Category Archives: Philanthropy

The HBCU Endowment Feature – Edward Waters College

Posted on July 15, 2013 by | Leave a comment

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School Name: Edward Waters College

Median Cost of Attendance: $18 481

Undergraduate Population: 769

Endowment Needed: $284 237 780

Analysis: Edward Waters College needs approximately $284 million for all of its students to attend debt free annually. The college is located in Jacksonville, Florida which has an estimated population of 820 000 with 30 percent of that population being African American which is well above the state’s overall African American population percentage of 16 percent. Jacksonville being located in the northeast part of the state would allow for recruitment opportunities into southeastern Georgia. All factors that are extremely needed for a school where student population has declined by almost 40 percent. This gives Edward Waters College an opportunity to expand its geographic presence. It has legacy on its side as the oldest HBCU in Florida which can be a remarkable marketing point if properly used. They also have prime academic balance between STEM and humanities which can be presented as an opportunity to develop wholistic students and a great selling point. The enrollment desperately needs to reach a population of 3 000  students in order to start to produce enough alumni for a donor pool that can impact the college’s long-term endowment. There should be some consideration to develop a niche graduate program to begin to create a pipeline of high quality donors. Edward Waters College is an HBCU with a lot of potential and promise but demographic headwinds could ultimately make its journey forward very difficult. If it can conquer the challenge of its demographics, then the school is in a prime position to see an explosion in its endowment and secure footing for its future.

As always it should be noted that endowments provide a myriad of subsidies to the university for everything from scholarship, faculty & administration salaries, research, and much more.

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The HBCU Endowment Feature – Fisk University

Posted on July 1, 2013 by | Leave a comment

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School Name: Fisk University

Median Cost of Attendance: $29 142

Student Population: 480

Endowment Needed: $279 763 200

Analysis: Fisk University needs an endowment of approximately $280 million for all of its undergraduates to attend debt free. Located in Nashville, Tennessee which has a population of approximately 610 000 residents. Almost one-third of those residents are of African descent. Its major competitor in the city is Vanderbilt University.  As of right now that competition is institutionally lopsided based on student population, resources, and degree offerings. Fisk it seems more than any other HBCU produces a special kind of legacy from its womb. The who is who of African America often can trace its six degrees of seperation to the hollowed grounds there. Unfortunately, Fisk is teetering on having just its history to lean on and not much more. The university needs to grow expeditiously. Ideally, the school by now should be in the 8 000 to 10 000 student range. Realistically, if it can reach 2 500 that would be a major victory. The pace at which it can get there will determine just how impactful such growth would be. However, the expedited growth must be managed properly. Fisk possesses a special culture that could easily be lost in the race for numbers. But there is a reason for the saying there is strength in numbers. Although a controversial suggestion, merging with Meharry Medical College would be ideal to initiate the growth. It would instantly get Fisk halfway to the 2 500 population. It would also give the university access to one of the best run HBCU endowment teams and a deep bench of high quality donors. Something they desperately need. However, this scenario is unlikely anytime soon if at all. As such Fisk will have to find growth elsewhere and find it quickly.  The school’s endowment should be in the upper echelon of HBCU endowments. Instead, it has been part of ongoing controversy as the school tried to sell part of its storied art collection to shore up the school’s finances. Despite the cash infusion from the 50 percent sale of the art collection, it is still clear that the financial footing at the university is fragile. If it will find that footing is yet to be determined as the school implements new leadership. Hopefully, a clear vision and strategy will motivate a stirring in the HBCU many consider the “soul” of HBCU nation.

As always it should be noted that endowments provide a myriad of subsidies to the university for everything from scholarship, faculty & administration salaries, research, and much more.

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The HBCU Endowment Feature – Coppin State University

Posted on June 17, 2013 by | Leave a comment

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School Name: Coppin State University

