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HBCU Money’s 2024 Top 10 HBCU Endowments

Posted on February 15, 2025 by | 1 comment

“Note: These data are based on colleges, universities, affiliated foundations, and related nonprofit organizations that volunteered to participate in NACUBO’s endowment study series.” – NACUBO

Howard University has finally done it. They have become the first HBCU to cross the $1 billion endowment mark. An indelible mark that is now the benchmark for potential to survive the coming admissions cliff that U.S. colleges and universities will face as demographics have acutely shifted from the number of students going to college and the number of colleges who will be able to withstand a downturn. HBCUs (like many smaller colleges and universities) are disproportionately reliant on tuition revenues and government funding to keep the doors open and lights on. The factors are a myriad from low African American wealth to limited investment models for their endowments. The latter being something of a chicken and egg situation whereby when you have less you are more conservative with your investment strategy, but this also leads to minimal returns. Without heavy alumni giving to ensure consistent endowment capital it is hard for HBCUs to take more investment risk.

The PWI-HBCU NACUBO Top 10 Endowment Gap for 2024 stands at $129.2 to $1, which is an increase from 2023’s $128.7 to $1.*

HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Top 10 HBCU Endowment Total – $2.6 billion*
  • Top 10 PWI Endowment Total – $336.0 billion
  • Number of PWIs Above $2 billion – 78
  • Number of PWIs Above $1 billion – 148
  • Number of HBCUs Above $1 billion – 1
  • Number of HBCUs Above $100 million – 8
  • 669 colleges, universities, and education-related foundations completed NACUBO’s FY24 survey and those institutions hold $884.3 billion of endowment assets with an average endowment of $1.3 billion and median endowment of $244.4 million.
  • HBCUs comprised 1.5 percent of NACUBO’s reporting institutions and 0.3 percent of the reporting endowment assets.
  • PWI endowments (30) with endowments over $5 billion hold 58.5 percent of the $884.3 billion in endowment assets.

All values are in millions ($000)**

Previous year in parentheses for Endowment Value Per Full-Time Student

1. Howard University – $1,032,496 (11.4%)

Endowment Value Per Full-Time Student – $76,960 ($81,341)

2. Spelman College – $506,709 (6.7%)

Endowment Value Per Full-Time Student – $199,727 ($197,713)

3. Morehouse College – $263,080 (3.5%)

Endowment Value Per Full-Time Student – $104,521 (N/A)

4. North Carolina A&T State University  – $201,942 (22.6%)

Endowment Value Per Full-Time Student – $15,519 (N/A)

5.  Meharry Medical College – $193,938 (8.2%)

Endowment Value Per Full-Time Student – $178,909 ($165,394)

6. Florida A&M University – $124,141 (9.5%)

Endowment Value Per Full-Time Student – $13,393 ($6,044)

7. Virginia State University – $96,544 (-4.4%)

Endowment Value Per Full-Time Student – $19,555 ($22,903)

8. Norfolk State University – $96,403 (15.4%)

Endowment Value Per Full-Time Student – $15,947 ($16,149)

9. Fayetteville State University – $34,915 (11.6%)

Endowment Value Per Full-Time Student – $5,931 ($5,479)

10. American Baptist College – $1,237 (22.8%)

Endowment Value Per Full-Time Student – $29,463 (N/A)

*Due to Hampton University, Morgan State University, Tuskegee University, and Kentucky State University not participating this year significantly altered the Top 10 HBCUs endowment combined total. We estimate with these HBCUs included the Top 10 HBCU endowments probably are near $2.9 billion.

**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 FY23 to FY24 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.

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HBCU Money’s 2019 Top 10 HBCU Endowments

Posted on February 12, 2020 by | 4 comments

The adjective that best describes 2019 HBCU endowments – uninspiring. HBCU flagship endowments barely moved over the past calendar year. Of all reporting endowments, only The University of the Virgin Islands saw double digit gains in their endowment market value. Since breaking into the top 10 HBCU endowments in 2014, UVI has been on a meteoric rise almost doubling their endowment over the past six years and has become something of a canary in a coal mine.

