WHY WE EXIST
We are not waiting to be saved. We are building the infrastructure to save ourselves.
HBCU athletic programs generate passion, pride, and culture — but they have been chronically underfunded compared to their PWI counterparts.
Community donor support is the signal that tells banks, brands, and institutions that the HBCU community is serious about protecting its own legacy.
10%
HBCU alumni give above the national average of 8%
25%+
Giving rate at leading HBCUs like Spelman & Tuskegee
$0
Too many HBCU alumni never give — not because they won't, but because they were never asked
INTRODUCING
The Stage
The Stage is HBCU Proud Foundation's visibility and storytelling platform for high school athletes who are HBCU-curious or HBCU-bound. We showcase their talent, document their journey, and connect elite athletic potential to the HBCU legacy it belongs to.
1
You Give
$20 a month. That's the whole commitment
HOW IT WORKS
2
It Multiplies
This is the Legacy 5,000 — 5,000 people, one HBCU, $1M+ a year, unrestricted
3
It Lands
Straight to the athletic program. No applications, no waiting
"Coaching is a profession of love. You can't coach people unless you love them."
— Eddie Robinson, Head Coach, Grambling State University (1941–1997), College Football Hall of Fame
Clarence "Big House" Gaines led Winston-Salem State to the first NCAA basketball championship ever won by an HBCU — 1967, Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame
"I like my boys to be agile, mobile, and hostile."
— Jake Gaither, Head Coach, Florida A&M University (1945–1969), College Football Hall of Fame
"What if a group of elite athletes collectively made the choice to attend HBCUs?"
— Jemele Hill, The Atlantic,
September 2019
C. Vivian Stringer coached Cheyney State to the first NCAA women's basketball championship game ever played — 1982, Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame
ACCOUNTABILITY & TRANSPARENCY
We're building this in the open
HBCU Proud Foundation is founder-led and early in its life — not the polished, decade-old machine some nonprofits project, but a real organization with real numbers you can verify today. Our EIN is 88-0619829, on file with the IRS, so you can look us up yourself. Every donation follows the same 70/15/15 split shown above, and funds are disbursed to schools annually. As HBCU Proud grows, so does our infrastructure — a formal board and audited annual reports are the next milestones, not promises pushed indefinitely down the road.
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Questions about where your dollar went? Email hello@hbcuproud.org directly. You'll hear back from the founder, not a call center.