Tag Archives: Howard University

The Love Is GONE: 2022’s HBCU Million Dollar Gifts

We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope. – Martin Luther King, Jr.

Arguably, there are not enough donations in 2022 to even warrant an analysis but we are going to give it a try. The acute analysis is that HBCUs and alumni are going to have to prioritize creating wealthier alumni and using their alumni associations to leverage more aggressive investment vehicles which may otherwise be out of bounds for the institutions themselves. It also speaks to giving real thought to policies and strategy that can assist in that wealth creation. Reducing student loan debt loads, reducing time spent in maturation, increasing financial literacy requirements, and more need to be among serious conversation in order to help alumni get on the footing to wealth in both speed and probability. Years like this have been far too many in the midst of also battling underfunding by state and federal government. Not to mention the outright assault PWIs have launched in recent decades of trying to out HBCU HBCUs for African Americans and other minority groups. Of the three companies (pictured above) responsible for the wealth that allowed these individuals to give their Million Dollar Gifts – none were African American owned firms and their combined market caps were over $600 billion – an amount that is almost 40 percent of African America’s entire buying power. Something else that needs to be strongly considered in the wealth development conversation among alumni and administrations. Why are our alumni not creating more firms that can lead to transformative wealth and what can we do to assist?

Overall donations to all colleges and universities were down significantly in 2022 dropping under 300 Million Dollar Gifts given for the first time since 2010. This seems to be a fairly direct correlation to the economy and stock market’s rough 2022. Given that most wealthy donors have major investments tied to business ownership and investments and the Federal Reserve putting forth monetary policy in 2022 that many argued slammed the brakes on the stock market, it is no surprise that wealthy donors deemed themselves quite skittish. And per usual, when America/PWIs get a cold, then African America/HBCUs get pneumonia as seen by only 3 Million Dollar Gifts finding their way to HBCUs. None from HBCU alumni. The median donation was 2 to 1 in terms of donor value and the average donation was 4.5 to 1 in terms of donor value between PWI MDGs and HBCU MDGs. 2022 also provided the very first $1 billion donation to a college or university with Stanford University receiving a $1.1 billion pledge from John and Ann Doerr (both whom are Rice University alumnus).

This is a concerning trend going into uncertain financial times for the U.S. economy in particular. Colleges overall do tend to pick up more students during recessionary times with people losing jobs many see it as an opportunity to go to school or back to school. Unfortunately, tuition revenue is already too much of what HBCUs rely heavily upon and those new students are not likely in any position to give Million Dollar Gifts in the near future. HBCU philanthropy as it pertains to Million Dollar Gifts operates largely on a lottery like reality both relying on hope and depending on those outside of the culture and outside the alumni bases. With the changing sands of higher education shifting beneath our feet the resources to see tomorrow grow urgent with every passing day.

$1 Million Plus Donations To All Colleges: 275

$100 Million Plus Donations To All Colleges: 14

$1 Million Plus Donations Value To All Colleges: $7.1 Billion

$1 Million Plus Median Donation To All Colleges: $10.0 Million

$1 Million Plus Average Donation To All Colleges: $25.9 Million

$1 Million Plus Donations To HBCUs: 3

$100 Million Plus Donations To HBCUs: 0

$1 Million Plus Donations Value To HBCUs: $17.0 Million

$1 Million Plus Median Donation To HBCUs: $5.0 Million

$1 Million Plus Average Donation To HBCUs: $5.7 Million

HBCU Percentage of Donations To All Colleges: 1.1%

HBCU Percentage of Donation Value To All Colleges: 0.2%

1. Arthur M. Blank (pictured) – $10.0 million
Recipient: Spelman College
Source of Wealth: Home Depot

2. Reed Hastings & Patty Quillin – $5.0 million
Recipient: Tougaloo College
Source of Wealth: Media & Entertainment

3. Kenneth Chenault & Kathryn Chenault   – $2.0 million
Recipient: Howard University
Source of Wealth: Education

Source: Chronicle of Philanthropy

It Was Nice While It Lasted: 2021 Million Dollar HBCU Donations Drop By 73 Percent

The results of philanthropy are beyond calculation, but they are calculated. – William A. Foster, IV

After 2020 gave us unprecedented major giving to HBCUs, the fairy dust wore off just as quickly come 2021. Had this year been not followed by 2020, then arguably it would be a good year by normal standards. Instead, it is a harsh reminder that HBCUs rarely on any level receive an equitable share of funding both by state and federal governments and private giving to colleges and universities. 2020’s giving it could be argued was a response to the protests and social unrest that spilled over from the death of George Floyd. However, as we stated previously that is neither sustainable and questionably moral. This year’s list while significantly smaller looks much the same as last year in that it is buoyance is upheld by donors outside of the African American community.

