For 80 years, UNCF has served as a beacon for those ready to invest in—and act on—the belief that no mind should be wasted and no dream deferred.

UNCF’s Institute for Capacity Building partners with Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Predominantly Black Institutions and their supporters and champions to advance the promise of Black higher education.

We believe in the transformative potential of Black colleges and universities.

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UNITE 2024

Join us at UNITE 2024 in Atlanta from July 28 to August 1, the premier gathering for Black higher education. Last year at UNITE 2023, we set a new standard with record numbers attending and presenting, thought-provoking discussions, and invaluable networking opportunities.

REGISTER FOR UNITE 2024

We Take A Racial Justice Approach to Institutional Transformation and Educational Equity.

Defining Racial Justice

The fair and just empowerment of all racial identities, resulting in equal opportunities, equitable outcomes and liberation for all people. Racial justice is achieved through responsive systems, structures and processes, as well as deliberate, dynamic, proactive and preventative supports—all consciously designed to right historic and social wrongs.

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UNCF Names Legendary Educator Dr. Johnnetta Betsch Cole as President-In-Residence and Co-Chairperson of its $1 Billion Capital Campaign

UNCF Names Legendary Educator Dr. Johnnetta Betsch Cole as President-In-Residence and Co-Chairperson of its $1 Billion Capital Campaign

UNCF (United Negro College Fund) is honored today to announce that distinguished scholar, anthropologist and academic pacesetter Johnnetta Betsch Cole, Ph.D., has accepted a president-in-residence…

UNCF Report Creates Blueprint to Activate HBCU Leadership in Climate Change and Sustainability

UNCF Report Creates Blueprint to Activate HBCU Leadership in Climate Change and Sustainability

Released at the 2024 Higher Education Climate Leadership Summit, “The HBCU Climate Action Blueprint: Sustainable Campuses, Empowered Communities” explores the current activities and future aspirations…

HBCUv Faculty Convening & Special Briefing

HBCUv Faculty Convening & Special Briefing

Date: March 21, 2024
Time: 12:00 PM

March 21-22, 2024 The HBCUv briefing will provide a unique opportunity to delve into the key features and functionalities of HBCUv alongside some of the…

PGIM, UNCF Study Finds Private HBCU Endowments Need Investment Support

PGIM, UNCF Study Finds Private HBCU Endowments Need Investment Support

Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are a critical learning path for Black students seeking quality higher education in the United States. Yet, these institutions…

UNCF Receives $100 Million Grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to Support Capital Campaign

UNCF Receives $100 Million Grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to Support Capital Campaign

During a press conference held today at Clark Atlanta University, UNCF (United Negro College Fund) announced that Lilly Endowment Inc. has awarded a $100 million unrestricted grant…

A Dream Deferred 2024

A Dream Deferred 2024

Date: March 25, 2024
Time: 12:00 PM

The College Board’s A Dream Deferred conference in 2024 aims to convene education professionals and advocates dedicated to improving outcomes for African American students. Focused…

CNN Philanthropic group gifts United Negro College Fund $100 million grant to help boost HBCU endowments

CNN Philanthropic group gifts United Negro College Fund $100 million grant to help boost HBCU endowments

The United Negro College Fund (UNCF) has received a landmark $100 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. in support of a capital campaign aimed at…

UNCF Institute for Capacity Building Awarded 2023 Amazon Web Services IMAGINE Grant to Develop HBCUv

UNCF Institute for Capacity Building Awarded 2023 Amazon Web Services IMAGINE Grant to Develop HBCUv

The UNCF Institute for Capacity Building (ICB) was awarded the 2023 Amazon Web Services (AWS) IMAGINE Grant, open to registered non-profit organizations. They will collaborate…

Institutional Site Visit: Philanther Smith University

Institutional Site Visit: Philanther Smith University

Date: April 3, 2024
Time: 12:00 PM

April 03-03, 2024 Our institutional site visit is a critical component of ICB’s support to transformation partners. Each site visit is a two-day opportunity for…

FORBES Turning 80, United Negro College Fund Stages A Revival

FORBES Turning 80, United Negro College Fund Stages A Revival

The Forbes article highlights the resurgence of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) under the leadership of CEO Michael L. Lomax, detailing its return to…

RECAP REPORT: UNITE 2023

RECAP REPORT: UNITE 2023

UNITE is a transformative annual gathering hosted by the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) that serves as a rallying point for champions of Black higher…

AERA Annual Meeting for 2024

AERA Annual Meeting for 2024

Date: April 11, 2024
Time: 12:00 PM

The AERA Annual Meeting for 2024 aims to be accessible, flexible, and rewarding for all participants. With the theme “Dismantling Racial Injustice and Constructing Educational…

UNCF and Google are Paving the Path Forward to Increase Opportunities for HBCU Students in Tech Fields with Additional $2M Investment

UNCF and Google are Paving the Path Forward to Increase Opportunities for HBCU Students in Tech Fields with Additional $2M Investment

A long-standing collaboration between UNCF (United Negro College Fund) and Google continues to make groundbreaking investments in historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Google has…

WALL STREET JOURNAL Historically Black Colleges Land $124 Million Donation to Boost Enrollment, Graduation Rates

WALL STREET JOURNAL Historically Black Colleges Land $124 Million Donation to Boost Enrollment, Graduation Rates

Blue Meridian Partners grants UNCF, TMCF, and Partnership for Education Advancement with funds to support the HBCU Transformation Project, aimed at enhancing enrollment, retention, and…

