CONNECT . MOTIVATE . INSPIRE .
FOR 150 YEARS, HBCUS HAVE PROVIDED EQUITY THROUGH EDUCATION, MOVING LOW-INCOME STUDENTS TO HIGHER INCOME BRACKETS, AND PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR UPWARD MOBILITY.
While representing roughly of all non-profit, four-year colleges and universities, HBCUs produce upwards of 17%of all bachelor’s degrees awarded to 3% of African Americans. Additionally, HBCUs enroll a disproportionately high percentage of first- generation and low-income students – nearly 60% – and outperform their peers in supporting and graduating these students.
HBCUs, TCUs and MSIs for 10 years and the discharge of $1.3 billion in HBCU Capital Finance Loans. TMCF was proud to work with our partners in the HBCU and MSI community to advocate for additional COVID relief allocation specifically for our institutions which resulted in securing $5.5 billion in COVID relief distributed to HBCUs across the three COVID relief bills in 2020 and 2021. In 2022, TMCF was the principal advocate for the loosening of restrictions on COVID relief dollars, which paved the way for HBCUs to use $1.2 billion in previously restricted allocated dollars to address long-standing infrastructure needs on campus. TMCF was also the principal advocate for the HBCU PARTNERS (Propelling Agency Relationships Towards a New Era of Results for Students) Act, which requires federal
agencies that work closely with HBCUs to develop plans for increasing engagement with these critical institutions and gives Congress oversight responsibility to make sure those plans are not only being developed but honored. One of the TMCF’s major advocacy events is the annual HBCU Presidents and Chancellors Fly-In, which was held in March in Washington, D.C., in partnership with the Business Roundtable. The HBCU Fly-In provides a vital platform for HBCU leaders, Fortune 250 CEOs, and policymakers to discuss pioneering strategies to enhance educational attainment and strengthen collaborations across sectors to address the dynamic needs of the American workforce. Recent advocacy efforts, such as TMCF pushing for the U.S. Secretaries of Education and Agriculture
to send letters to Governors of 16 states with historically underfunded HBCU Land-Grant institutions, underscores TMCF’s dedication to addressing systemic inequities and securing resources for its institutions at both a state and federal level. TMCF believes active bipartisan engagement is crucial to achieving lasting results for the Black college community. While TMCF has achieved significant gains for HBCUs and PBIs through its advocacy efforts, more work is needed. As society continues to confront a long history of social and economic injustice, HBCUs have proven to be engines of economic opportunity and equity, and increased financial investment in these consequential institutions will help to secure an even brighter future for our schools, their students, and our entire nation.
TMCF’s government relations team works continuously to forge partnerships with
government and private organizations, resulting in billions of additional dollars in student and campus investments. Advocacy wins over the past six years for the HBCU Community on Capitol Hill include increasing Title III appropriations to our schools by 62% since 2017, passing of the FUTURE Act which extended $255 million in annual funding for
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