HBCUs were able to pull in three percent of the million plus donations to all colleges and universities, which constitutes their makeup in the overall landscape of the higher education system. However, the value of those donations amounted to less than one percent of the overall donation value to colleges and universities. A significant drop off from 2020’s astounding 15 percent of donation value. Very interested to note that PWIs saw donations of $100 million plus double from 2020 to 2021 going from seven to fourteen. No HBCU has ever seen a nine-figure donation and there are only a handful of African Americans capable of doing so. This once again leaves the fate of African American NPOs in the hands of other community’s wealth and generosity. It also begs the question for the survival of HBCUs in particular long-term. Despite 2020’s gifts, we would be remiss to act as if one year of donations can rectify over one hundred plus years of negligence and fiscal hostility.

MacKenzie Scott continued to be HBCUs’ best friend with two of the ten donations on the list coming from her philanthropy. Mr. and Mrs. Tyler’s donation is one of the largest alumni gifts (if not the largest) ever to an HBCU. Worthy of a conversation itself is that HBCUs are still not producing a pipeline of wealthy alumni. Something critical to increasing the probability of transformative donors into HBCU coffers. With only two known HBCU billionaires among all of its alumni, the question of “Can HBCUs Produce Billionaires?” remains not only a relevant question, but an absolutely necessary conversation that must be had between HBCU alumni and administrations.

$1 Million Plus Donations To All Colleges: 316

$100 Million Plus Donations To All Colleges: 14

$1 Million Plus Donations Value To All Colleges: $8.1 Billion

$1 Million Plus Median Donation To All Colleges: $11.1 Million

$1 Million Plus Average Donation To All Colleges: $25.5 Million

$1 Million Plus Donations To HBCUs: 10

$100 Million Plus Donations To HBCUs: 0

$1 Million Plus Donations Value To HBCUs: $66.7 Million

$1 Million Plus Median Donation To HBCUs: $4.0 Million

$1 Million Plus Average Donation To HBCUs: $6.7 Million

HBCU Percentage of Donations To All Colleges: 3.2%

HBCU Percentage of Donation Value To All Colleges: 0.8%

1. MacKenzie Scott  – $20 million
Recipient: Charles R. Drew Medicine
Source of Wealth: Technology, Retail

2. Calvin E. Tyler and Tina Tyler (pictured bottom right) – $20 million
Recipient: Morgan State University
Source of Wealth: N/A

3. S. Donald Sussman  – $6 million
Recipient: University of the Virgin Islands
Source of Wealth: Finance

4. Eddie Brown and Sylvia Brown (pictured bottom left) – $5 million
Recipient: Howard University
Source of Wealth: Investments

5. Anonymous Donor – $5 million
Recipient: Howard University
Source of Wealth: N/A

6. Shervin Pishevar and Sarah Pishevar Haynes – $3 million
Recipient: Howard University
Source of Wealth: Technology, Finance, Transportation

7. Frank Garrison and Amy Garrison – $2.5 million
Recipient: Fisk University
Source of Wealth: Finance, Real Estate, Law

8. Anonymous Donor – $2.2 million
Recipient: Alabama A&M University
Source of Wealth: N/A

9. MacKenzie Scott – $2 million
Recipient: Meharry Medical College
Source of Wealth: Technology, Retail

10. Mark Malveaux and Dawn Malveaux (pictured top) – $1 million
Recipient: Southern University System
Source of Wealth: Law

Source: Chronicle of Philanthropy

UNPRECEDENTED: MacKenzie Scott Transforms HBCU Endowments With A Flurry Of Million Dollar Gifts In 2020

