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Raising significant private support from individuals, corporations, and foundations is no longer optional for HBCUs—it is a core measure of institutional strength.
The disruption currently reshaping higher education demands equally disruptive HBCU fundraisers who understand that incremental changes will not meet this moment. HBCU advancement units can no longer be relegated to just party-planning, the default for “other duties as assigned,” and dumping grounds for underperforming employees from other university departments. Doing so sends a costly message that philanthropy is not an institutional priority.
HBCUs must convert the deeply held affection of alumni and friends into sustained financial patronage. Today’s conditions require fundraising professionals with technical expertise, disciplined execution, emotional intelligence, and a genuine commitment to HBCUs.
Professional fundraising is an art and a science requiring specialized skills, adequate resources, and unwavering institutional commitment. When that is achieved, competent advancement teams embrace accountability for generating gifts, building transformational relationships, and advancing institutional priorities.
Even talented professionals cannot succeed when constrained by outdated systems and inadequate investment. Funding advancement as an afterthought guarantees mediocre (or worse) outcomes. Institutions committed to strengthening their philanthropic revenue should:
- Treat fundraising as a strategic investment and an important university function. Every hour diverted from donor cultivation, solicitation, or stewardship represents lost philanthropic opportunity. Operations and staff must be optimized accordingly.
- Secure leadership commitment to fundraise expertly. Presidents, boards, and senior leaders must dedicate their time and resources to build the culture, infrastructure, and relationships required to compete for major gifts.
- Diversify donor streams by highlighting endowments, educating donors about planned and deferred giving, and fostering corporate partnerships to secure major and transformational gifts.
- Continuously educate the university community about philanthropy’s role in preserving HBCUs for future generations. There is a misconception that HBCUs will miraculously be able to do more with less forever.
- Modernize hiring standards, business processes, and technology to achieve a high-performing fundraising team.
Bowie State University, Maryland’s first HBCU, followed these steps as a model for disruptive advancement. At BSU, campaign planning was driven by data. Rigorous market research and a formal feasibility study identified institutional strengths and philanthropic capacity before campaign goals were established. We emphasized evidence and relationships to shape its approach to launching its second ever campaign.
Over a seven-year capital campaign that saw two transformative gifts from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott totaling $75 million, Bowie State’s endowment exploded from $6.8 million in 2018 to over $85 million today — a remarkable 1,194% increase. That growth reflects a deliberate focus on endowment building both as an institutional campaign priority and a staff performance metric.
Most importantly, the campaign success directly translates into student success. In May 2026, Bowie State graduated its largest graduating class ever, and among them are more students who were supported by increased scholarships, retention initiatives, and emergency aid. Real dollars were raised that became persistence, completion, and opportunity at a scale previously unimagined.
BSU’s fundraising transformation provides a practical blueprint demonstrating how HBCUs can professionalize their fundraising apparatus to convert the abundant love for HBCUs into lasting institutional viability.
As public funding and the pool of college-bound students decline, the collective mission of HBCUs is far too important for fundraising mediocrity and small endowments. These noble institutions deserve nothing less than capable systems and talented fundraising professionals that can grow endowments and generate significant gift revenue.
HBCUs cannot be sustained by traditions that do not systemically convert deeply held affinity into donations. The path forward is to prioritize philanthropy within the culture of HBCUs through staffing and practices that will strengthen HBCUs for generations to come.
Brent Swinton, MPA, CFRE, serves as Vice President for Philanthropic Engagement and Executive Director of the Bowie State University Foundation. To read more about his leadership of the BSU BOLD capital campaign, visit www.theeduledger.com.
