HBCU Endowment Fund Fundraiser

DC Pearls III Foundation sponsors initiatives focusing on underserved communities in Washington, DC to reduce disparities in the areas of health, education, economic security and cultural arts.

HBCUs have long faced disadvantages in raising funds and are struggling to grow their endowments even as already rich schools get richer, Bloomberg reports. Even the wealthiest of the HBCUs, Howard University in Washington, D.C., only ranks 160th on the list of educational institution endowments, with an endowment of $578 million — just 2% of that of top-ranking Harvard University, which has an endowment of $35.7 billion. The impact of such a discrepancy is profound: the bigger a school's endowment the more it can spend on attracting highly qualified students, regardless of need, and on providing those students with the academic services they need.

According to Investopedia, University endowments are comprised of money or other financial assets that are donated to academic institutions. Charitable donations are the primary source of funds for endowments. Endowment funds support the teaching, research, and public service missions of colleges and universities.

University endowments (and all endowments) have a specific legal structure that is intended to indefinitely perpetuate a pool of investments for a specific purpose. Typically, endowment funds follow a fairly strict set of long-term guidelines that dictate the asset allocation that will yield the targeted return without taking on too much risk.

In the case of endowment funds for academic institutions, the income generated is intended to finance a portion of the operating or capital requirements of the institution. In addition to a general university endowment fund, institutions may also maintain a number of restricted endowments that are intended to fund specific areas within the institution, including professorships, scholarships, and fellowships.

HBCUs are a source of accomplishment and great pride for the African American community as well as the entire nation. The Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, defines an HBCU as: “…any historically black college or university that was established prior to 1964, whose principal mission was, and is, the education of black Americans, and that is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association determined by the Secretary [of Education] to be a reliable authority as to the quality of training offered or is, according to such an agency or association, making reasonable progress toward accreditation.” HBCUs offer all students, regardless of race, an opportunity to develop their skills and talents. These institutions train young people who go on to serve domestically and internationally in the professions as entrepreneurs and in the public and private sectors.