Guilt: the gift that keeps on giving. – Erma Bombeck

The year of George Floyd’s death and the European American guilt that accompanied it can be argued was the catalyst that led to the largest flurry of million dollar plus donations to HBCUs ever seen and it was led almost solely by one woman – MacKenzie Scott, the quietly known co-founder of Amazon who has emerged as a powerhouse in the world of philanthropy. Of the reported 37 donations of $1 million or more as reported by the Chronicle of Philanthropy to HBCUs, Ms. Scott is responsible for 22 of them. Her donation to Prairie View A&M University was the largest in the school’s history and the largest ever to a public HBCU. Questions of where the money actually ends up and who is managing it given Prairie View’s relationship to Texas A&M are worth investigation by PVAMU alumni. All the same, HBCU endowments began 2020 standing at approximately $2.1 billion combined. 2020’s million dollar plus donations to HBCUs are equivalent to roughly 33 percent of that – in one year. To put in perspective, these donations to HBCUs in 2020 were greater than Howard University’s 150 plus year old endowment and would be the equivalent of someone donating approximately $15 billion to Harvard’s endowment, which Ms. Scott actually could do. Again, unprecedented.

We have expanded our review of the data collected to include more information regarding those major donations to HBCUs as well as their presence in the overall landscape of major donations to all colleges and universities. Are HBCUs getting their share? Although HBCUs make up three percent of the United States higher education ecosystem, they do not tend to receive three percent of the philanthropic donations or value. This year breaks the mold with HBCUs receiving over 11 percent of the major donations and over 15 percent of the major donation value. Unprecedented is putting it mildly. While this infusion is beyond needed and could not come at a better time as many higher education institutions across the country are having real questions of future and long-term fiscal viability, those with well position endowments have far less to worry about in their ability to have the resources necessary to pivot in an ever changing education landscape. Despite this landslide of donations, there are still no HBCUs with a $1 billion endowment or more. Howard University is still leading the way and looking like the inevitable first, but after Howard and Spelman, there are a myriad of questions and concerns as to the endowment health of every other HBCU.

Despite no African American having the wealth to give at the scale of MacKenzie Scott, it still begs the question of where are the African American wealthy in making major donations to HBCUs on a more consistent and sustainable basis. Only 4 of the 37 donations on 2020’s list come from African American families. George Floyd’s death was clearly a catalyst for much of this giving to African American institutions in 2020, but relying on Black death as a means to spur major giving is morally problematic and acutely unsustainable. There is no reason that this list every year is not made up of predominantly African Diaspora and African American households. For reasons that are complex though, that has still yet to happen. It is also worth noting which schools received donations. While the usual suspects of Morehouse College, Spelman College, and Howard University are there, one-third of the donations went to public HBCUs whom rarely find themselves in the philanthropic spotlight. Lesser known, but just as important HBCUs like Claflin University, Lincoln University (PA), and Xavier University (LA) also showed up. A vital need is for the smaller HBCUs to receive major gifts, HBCUs like Texas College, Florida Memorial University, Virginia University at Lynchburg also badly need to receive major gifts to shore up their fiscal futures. African American households must be the one to lead that charge if major giving to HBCUs is to be burning bright tomorrow and not just a firecracker today.

