HBCU Brilliance Initiative to Provide Technical Assistance Funding to Eleven HBCUs

Reinvestment Fund, a nationally-focused community development financial institution, has recently launched the HBCU Brilliance Initiative, a program that aims to support the financial health of historically Black colleges and universities to fortify their future.

For its inaugural cohort, the HBCU Brilliance Initiative will provide $40,000 grants and up to $1 million in financing to 11 historically Black higher education institutions: Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Florida; Coahoma Community College in Clarksdale, Mississippi; Fort Valley State University in Georgia; the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta; Paine College in Augusta, Georgia; Shorter College in North Little Rock, Arkansas; Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama; Tougaloo College in Mississippi; Virginia Union University in Richmond; Voorhees University in Denmark, South Carolina; and Wilberforce University in Ohio.

These eleven HBCUs will use their funding to support projects focused on campus infrastructure improvements, predevelopment, and planning, as well as sustainability and environmental initiatives. Additionally, leaders from the participating institutions will meet regularly to build their networks and capacity under the direction of a technical assistance curriculum facilitated by Reinvestment Fund and a council of other HBCU leaders, advocates, and financial experts.

“We are so thrilled to announce this inaugural cohort of the HBCU Brilliance Initiative program, a transformational experience that will help to build thriving higher education institutions and sustainable communities,” said Christina Alexis, head of the initiative. “The selected institutions demonstrate a high level of excellence already, as well as the ongoing need for support through knowledge building, access to capital, and incomparable technical assistance. We are proud to work with these institutions to secure their futures by increasing funding, strengthening infrastructure, and creating pathways for long-term success.”