United Negro College Fund

Our Mission

UNCF - United Negro College Fund envisions a nation where all Americans have equal access to a college education that prepares them for rich intellectual lives, competitive and fulfilling careers, engaged citizenship and service to our nation.

UNCF’s mission is to build a robust and nationally recognized pipeline of under-represented students who, because of UNCF support, become highly-qualified college graduates and to ensure that our network of member institutions is a respected model of best practice in moving students to and through college.

UNCF’s North Star is to increase the total annual number of African American college graduates by focusing on activities that ensure more students are college-ready, enroll in college and persist to graduation. This is done through a three-pillar strategy. Positioning member institutions as a viable college option for students and investing in institutional capacity to improve student outcomes; creating transformational support programs to ensure students are enrolling and persisting through college completion; building awareness of educational attainment and cultivating college-going behaviors within the African American community.

Thirty-seven historically Black colleges and universities belong to the UNCF network of member institutions. UNCF provides these colleges and universities with a range of support that enables them to keep their academic programs strong and their tuitions affordable. As a result of this support, member institutions educate more than 60,000 students each year and have produced more than 500,000 graduates with the help of UNCF. The economic impact of member institutions extends beyond just the students they educate. UNCF recently commissioned a landmark study to measure this impact; HBCUs Make America Strong: The Positive Economic Impact of Historically Black Colleges and Universities details the individual impacts each institution has on its communities.