$1 Million Plus Donations To All Colleges: 329

$100 Million Plus Donations To All Colleges: 7

$1 Million Plus Donations Value To All Colleges: $4.7 Billion

$1 Million Plus Median Donation To All Colleges: $6.0 Million

$1 Million Plus Average Donation To All Colleges: $14.4 Million

$1 Million Plus Donations To HBCUs: 37*

$100 Million Plus Donations To HBCUs: 0

$1 Million Plus Donations Value To HBCUs: $716.7 Million

$1 Million Plus Median Donation To HBCUs: $20.0 Million

$1 Million Plus Average Donation To HBCUs: $19.4 Million

HBCU Percentage of Donations To All Colleges: 11.2%

HBCU Percentage of Donation Value To All Colleges: 15.2%

1. MacKenzie Scott (pictured) – $50 million
Recipient: Prairie View A&M University
Source of Wealth: Technology, Retail

2. MacKenzie Scott – $45 million
Recipient: North Carolina A&T State University
Source of Wealth: Technology, Retail

3. Reed Hastings & Patty Quillin  – $40 million
Recipient: Morehouse College
Source of Wealth: Technology

4. Reed Hastings & Patty Quillin – $40 million
Recipient: Spelman College
Source of Wealth: Technology

5. Reed Hastings & Patty Quillin – $40 million
Recipient: United Negro College Fund
Source of Wealth: Technology

6. MacKenzie Scott – $40 million
Recipient: Morgan State University
Source of Wealth: Technology, Retail

7. MacKenzie Scott – $40 million
Recipient: Norfolk State University
Source of Wealth: Technology, Retail

8. MacKenzie Scott – $40 million
Recipient: Howard University
Source of Wealth: Technology, Retail

9. MacKenzie Scott – $30 million
Recipient: Virginia State University
Source of Wealth: Technology, Retail

10. MacKenzie Scott– $30 million
Recipient: Winston-Salem State University
Source of Wealth: Technology, Retail

11. MacKenzie Scott – $30 million
Recipient: Hampton University
Source of Wealth: Technology, Retail

12. MacKenzie Scott – $25 million
Recipient: Alcorn State University
Source of Wealth: Technology, Retail

13. MacKenzie Scott – $25 million
Recipient: Bowie State University
Source of Wealth: Technology, Retail

14. MacKenzie Scott  – $20 million
Recipient: Claflin University
Source of Wealth: Technology, Retail

15. MacKenzie Scott – $20 million
Recipient: Delaware State University
Source of Wealth: Technology, Retail

16. MacKenzie Scott – $20 million
Recipient: Lincoln University (PA)
Source of Wealth: Technology, Retail

17. MacKenzie Scott – $20 million
Recipient: Tuskegee University
Source of Wealth: Technology, Retail

18. MacKenzie Scott – $20 million
Recipient: Xavier University (Louisiana)
Source of Wealth: Technology, Retail

19. MacKenzie Scott – $20 million
Recipient: Morehouse College
Source of Wealth: Technology, Retail

20. MacKenzie Scott – $20 million
Recipient: University of Maryland-Eastern Shore
Source of Wealth: Technology, Retail

21. MacKenzie Scott – $20 million
Recipient: Spelman College
Source of Wealth: Technology, Retail

22. MacKenzie Scot– $15 million
Recipient: Clark Atlanta University
Source of Wealth: Technology, Retail

23. MacKenzie Scott – $15 million
Recipient: Elizabeth City State University
Source of Wealth: Technology, Retail

24. Anonymous Donor – $10 million
Recipient: Prairie View A&M University
Source of Wealth: N/A

25. Bruce Karsh and Martha Karsh  – $10 million
Recipient: Howard University
Source of Wealth: Finance

26. Seth Klarman and Beth Klarman – $10 million
Recipient: Spelman College
Source of Wealth: Finance

27. MacKenzie Scott – $6 million
Recipient: Tougaloo College
Source of Wealth: Technology, Retail

28. MacKenzie Scott – $5 million
Recipient: Dillard University
Source of Wealth: Technology, Retail

29. Oprah Winfrey – $2 million
Recipient: Tennessee State University
Source of Wealth: Media & Entertainment

30. Matthew Cullinan and Anna Reilly – $1.7 million
Recipient: Winston-Salem State University
Source of Wealth: Education

31. Jim Murren and Heather Murren – $1 million
Recipient: Howard University
Source of Wealth: Finance

32. Charles Butt – $1 million
Recipient: Prairie View A&M University
Source of Wealth: Retail

33. Charles Barkley – $1 million
Recipient: Miles College
Source of Wealth: Entertainment

34. Kenneth Chenault and Kathryn Chenault – $1 million
Recipient: Morehouse College
Source of Wealth: Finance

35. Joan Johnson – $1 million
Recipient: Spelman College
Source of Wealth: Retail

36. Frank Baker & Laura Day  – $1 million
Recipient: Spelman College
Source of Wealth: Finance

37. Charles Barkley – $1 million
Recipient: Tuskegee University
Source of Wealth: Entertainment

Source: Chronicle of Philanthropy

*Michael Bloomberg’s pledge of $100 million in 2020 to the 4 HBCU medical schools was not included in our list which was sourced strictly from the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

