UNCF Receives Historic $100 Million Grant from Lilly Endowment

The grant, the largest in UNCF's history, will support a capital campaign to significantly boost endowments for its 37 member HBCUs.

The United Negro College Fund (UNCF) has received a $100 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., the largest unrestricted private grant in the organization's history.
The grant will support a capital campaign to boost endowments for the UNCF's 37 member institutions, historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).
The goal is to increase the endowments at these schools by $10 million each, which would significantly change their financial trajectory.
The median endowment for UNCF member institutions is currently $15.9 million, expected to increase to $25.9 million after the campaign.
Lilly Endowment has a history of supporting the UNCF, including a $50 million award in 2015 that helped launch the Career Pathways Initiative for HBCU students.