ASU+GSV Summit

ASU+GSV Summit

Date: April 14, 2024
Time: 12:00 PM

The ASU+GSV Summit, co-founded by Michael Moe and Deborah Quazzo, is dedicated to tackling society’s greatest challenge by ensuring equal access to the future for…

UNCF, Axim Collaborative and Harvard University: Reshaping Higher Education through HBCUv

UNCF, Axim Collaborative and Harvard University: Reshaping Higher Education through HBCUv

Today, UNCF (United Negro College Fund), the nation’s largest minority education organization, announced its partnership with Axim Collaborative and Harvard University to further the development…

UNCF’s UNITE Summit Convenes HBCU Leaders

UNCF’s UNITE Summit Convenes HBCU Leaders

Diverse reports over 1,000 influential figures from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) convened in Atlanta for the United Negro College Fund’s (UNCF) 2nd annual…

UNITE 2024

UNITE 2024

Date: July 28, 2024
Time: 12:00 PM

For those who believe educational equity cannot be achieved without racial justice. That advancing Black colleges and universities is critical to advancing, not just Black…

There’s a powerful narrative about what it means to be Black embedded in the evolution of Black colleges and universities.

UNCF President/CEO Dr. Michael L. Lomax
President & CEO
UNCF

ICB Structure

Vision, Narrative, Champion

Strategy Development

  • Works with internal and external stakeholders to develop an understanding and appreciation of ICB’s mission, vision and strategic priorities.
  • Supports the dissemination of learnings from ICB programs, partnerships and communities of practice.
  • Pursues strategies and innovations that hold promise for Black colleges and universities and the future of Black higher education.
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Institutional Engagement, Planning, Delivery

Transformation Support

  • Provides comprehensive pro-trusive (proactive + intrusive) institutional engagement.
  • Uses the ACT Framework, our emotional intelligence approach, to operate with authenticity, compassion and transparency, while expecting the same from all stakeholders.
  • Executes continuous improvement through the AEIOU Framework: Articulate the problem. Equip the resolution owner. Improve the process. Observe the solution. Universalize the solve.
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Leadership, Governance, Accreditation

Executive Leadership

  • Supports presidents/chancellors and their governing boards to advance institutional missions.
  • Engages institutional leaders in a joint process of development, reflection, assessment and improvement.
  • Advances the belief that transformational change in higher education institutions is only possible when executive leaders are aligned, informed and interconnected to other institutional leaders engaged in the pursuit of similar missions and goals.
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Resources, Business Models, Financial Systems

Financial Sustainability

  • Aligns financial planning and strategy to institutional and student success priorities.
  • Identifies and develops KPIs to evaluate the institution’s financial health and support accreditation. 
  • Promotes thought leadership, professional development and sharing through a community of practice for CFOs and other fiscal officers.
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Innovation, Technology, Virtual Learning

Digital Solutions

  • Leads the development of HBCUv, a shared online learning platform for community learning where students, educators and staff are enabled to learn, develop and flourish together, from anywhere.
  • Develops tailored and culturally relevant opportunities that equip, sustain and promote technology adoption.
  • Ensures institutions are positioned to leverage and shape the future of digital learning and innovation. 
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Data, Information, Continuous Improvement

Knowledge Management

  • Strengthens the capabilities and decision-making capacity of institutions through the development and sharing of actionable data and information.
  • Improves data literacy and systems among institutions to promote proficiency and data-informed cultures.
  • Amplifies knowledge and information that uplift the legacy, impact and potential of Black colleges and universities.
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HBCUv: Shaping the online future of Black higher education

UNCF is designing, with nine partnering HBCUs, an online platform for lifelong learners to flourish together and celebrate Black excellence—from anywhere.

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WE ASPIRE TO SERVE OUR NATION’S BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES: 102 HBCUs and 64 PBIs

Through our shared learning practices, we strive to influence all higher education institutionsespecially those serving significant numbers of Black and other marginalized students.

Our Network

Dorothy-Vaughan
IF NOT FOR BLACK COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES…

One small step could have been too big a leap.

When Apollo 11 touched down in the Sea of Tranquility that July night in 1969, it was made possible by the invaluable calculations of NASA mathematicians Dorothy Vaughan (Wilberforce University) and Katherine Johnson (West Virginia State University).

With your support, this legacy of shaping the future will continue.

DONATE TODAY
March_on_washington_Aug_28_1963
IF NOT FOR BLACK COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES…

The Civil Rights Movement wouldn’t have gone as far.

Many of the leading lights of the 1950s and 60s movement were HBCU graduates, including: Kwame Ture (Howard University), Medgar Evers (Alcorn State), Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Morehouse College) and Rosa Parks (Alabama State).

With your support, this legacy of shaping the future will continue.

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Marian-Wright-Edelman
IF NOT FOR BLACK COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES…

Head Start would have been a non-starter.

Spelman College graduate Marian Wright Edelman founded the Children’s Defense Fund, which fought for key policies like the national Head Start program that has helped lift generations of kids out of poverty.

With your support, this legacy of shaping the future will continue.

DONATE TODAY
hero-about-landing
IF NOT FOR BLACK COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES…

There would be no rising Black middle class.

Within 10 years of graduation, HBCU diploma-holders typically earn more than $71,000 a year. Compared to peers who did not go to college, they will earn $1 million more over their lifetimes. Those HBCU students who are the first-in-family to graduate from college will not be the last, transforming families and entire communities.

With your support, this legacy of shaping the future will continue.

DONATE TODAY
How many of the 102 HBCUs
can you name?
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