Courtesy: National Newspaper Publishers’ Association
Three high-profile donors to historically black colleges and universities this year have posted the fourth-highest philanthropic year of support for HBCUs in U.S. history, according to federal data.
Gifts of $120 million from Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and his wife Patty Quillin, an estimated $160 million from philanthropist Mackenzie Scott and a recent $100 million gift from entrepreneur and former presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg equal more than $380 million; the sector has only eclipsed $350 million in philanthropic and contract support only five other times according to federal records.
*Private Gifts and Contracts to Historically Black Colleges
1977 – $55.6 million
1978 – $56.7 million
1979 – $58.6 million
1980 – $62.7 million
1981 – $68.3 million
1982 – $78.5 million
1983 – $91.2 million
1984 – $92.1 million
1985 – $96.3 million
1986 – $95.8 million
1987 – $109.1 million
1988 – $111.1 million
1989 – $128.4 million
1990 – $133.7 million
1991 – $153.3 million
1992 – $163.4 million
1993 – $168.7 million
1994 – $189.1 million
1995 – $212.5 million
1996 – $240.1 million
1997 – Data Not Provided
1998 – Data Not Provided
1999 – Data Not Provided
2000 – $38.3 million (Public HBCUs Only)
2001 – $349.8 million
2002 – Data Not Provided
2003 – $279.3 million (Private HBCUs Only)
2004 – $241.2 million (Private HBCUs Only)
2005 – $428.8 million
2006 – $402.3 million
2007 – $418.2 million
2008 – Data Not Provided
2009 – $318.8 million
2010 – $327.9 million
2011 – $297.9 million
2012 – $351.5 million
2013 – $304.7 million
2014 – $265.2 million
2015 – $316.8 million
2016 – $320.5 million
2017 – $338.6 million
2018 – $478.9 million
*Data provided by the US Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics
The number, which does not include several other multi-million gifts made to individual HBCUs and to Black college advocacy organizations from private corporations and donors over the course of the year, almost guarantees that 2020 will be the greatest single-year fundraising mark in the history of the HBCU sector, which collectively spans more than 180 years.
In 2018, HBCUs received more than $478 million in reported grants and contracts. Giving to HBCUs has spiked in recent years as several institutions have reported increased alumni giving records, record gifts from wealthy philanthropists, and extensive support from corporate communities.
Giving this year has been driven in part by heightened public health concerns stemming from the COVID-19 global pandemic which spread in March, and the killing of Minneapolis resident George Floyd in May.
