Billionaire and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott recently donated $70 million to the United Negro College Fund. This was Scott's second time donating to the UNCF in the last five years. The multi-million donation will be used to fund endowments at the colleges and universities the UNCF currently sponsors. In a recent interview with PBS, UNCF president and CEO Dr. Michael Lomax discussed how the UNCF plans to use Scott's generous gift to help the organization.
In the interview, Lomax further elaborated on how the funds will be used for endowments to help bridge the gap between HBCUs and their PWI counterparts. He also adds that if you were to tally the endowments of all 101 HBCUs, the total endowment would be about $6 billion, which would serve approximately 250,000. PWIs are known for having larger endowments in comparison to HBCUs; Lomax added that some PWIs. Have a $6 billion endowment on their own,
Lomax went on to tell PBS’ Geoff Bennett that the UNCF wants to show potential donors that their funds will go to good use. The UNCF currently only serves 37 HBCUs and plans to use Scott's donations to help support students at those institutions.
“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, and 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,” said Dr. Lomax.
While large donations such as this can be a tremendous help to HBCUs, there is still so much more that needs to be done when it comes to funding. Most HBCUs receive funding from both the state and federal government, and while the funds do help with the basic necessities of running an institution, it is still not enough. There have been ongoing funding disparities between HBCUs and other institutions for years when it comes to federal funding. In an effort to make sure that the government is still doing its part, the UNCF says that large philanthropic gifts such as this will not become a substitute for government funding.
“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.”
At the end of the interview, Lomax shared his initial reaction to Scott’s multimillion-dollar donation.
“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,” he said.
He then added, “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.
