UNCF Announces Voter Mobilization Effort Ahead of 2024 Election, Calling on Voters to Support HBCUs at the Ballot Box

Nonpartisan Campaign Highlights Opportunity for Voters to Secure the Future of America’s Historically Black Institutions

Today, UNCF (United Negro College Fund), the nation’s largest and most effective minority education organization, announced a nonpartisan campaign aimed at mobilizing historically Black college and university (HBCU) students, alumni, local communities and people who care deeply about these institutions to vote this election cycle.

The campaign launches with ads running today on digital and radio platforms in key battleground states with strong HBCU communities including Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. The campaign has the potential to reach over a million potential voters in an election that will be decided by razor-thin margins.

This nonpartisan get-out-the-vote campaign aims to inspire people to vote in key states, especially young Black voters, by ensuring communities understand that the future of HBCUs hangs in the balance of this election.

“At UNCF, we believe a mind is a terrible thing to waste, but a wonderful thing to invest in,” said Dr. Michael L. Lomax, president and CEO, UNCF. “HBCUs fuel economic progress and grow America’s middle class. Yet despite everything HBCUs and their graduates do for the economy of this country, and despite record levels of enrollment, we don’t have the resources to support them. Our elected leaders determine how HBCUs are funded. The outcome of this election will shape their future.”

The nonpartisan ad campaign comes on the heels of UNCF’s latest HBCU Economic Impact Report, Transforming Futures: The Economic Engine of HBCUs. Commissioned by UNCF’s Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute (FDPRI), this report is a comprehensive, data-driven analysis highlighting the substantial contributions HBCUs make to their students, local communities and the nation at large.

HBCUs have long been pillars of educational excellence and economic engines, driving prosperity in their communities and across the nation. Despite these contributions, chronic underfunding threatens their ability to sustain this impact. 

Transforming Futures: The Economic Engine of HBCUs underscores the urgent need for equitable and sustainable funding to ensure HBCUs can continue their vital role in promoting social mobility and economic growth. It also highlights the need for elected officials to commit to strengthening HBCU infrastructure, safety and student life.

“Historically Black colleges and universities are in the spotlight like never before in their 180-year history. But the stakes for HBCUs in this election couldn’t be higher,” said Lodriguez Murray, senior vice president, public policy and government affairs, UNCF. “We must use our votes to demand equity in education. The future of our institutions, the success of millions of students, and the strength of our national and local economies depends on it.

“The release of UNCF’s new HBCU Economic Impact Report at the height of a crucial election presents a critical moment for our institutions and communities to make their voices heard. UNCF’s nonpartisan get-out-the-vote campaign seeks to ensure that our elected leaders, from the White House to the state and local level, are committed to providing the resources that these vital institutions need, not just to survive, but to thrive,” said Lodriguez.

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About UNCF 

UNCF (United Negro College Fund) is the nation’s largest and most effective minority education organization. To serve youth, the community and the nation, UNCF supports students’ education and development through scholarships and other programs, supports and strengthens its 37 member colleges and universities, and advocates for the importance of minority education and college readiness. While totaling only 3% of all colleges and universities, UNCF institutions and other historically Black colleges and universities are highly effective, awarding 15% of bachelor’s degrees, 5% of master’s degrees, 10% of doctoral degrees and 19% of all STEM degrees earned by Black students in higher education. UNCF administers more than 400 programs, including scholarship, internship and fellowship, mentoring, summer enrichment, and curriculum and faculty development programs. Today, UNCF supports more than 50,000 students at over 1,100 colleges and universities across the country. Its logo features the UNCF torch of leadership in education and its widely recognized trademark is, ‟A mind is a terrible thing to waste.”^® Learn more at UNCF.org or for continuous updates and news, follow UNCF on X (formerly Twitter) at @UNCF.