expenses | $171 million (2023)[2] |
| Endowment | $154 million (2023)[2] |
| Employees | 281[1] (2017) |
| Volunteers | 2,584[1] (2017) |
| Website | uncf |
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UNCF, theUnited Negro College Fund, is an Americanphilanthropic organization that fundsscholarships forblack students and general scholarship funds for 37 privatehistorically black colleges and universities. UNCF was incorporated on April 25, 1944, byFrederick D. Patterson (then president of what becameTuskegee University),Mary McLeod Bethune, and others. UNCF is headquartered at 1805 7th Street, NW in Washington, D.C.[5] In 2005, UNCF supported approximately 65,000 students at over 900 colleges and universities with approximately $113 million in grants and scholarships. About 60% of these students are the first in their families to attend college, and 62% have annual family incomes of less than $25,000. UNCF also administers over 450 named scholarships.
UNCF's president and chief executive officer isMichael Lomax. Past presidents of the UNCF includedWilliam H. Gray[6] andVernon Jordan.[7]
Though founded to address funding inequities in education resources forAfrican Americans, UNCF-administered scholarships are open to all ethnicities; the great majority of recipients are still African-American. It provides scholarships to students attending its member colleges as well as to those going elsewhere.[8]
Graduates of UNCF member institutions and scholarships have included many Black people in the fields of business, politics, health care and the arts. Some prominent UNCF alumni include: Dr.Martin Luther King Jr., aNobel Peace Prize laureate and leader in thecivil rights movement;Alexis Herman, formerU.S. Secretary of Labor; movie directorSpike Lee; actorSamuel L. Jackson;GeneralChappie James, theU.S. Air Force’s first black four-star general; and Dr.David Satcher, a formerU.S. Surgeon General and director of theCenters for Disease Control.[9]
In 1944William J. Trent, a long-time activist for education for black people, joined withTuskegee Institute PresidentFrederick D. Patterson andMary McLeod Bethune to found the UNCF, a nonprofit that united college presidents to raise money collectively through an "appeal to the national conscience". As the first executive director from the organization's start in 1944 until 1964, Trent raised $78 million for historically Black colleges so they could become "strong citadels of learning, carriers of the American dream, seedbeds of social evolution and revolution".[10] In 2008, reflecting shifting attitudes toward the wordNegro in its name, the UNCF shifted from using its full name to using only its initials, releasing a new logo with the initials alone and featuring their slogan more prominently.[11][12]
In 2025, billionaire philanthropistMacKenzie Scott donated $70 million to the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) to support historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).[13] The donation is intended to promote financial stability, capacity building, and long-term sustainability for HBCUs.[14] UNCF announced that the funds would be distributed to address both immediate institutional needs and broader inequities in higher-education funding for historically Black institutions.[14]
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The UNCF has received charitable donations for its scholarship programs. One of the more high-profile donations made was by then-senator and futureU.S. PresidentJohn F. Kennedy who donated the money from thePulitzer Prize for his bookProfiles in Courage to the Fund. Another significant donation was made in 1990 byWalter Annenberg, who donated $50 million to the fund.[15]
Beginning in 1980, singerLou Rawls began the "Lou Rawls Parade of Stars"telethon to benefit the UNCF. The annual event, now known as "An Evening of Stars", consists of stories of successful African-American students who have graduated or benefited from one of the many historically black colleges and universities and who received support from the UNCF. The telethon featured comedy and musical performances from various artists in support of the UNCF's and Rawls' efforts. The event has raised over $200 million in 27 shows for the fund through 2006.[16]
In January 2004, Rawls was honored by the United Negro College Fund for his more than 25 years of charity work with the organization. Instead of Rawls' hosting and performing, he was given theseat of honor and celebrated by his performing colleagues, includingStevie Wonder,The O'Jays,Gerald Levert,Ashanti, and several others. Before his death in January 2006, Rawls' last performance was a taping for the 2006 telethon that honored Wonder, months before entering the hospital after being diagnosed with cancer earlier in the year.[16]
In addition to the telethon, there are a number of other fundraising activities, including the "Walk for Education" held annually inLos Angeles, California, which includes a five kilometer walk/run. InHouston,Texas, theCypresswood Golf Club hosts an annual golf tournament in April.[17]
In 2014,Koch Industries Inc. and theCharles Koch Foundation made a $25 million grant to UNCF.[18] In protest of the Kochs, theAmerican Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, a major labor union, ended its yearly $50,000–60,000 support for UNCF.[19]
In 2015, theLilly Endowment donated $50 million to UNCF to establish the Career Pathways Initiative (CPI) for HBCUs.[20]
In June 2020,Netflix founderReed Hastings donated $120 million to the UNCF to be used as scholarship funds for students enrolled at UNCF institutions. His donation was the largest in UNCF history.[21][22]
In 2024, the Lilly Endowment added to its 2015 gift and awarded a $100 million unrestricted grant to UNCF's $1 billion capital campaign.[20]
In 1972, the UNCF adopted as itsmotto the maxim "A mind is a terrible thing to waste." This maxim has become one of the most widely recognized slogans inadvertising history.[23] The motto was notably mangled in a 1989 address to the organization by then–Vice President of the United StatesDan Quayle, who stated: "And you take the U.N.C.F. model that what a waste it is to lose one's mind or not to have a mind is being very wasteful. How true that is."[24]The motto, which has been used in numerous award-winning UNCF ad campaigns, was created by Forest Long, of the advertising agencyYoung & Rubicam, in partnership with theAd Council.[25]
A lesser-known slogan the UNCF also uses, in reference to its intended beneficiaries, points out that they're "not asking for a handout, just a hand."[26]
The member HCBUs include (tabular):[27]
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