Directors’ Letter

Our Momentum Toward Growth Continues

A message from the Chairman of the Board and the President and CEO

Dear Friend,

We are proud to share UNCF’s fiscal year 2025 annual report and invite you to read stories about our impact—made possible by the investments of donors and partners like you.

The report reveals UNCF’s unparalleled position of strength. We are 81 years young and moving forward by pursuing aspirational goals with the ultimate goal of transformation.

The fiscal year was marked by significant milestones that we are celebrating while seeking to accelerate progress.

We strengthened the financial foundation of our organization. Since 2020, UNCF has raised more than $1.3 billion. In fact, revenue exceeded our targets every year for the past five years, and we expect it to do so again this year. As a result, UNCF’s endowment now stands at $467 million—and we expect to have approximately $500 million under management by the end of this fiscal year.

However, we are more than a fundraising organization. We are also focused on building the infrastructure, partnerships and capabilities that will fundamentally change how our member institutions deliver a quality education to their students. We are moving from helping institutions to survive to ensuring they thrive. And we continued that momentum in fiscal year 2025.

UNCF’s Capital Campaign achieved 69.5% of our $1 billion revenue goal. Accomplishments this year include establishing a pooled endowment fund to increase the endowments at our 37 member institutions, which are critical to their sustainability and future viability.

Supporting UNCF’s member institutions remains our number one priority. Through the generosity of our donors and the unwavering commitment of our fundraising team, UNCF significantly enhanced the resources available to our member schools. In fiscal year 2025, we honored our commitment by providing $46.8 million in cash support. This distribution includes $19.5 million for unrestricted purposes and $27.3 million for restricted scholarships, student emergency aid and UNCF’s Institute for Capacity Building programs.

In fiscal year 2025, UNCF’s Direct Response Program again showed its extraordinary fundraising power and resilience. Its direct mail and online channels generated $14.1 million from more than 148,000 individual donors.

Thanks to strong donor support and the dedication of our UNCF team, we continued making tremendous progress in FY25.

That progress caught the attention of business leader Robert Kraft, who recognized UNCF’s impact and legacy of service. Kraft, chairman and CEO of the Kraft Group and founder of the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate, formerly the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism (FCAS), made a generous donation of $1 million to UNCF in fiscal year 2025. These funds support educational initiatives at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and other institutions that promote unity and strengthen partnerships between Black and Jewish students to combat all forms of hate. Kraft’s catalytic gift allowed for the creation of a series of Unity Dinners across the country on college campuses that brought Black and Jewish students together for dialogue in the hopes of establishing lasting relationships. The Unity Dinners are resurrecting the allyship between Black and Jewish communities that dates back generations.

In FY25, we launched Project ACCLAIM, an innovative program to enhance the financial literacy of HBCU students attending Morehouse College and Howard University. The initiative, which was made possible by a transformative $10 million gift from Adage Capital Management and Elizabeth and Phill Gross, forged new partnerships that amplify our impact. The resilience and determination of our students continue to inspire us, reminding us of the importance of our work in providing them with the resources they need to succeed.

This past fiscal year, UNCF released the most authoritative and comprehensive research on the economic impact of HBCUs. Transforming Futures: The Economic Engine of HBCUs revealed these institutions continue punching above their weight, contributing $16.5 billion to the national economy and creating 136,000 jobs. If the nation’s 101 HBCUs were a company, they would rank among the top 50 of the nation’s Fortune 500 companies in job creation.

In this annual report, you will find stories of hope and perseverance from the students whose lives have been changed thanks to your generous support. Each narrative highlights the critical role that education plays in shaping futures and strengthening communities. We invite you to explore these stories, as they are a testament to the power of investing in education.

We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to our donors, partners and advocates. Your contributions are vital to our mission, and together, we are making a tangible difference in the lives of countless students across the nation. As we look ahead, we remain committed to our vision of a nation where all students have equal access to a quality education, and we have much more work to do.

Whether you’ve supported UNCF for decades or are considering joining us for the first time, our 81 years of impact should give you confidence that we know how to deliver. And we’re just getting started. After all, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.” ^®

Sincerely,