A couple of years ago, for my coursework for "EPS747-1D CRITICAL ISSUES IN STUDENT AFFAIRS: THE LAW AND HIGHER EDUCATION," I completed my project on "EQUITY IS NOT EQUALITY HISTORICAL BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES STATE AND FEDERAL UNDER-FUNDING IN THE 21ST CENTURY" covering the history and overview of the problem of funding inequities at HBCUs. Second, I discussed past and current civil lawsuits, legislation, and laws affecting HBCUs at the state and federal levels. Third, I examined the stakeholders affected by these funding inequities at HBCUs. Fourth, I reviewed four significant investigations and cases filed by HBCUs’ current and former students in Mississippi, Maryland, Tennessee, and Florida. Fifth, the types of leaders and the style of leadership required to reform the funding inequity at HBCUs, coupled with a plan for philanthropic fundraising and boldly filing with the state’s district court civil lawsuits, persistently advocating for legislation and laws at the state and federal levels to improve nations HBCUs through equity funding.
📢But I did not discover this in my research:⬇️👀💡
Native American Institutions Endowment Fund
👀💡The Native American Institutions Endowment Fund provides an additional example of federal support for endowment building at under-resourced minority-serving institutions. The Native American Institutions comprise thirty-five tribal colleges and universities that are also land-grant institutions.
In 1994, Congress authorized The Native American Institutions Endowment Fund (known as the 1994 Institutions Endowment Fund) in the Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-382). Under this law, Congress appropriates funds annually—$12 million in fiscal year 2022—that are deposited into an account established by the Secretary of the Treasury for the corpus of the 1994 Institutions Endowment Fund. The annual interest income from the 1994 Institutions Endowment Fund is distributed across the thirty-five eligible tribal colleges based on a statutory formula:
base funding to each institution, an student enrollment determines the remainder of the allocation.
Importantly, this endowment program helps the tribal colleges and universities with essential resources to support their campuses. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2023, $4.4 million in interest earnings from the previous year was expected to be distributed to the tribal colleges with no matching requirements. The tribal colleges and universities may use the endowment income for various activities, such as instructional materials, faculty development, instructional equipment, student recruitment and retention and experiential learning, and facility renovation, repair, and maintenance.💡👀
Donations to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (#HBCUs) are increasingly a top priority for philanthropists, and for good reason: throughout their 150-year history, HBCUs have experienced a history of systemic public underfunding compared to majority-white colleges and universities.
While historic donations to Spelman College and the UNCF give reason to celebrate, philanthropy can't be the end game when it comes to equitably funding HBCUs: the federal government must correct historic funding inequities by committing sustained financial support for HBCU endowments.
With a national focus on racial equity and justice, the time is ripe to renew a federal commitment to HBCU endowments, writes Denise A. S.
![It’s Time to Create a Federal HBCU Endowment Fund]()
It’s Time to Create a Federal HBCU Endowment Fund
tcf.org
Assistant Vice President @ University of Tulsa | Leading Development and Fundraising Operations
3wTulsa is an incredibly generous community. Grateful to be among those who want to make TU and Tulsa the best.