There is plenty of blame to go around, but the jest of the matter is HBCUs and HBCU alumni associations continue to not do a good enough job of hammering financial and philanthropic literacy among their constituents. This leads to either a lack of investing or no investing at all among HBCU alumni and HBCU alumni associations and therefore a paltry engagement both from an alumni giving rate and alumni giving amounts. Simply put, there are still far too many HBCU alumni and students who do not know what an endowment is or its purpose and it is reflected in the endowments of our institutions.

If there is any solace to be taken from this year’s numbers, it is that HBCU endowments are largely in line with the overall sentiment of America’s college and university endowments. Unfortunately, the median HBCU endowment is less than 44 percent of the overall NACUBO median reporting endowment and HBCU endowments are just barely 18 percent of the NACUBO average reporting endowment.

HIGHLIGHTS:

  • HBCU Endowment Total – $2.1 billion
  • Number of PWIs Above $2 billion – 54
  • Number of PWIs Above $1 billion – 108
  • HBCU Median – $64.8 million (4.07%)
  • NACUBO Median – $149 million (5.02%)
  • HBCU Average – $148 million (4.25%)
  • NACUBO Average – $816.4 million (4.24%)

All values are in millions ($000)

1. Howard University – $692,832 (0.62%)

2. Spelman College – $390,462 (0.27%)

3.  Hampton University – $282,543 (-0.98%)

4.  Meharry Medical College – $159,146 (-0.48%)

5.  Florida A&M University – $98,213 (1.93%)

6.  University of the Virgin Islands – $71,684 (15.83%)

7. North Carolina A&T State University  – $68,459 (7.58%)

8.  Tennessee State University – $61,110 (4.11%)

9. Virginia State University – $57,383 (5.33%)

10.  Winston-Salem State University – $49,755 (7.66%)

OTHERS REPORTING:

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.

Source: NACUBO

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The 20 Year Review: 1996 & 2016 HBCU Endowments Then & Now

Posted on February 8, 2017 by | 1 comment

rear-view-4

The 2016 HBCU Money’s Top 10 HBCU Endowments list is out. NACUBO’s list this year included 815 reporting institutions from the U.S. and Canada. Here are a few fast facts of then and now in regards to HBCUs place in the whole of the endowment conversation.

  • Of the 815 reporting institutions in 2016, only 1.8 percent were HBCUs. HBCUs comprise 3 percent of American colleges and universities. In 1996, Of the 467 reporting institutions in 1994, only 0.8 percent were HBCUs.
  • 20 years ago, the 4 HBCUs who were present on the list had a combined endowment value of $468.2 million versus the top 4 HWCUs who had a combined endowment value of $23.8 billion.
  • The endowment wealth gap between the top HWCUs/HBCUs in 2016 was 101:1. In 1996, it was 51:1.
  • In 1996, 20 HWCUs reported endowments over $1 billion and 3 HBCUs reported endowments over $100 million. In 2016, there were 93 HWCUs with reported endowments over $1 billion or an increase of 365 percent. HBCUs increased their ranks of $100 million endowments from 2 to 5 or an increase of 150 percent – unchanged from the 1994 to 2014 review.
  • The 101:1 gap currently is actually a decrease from our 2014 review where the gap was 106:1. A significant 4.7 percent decrease.
  • Of the 805 within the United States, 74.3 percent of the $515 billion in endowment value is controlled by 11.3 percent or 91 institutions.
  • The favorite investment of endowments above $100 million is alternative strategies*, which for endowments above $1 billion make up 58 percent, between $501 million to $1 billion make up 45 percent, and endowments $101 million to $500 million constitute 35 percent of their portfolio.
  • While the majority of HBCUs fall well under the $100 million sphere, the favorite investment among those groups are domestic equities, constituting in the range of 33 to 44 percent of portfolios under $100 million.

*Alternative strategies are categorized in the NCSE as follows: Private equity (LBOs, mezzanine, M&A funds, and international private equity); Marketable alternative strategies (hedge funds, absolute return, market neutral, long/short, 130/30, and event-driven and derivatives); Venture capital; Private equity real-estate (non-campus); Energy and natural resources (oil, gas, timber, commodities and managed futures); and Distressed debt. On-campus real estate is included in the Short-term Securities/Cash/Other category.

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