My mother was the making of me. She was so true, so sure of me; and I felt I had something to live for, someone I must not disappoint. – Thomas Edison
By William A. Foster, IV
If you asked my mother, Dr. Laurette Foster, to be honest, she is tired of hearing me talk about economics, finance, African American institutions, and HBCU endowments. For well over twenty plus years, I would probably say most of my family is tired of me talking about these subjects. My baby sister, Dr. Aysha (Foster) Williams, often says I can take a conversation about the weather and turn it into a conversation around money. I will admit there is a joy that I get from combing through economic and financial data and building excel spreadsheets that leave many scratching their head.
It is also my studies in institutional development on the graduate level at Prairie View A&M under the guidance of Dr. Rick Baldwin and Dr. Akel Kahera that helped shape the economics and finance training I had many years ago at Virginia State University. But the foundational HBCU professor I had was my mother Dr. Foster, whom I have often referred to as the real life version of Claire Huxtable, who even while I was in elementary school had me working on college algebra problems while we waited in the lobby of my sister’s ballet class to finish. Any time my sister and I were not in school we were on the campus of Prairie View A&M University from elementary through high school. On visits to my grandmother in Petersburg, Virginia during the summer or holidays we would spend copious amounts of time on the campus of Virginia State University. To say we were nourished by professors and staff at every turn culturally and academically during our childhood would be an understatement. Many professors simply became extended aunts and uncles as it were. The profound impact has carried with me my entire life and always will. It is shaping that I yearn for so many other African American children to experience.
Despite this hidden treasure trove of intellect and cultural nourishment, HBCU professors are for many African Americans a place that often despite being underpaid, under resourced, and overworked the hope for so many African American students who matriculate through HBCU grounds in hopes of a better future for themselves, their families, and their communities. No pressure at all. It is these professors that for many will be the first time they will have encountered an African American with an advanced degree. Again, no pressure. However, the pressure does not faze many who simply wish they had the resources to do more. A scarcity that is unfortunately indicative of African America institutionally as a whole. Doing more with less is a mantra that has been pervasive in our community for the past seventy years.
The St. Louis Federal Reserve reports that total financial assets held by U.S. 501(c)(3) organizations is an estimated $5.6 trillion. Despite this reality African American nonprofits have another reality, be they academic or otherwise, they very often fail to garner the financial assets necessary to sustain multiple generations leaving community infrastructure constantly vulnerable and often not being able to pass down and institutionalize the rich intellectual capital that has been accumulated. Over half of all African American nonprofits would close their doors with the loss of just a few key donors meaning most have not created sustainable financial models. Rasheeda Childress of The Chronicle of Philanthropy says, “Most (African American nonprofits) operate on razor-thin margins and need more philanthropic support for training in fundraising, leadership, and financial management, a new survey has found.”
Over thirty years ago, while I was still trying to get out of elementary school, an organization was formed called the HBCU Faculty Development Network. Armed with the mission to help empower and enrich the pedagogy legacy of far too many giants of HBCU academia to name here. For the past 10 years my mother has led the organization as its executive director. My mother surrounded by a tenacious board of directors who want to see HBCU professors excel, they have put in countless hours and annual conferences for their HBCU colleagues and helping shape the HBCU future. But like most African American organizations they too were constantly financially vulnerable and the need to evolve and expand their reach and programming was acutely limited by their resources.
A year ago, my mother asked me to come and consult the organization on helping ensure its financial future. I assume she grew tired of being the only one who had to hear me rant constantly about the need for African American institutions to take their finances seriously so they could be sustainable and empowered institutions for our community and decided to subject her fellow colleagues as well. Using the blueprint that was published by HBCU Money a few years earlier titled, ’12 Things Your HBCU Alumni Association/Chapter Needs To Do To Be Financially Successful’, we discussed the endless avenues of revenue available to them that would help them grow. Not least among them, would be the establishment of an endowment which according to the Summer Institute of Finance only 11.2 percent of organizations have – meaning that for African American organizations that percentage is probably a minute number in comparison to the overall although no specific data exist. The board diligent and committed over the course of a few days and sessions we were able to lay the groundwork for what came to be.
At the HBCU Faculty Development Network’s 2023 Annual Conference in Houston, Texas they were finally ready to unveil the hard work. The formation of the endowment was announced to their membership and those in attendance to the conference. My life as an economist and financier that has been built and shaped to support African American institutions is culminated in moments like this. That my mother and all those HBCU professors who cultivated me over the years so that I could bring my experience and expertise to them and ensure that their legacies will live on is truly one of the proudest moments of my life and to be able to share it with my mother makes it truly priceless.
To donate to the HBCU Faculty Development Network’s endowment, click here.
A special thank you as well to the board for trusting the process and embracing this new day.
Dr. Donald Collins, Prairie View A&M University
Dr. Karen Stewart, Texas Southern University
Dr. Ruby Broadway, Dillard University
Dr. China Jenkins, formerly of Texas Southern University