The 2019-2020 SWAC/MEAC Athletic Financial Review

In the fourth HBCU Money report on the SWAC/MEAC’s athletic finances, there has been one trend that is consistent – an acute amount of red on the balance sheet of each respective HBCU as it pertains to their athletic departments and it continues to grow redder and redder. Since HBCU Money first began reporting the SWAC/MEAC Athletic Financial Review, there have been losses of $128.6 million (2014-2015), $147.1 million (2016-2017), $150.7 million (2017-2018), and this year they continue their trend of the athletic black hole with losses over $161 million through athletics with no correction in sight. Not exactly the cash generating juggernauts that HBCU alumni have in mind when it comes to how deeply many believe that athletics can be the financial savior to HBCU financial prosperity. Instead, athletics seems to be potentially at the crux of many HBCU financial woes. Almost unfathomable is that many in the SWAC/MEAC have athletic budgets higher than their research budgets.

The harsh reality is that even with all the popularity buzz generated by Jackson State University’s head football coach, Deion Sanders, the factors working against HBCU athletics ever achieving real profitability remains a pipe dream at best. To land a major television contract, which is the only reason on mass that the SEC and Big 10 are the profitable athletic programs they are requires something that HBCU alumni bases severely lack. Large fan bases that have high incomes and an affluence. The harsh reality that HBCUs have small alumni bases, a reality that has been exacerbated post-desegregation where now HBCUs only get 9 percent of African Americans in college, combined with African America having both the lowest median income and wealth do not make for a recipe for advertisers to pay top dollar to television stations who would then healthily compensate HBCU institutions. HBCU athletics can be profitable, but it requires a completely different business model than our PWI counterparts. See, “The 5 Steps To HBCU Athletic Profitability”.

HBCU athletic revenues went down while expenses and subsidies went up in 2019-2020. That is usually a trend all would prefer be flipped. Students continue to bear the brunt of generating HBCU athletic revenues. This year’s review shows that approximately 73 percent of HBCU athletic revenues are generated through subsidies, up from 70 percent the year prior. Something to consider when 90 percent of HBCU students graduate with student loan debt.

REVENUES (in millions)

Total: $200.4 (down 1.2% from 2017-2018)

Median: $10.3 (down 4.6% from 2017-2018)

Average: $10.6  (up 5.0% from 2017-2018)

Highest revenue: Prairie View A&M University  $18.7 million

Lowest revenue: Coppin State University  $2.8 million

EXPENSES (in millions)

Total: $213.0 (up 0.5% from 2017-2018)

Median: $12.5 (up 15.7% from 2017-2018)

Average: $11.2 (up 5.7% from 2017-2018)

Highest expenses: Prairie View A&M University  $18.7 million

Lowest expenses: Mississippi Valley State University  $3.9 million

SUBSIDY

Total: $148.4 (up 4.9% from 2017-2018)

Median: $6.4 (down 18.4% from 2017-2018)

Average: $7.1 (unchanged from 2017-2018)

Highest subsidy: Prairie View A&M University $15.5 million

Lowest subsidy: Coppin State University $1.7 million

Highest % of revenues: Delaware State University: 92.0%

Lowest % of revenues: Florida A&M University: 37.0%

PROFIT/LOSS (W/ SUBSIDY)

Total: $-12.7 million (down 40.0% from 2017-2018)

Median: $0 (up 100.0% from 2017-2018)

Average: $-666,295 (down 46.3% from 2017-2018)

Highest profit/loss: North Carolina A&T State University  $615,094

Lowest profit/loss: North Carolina Central University  $-6,264,082

PROFIT/LOSS (W/O SUBSIDY)

Total: $-161.0 million (down 6.8% from 2017-2018)

Median: $-9.8 million (down 40.0% from 2017-2018)

Average: $-8.5 million (down 13.3% from 2017-2018)

Highest profit/loss: Mississippi Valley State University  $-2,177,123

Lowest profit/loss: Prairie View A&M University  $-15,417,471

CONCLUSION: At current, it would take an approximately $4.3 billion endowment dedicated to athletics to ween the SWAC/MEAC off of these subsidies onto a sustainable path. A sum greater than all HBCU endowments combined. Perhaps through merchandise sales, Jackson State could see its way to profitability without subsidies. Perhaps, but as former HBCU alumnus and NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe recently said, “There is only one Deion Sanders”. One thing is for certain, HBCUs have not done a proper cost-benefit analysis for the money they spend and subsidize to their athletic departments nor have they explored potential alternative models.

