2020 - 2026 MAJOR PHILANTHROPIC INVESTMENTS IN HBCU s
As with her earlier awards, the 2025/2026 gifts come without
HBCU
2026 2025 2023 2020
restrictions. Leaders at each institution determine how to allocate the funds, whether for scholarships, staffing, academic programs, technology, facilities, or endowment growth. This flexibility has allowed campus leaders to address long-standing needs and invest in future priorities. Her giving arrives as HBCUs face both renewed attention and heightened political scrutiny, especially from Republican governors and legislatures. In this environment, Scott’s model shifts decision-making power back to institutional leaders. Scott has been open about her philosophy of giving. On her Medium blog, she writes that she wants her gifts to come “with full trust and no strings attached,” grounded in the belief that those closest to inequity are best equipped to design solutions. She also notes that she and her research team look for organizations with strong leadership, deep community ties, and the capacity for lasting impact. Her approach, rooted in respect for institutional expertise, stands out in the current political landscape. This commitment to autonomy departs sharply from the philanthropic model that shaped Black higher education in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Rockefeller and other northern industrial philanthropists kept many Black colleges afloat, but their support came with clear boundaries. They often dictated institutional priorities, curricula, and leadership. Their vision favored conservative educational models built around industrial training and moral discipline, leaving limited room for broad intellectual exploration or academic freedom. Historian James D. Anderson, in his now-classic book, "The Education of Blacks in the South," reminds us that these philanthropists viewed Black education through a paternalistic lens, prioritizing social order and workforce preparation over more ambitious goals for Black advancement. This influence persisted for decades, narrowing the scope of what Black institutions could become.
Alabama State University N/A $38 mil
N/A N/A
Alcorn State University
N/A $42 mil
N/A $25 mil
Bowie State University
N/A $50 mil
N/A $25 mil
Clark Atlanta University Howard University & Medical School Morgan State University Norfolk State University North Carolina A&T State University
N/A $38 mil
N/A $15 mil
N/A $80 mil $12 mil $40 mil
N/A $63 mil
N/A $40 mil
N/A $50 mil
N/A $40 mil
N/A $63 mil
N/A $45 mil
Prairie View A&M University Spelman College
N/A $63 mil
N/A $50 mil
N/A $38 mil
N/A $20 mil
University of Maryland Eastern Shore Virginia State University Voorhees University Winston-Salem State University
N/A $38 mil
N/A $20 mil
N/A $50 mil
N/A $30 mil
N/A $19 mil
N/A $4 mil
N/A $50 mil
N/A $30 mil
Philander Smith N/A N/A Delaware State University N/A N/A N/A $20 mil Dillard University N/A N/A N/A $5 mil Elizabeth City State University $41 mil N/A N/A $15 mil Hampton University N/A N/A N/A $30 mil Lincoln University (PA) N/A N/A N/A $20 mil Morehouse College N/A N/A N/A $20 mil Tougaloo College N/A N/A N/A $6 mil Tuskegee University N/A N/A N/A $20 mil Xavier University of Louisiana N/A N/A N/A $20 mil Claflin University N/A N/A N/A $20 mil N/A $19 mil
HBCU TIMES SUMMER ISSUE 2026 | 2 1
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