Median Cost of Attendance: $25 593

Undergraduate Population: 3 295

Endowment Needed: $1 686 545 760

Analysis: Coppin State University needs an approximately $1.7 billion endowment for all of its undergraduates to attend debt free. The university is located in Baltimore, Maryland. Coppin State University has become an orphan among stepchildren. The state of Maryland of has historically been brutal to HBCUs and it does not help that Coppin State University shares the state’s largest city with 2 other HBCUs and John Hopkins, the nation’s leading research institution. It is considered by many to be a diamond in the rough. Unfortunately, it is hard to see anyone uncovering that rough so long as the school remains in Baltimore. Location seems to be harming and not helping Coppin State University. It has no room to establish an identity or expand more importantly. The school should consider a relocation to Waldorf, Maryland which is located over a hour away from Baltimore. Waldorf is the 5th largest city in the state and has a 54 percent African American population. Only Baltimore has a higher African American percentage of African Americans. This space could give Coppin State University the opportunity to recruit students in Baltimore who might want to go “away” from home without being too far. Coppin State University has been known for producing quality nurses and teachers. The problem lies in that neither of these occupations produce the high quality donors that universities need to build their endowments. Of course if it honed its nursing program on the specialties that were the top earners that would greatly help. Coppin State University badly needs to find a professional niche it can grow. No small task and one that requires understanding the lay of the land, vision, and leadership. All of which Coppin State University has been lacking for many years now. Despite many problems there is no denying that Coppin State University possesses something special it just needs the space to show what it can do.

As always it should be noted that endowments provide a myriad of subsidies to the university for everything from scholarship, faculty & administration salaries, research, and much more.

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The HBCU Endowment Feature – Texas College

Posted on June 10, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Official Seal - Texas College

School Name: Texas College

Median Cost of Attendance: $17 208

Undergraduate Population: 878

Endowment Needed: $302 172 480

Analysis: Texas College needs approximately $300 million for all of its students to attend debt free. Located 100 miles from Dallas, TX and 90 miles from Shreveport, LA puts Texas College in a sweet spot geographically. This could allow the school to grow triple in size in a very short period if its infrastructure could keep up with such exponential growth. Part of this growth could easily come from establishing a relationship for transfers from Southern University-Shreveport which is a two-year HBCU. Texas College is actually closer to SU-S than the flagship Southern University-Baton Rouge and could easily sway students who want to be away from home but not more than a few hours. With less than 1000 students the school needs to hit a growth spurt and fast in order to graduate enough alumni on an annual basis and increase the donor pool available to it. Of course at its current size there is the opportunity to build very intimate relationships with these graduates and establish donor relationship much earlier and on a personal basis. Texas College in 2012 led all HBCUs reported in NACUBO in terms of return on investment at 12.8 percent in a year when 70 percent of the top ten HBCU endowments had negative returns. This type of continued performance could bode well for them if they can get the raw dollars to boost the size of the money it is managing. The school has the talent to manage the money but its demographics need to grow for it become a relevant endowment in this era of expand or die.

As always it should be noted that endowments provide a myriad of subsidies to the university for everything from scholarship, faculty & administration salaries, research, and much more.

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The HBCU Endowment Feature – Delaware State University

Posted on June 3, 2013 by | 1 comment

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School Name: Delaware State University

Median Cost of Attendance: $16 460

Undergraduate Population: 3 744

Endowment Needed: $1 232 524 800

Analysis: Delaware State University needs approximately a $1.2 billion endowment for all of its undergraduates to attend debt free. The school is located in Dover, DE and is the only HBCU in the state. Although the states demographics lend to over 20 percent of the population being African American, it should be noted that the state itself has less than 1 million citizens. This means DSU must rely heavily on recruiting from outside of its state borders to build its population. Delaware is surrounded by Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. The latter presenting a prime opportunity since it does not actually have an HBCU located within its borders. Delaware State University because of this could become more integrated with that reality and offer “in-state” tuition to those citizens in New Jersey. Especially, given the presence of cities like Newark, New Jersey which have a strong African American population and have the potential for sound social and economic ties to Delaware State University. The state of Delaware itself is the legal “home” to more than 50 percent of U.S. public companies and two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies. Being a prominent state of where companies set up their legal home suggest a revenue opportunity is available to Delaware State University and its alumni to create programs and services to existing companies and forming companies. With an endowment just over $20 million the university is sitting in an economic hub of sorts and access to the New Jersey population could easily make a run into the top ten HBCU endowments. It does face increasing dangers of trying to become too ethnically diverse and could lose its HBCU appeal. This red flag is primarily because of the unknown data as of yet as to just how committed non-African American alumni are as donors to their HBCUs. There is much to like about the direction of the endowment situation at Delaware State University but there are some concerns for a school in a state with limited in-state population unless it becomes more creative in recruitment.

As always it should be noted that endowments provide a myriad of subsidies to the university for everything from scholarship, faculty & administration salaries, research, and much more.

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