Editor’s Note: Howard and Bethune-Cookman are excluded in this report because they are private institutions and their athletic finances were not included in this report.

Source: USA Today

HBCU Money’s 2021 Top 10 HBCU Endowments

If there was a short analysis of the 2021 HBCU endowment list it would be this – still not enough. Despite record breaking donations toward HBCUs from Mackenzie Scott and others in 2020-2021, the PWI-HBCU endowment gap among the Top 10 PWIs and HBCUs continues to balloon, a gap that stands at a staggering $121 to $1. This despite a 35 percent increase by the Top 10 HBCU endowments from last year. Simply put, winning the philanthropic “lottery” is not enough and it never will be when it comes to closing the endowment gap. The rabbit never beats the tortoise to put it another way. HBCUs must find a way to find consistent capital infusions over time as opposed to lighting quick one-offs.

The HBCU donor pool is simply too small and too poor (relatively speaking) to close the endowment gap. Without increasing the percentage of African Americans college students who go to HBCUs from 10 percent to 25-30 percent, it does not bode well for HBCUs to be able to close the endowment gap through traditional means. HBCUs and their alumni are going to have to be more creative and must be so expeditiously. While this is the most HBCU endowments we have ever reported with $100 million or greater, increasing from five in 2020 to seven in 2021, PWIs saw an 25 percent increase in the number of endowments over $2 billion going from 55 to 69 and an equally 25 percent rise in the number of endowments over $1 billion going from 114 to 142. This while HBCUs are still waiting for their first billion dollar endowment.

To that point, the race between Howard and Spelman is tightening. Last year’s $334 million lead that Howard held over Spelman has shrunk to $265 million. At one point it seemed a foregone conclusion that Howard would reach the milestone first (The Race To The First Billion Dollar HBCU Endowment: Can Anyone Catch Howard?), that is no longer the case. Howard’s public relations over the past year have not been favorable and while many people say all press is good press – not when you are an African American institution. With Hampton and North Carolina A&T’s departure from the MEAC, no HBCU conference (CIAA, GCAC, MEAC, SIAC, SWAC) is dominating the Top 10 and the list is split 50/50 between private and public HBCUs as well. Arguably this is the most diverse Top 10 HBCU endowment list since we first began publishing, but one thing remains feverishly consistent and that is there is a lot of work to be done to ensure HBCU endowments and therefore the institutions of HBCUs are sustainable and thriving.

HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Top 10 HBCU Endowment Total – $2.7 billion
  • Top 10 PWI Endowment Total – $328.7 billion
  • Number of PWIs Above $2 billion – 69
  • Number of PWIs Above $1 billion – 142
  • HBCU Median – $97.8 million (33.7%)
  • NACUBO Median – $200.4 million (25.8%)
  • HBCU Average – $203.8 million (53.6%)
  • NACUBO Average – $1.2 billion (35.2%)

All values are in millions ($000)*

1. Howard University – $795,203 (11.6%)

2. Spelman College – $530,399 (40.3%)

3.  Hampton University – $379,992 (35.4%)

4.  Morehouse College – $278,073 (77.0%)

5.  Meharry Medical College – $186,943 (19.3%)

6. North Carolina A&T State University  – $157,336 (113.2%)

7. Florida A&M University – $118,635 (24.4%)

8. Morgan State University$97,783 (162.9%)

9. Tennessee State University – $91,120 (33.2%)

10. The University of the Virgin Islands – $82,863 (23.9%)

OTHERS REPORTING:

*The change in market value does NOT represent the rate of return for the institution’s investments. Rather, the change in the market value of an endowment from FY20 to FY21 reflects the net impact of:
1) withdrawals to fund institutional operations and capital expenses;
2) the payment of endowment management and investment fees;
3) additions from donor gifts and other contributions; and
4) investment gains or losses.

SOURCE: NACUBO

Take a look at how an endowment works. Not only scholarships to reduce the student debt burden but research, recruiting talented faculty & students, faculty salaries, and a host of other things can be paid for through a strong endowment. It ultimately is the lifeblood of a college or university to ensure its success generation after generation.