ATLANTA — The United Negro College Fund has rolled out new grants for students at historically black colleges and universities across the country, including Atlanta.
“The significance of this $100 million grant cannot be overstated. It forms a cornerstone of our $1 billion dollar campaign,” said Michael Lomax of the UNCF.
The Lilly Endowment is awarding the money to the United Negro College Fund, which will distribute it to its 37 member schools.
Atlanta is home to six of those institutions, including Morehouse College, where leaders said students will see changes soon.
The president of Morehouse College said the grant will be used to make the school more affordable for students who need help.
“The biggest challenge for our students is affordability. We will devote this gift to support students to make sure that they can afford to matriculate and finish at Morehouse College,” said Morehouse College president David Thomas.
Thomas said each school will get more than $2 million to use where it's most needed.
“The gift will be divided up such that each school will get $2.5 million,” Thomas said.
UNCF plans to increase funding at each of its member schools by $10 million.
This grant will count toward that goal.
“It encompasses crucial components like student scholarship. Unrestricted funds to enhance endowments at our HBCUs and capacity-building programs,” Lomax said.
Morehouse officials said about 20 students in the upcoming school year will get scholarships as a result of the grant.
Editor's note: The original version of this story misquoted Lomax and said the UNCF had a $100 billion campaign. Their campaign is $1 billion.
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