HBCU News – United Negro College Fund demands Congress fund $13B to rebuild HBCUs

“It’s important that we support our HBCUs because they produce our doctors, lawyers, professionals in all enterprises in business,” said the Georgia congressman. “HBCUs operate with much less revenue than PWIs, which makes it more challenging to offer a quality education to students.

“It’s only appropriate that we try to make adjustments to the revenue streams so that the PWIs and the HBCUs are equally educating our young people, particularly our minorities,” added Johnson.

The legislative momentum arrives against a backdrop of long-standing financial and structural inequities. While HBCUs generate an estimated $16.5 billion in annual economic impact and support more than 136,000 jobs across the United States, a UNCF report titled, “Transforming Futures: The Economic Engines of HBCUs” found that approximately 84 percent of these institutions remain underfunded, grappling with a collective deferred maintenance and infrastructure backlog exceeding $13 billion.

If passed into law, the IGNITE HBCU Excellence Act would establish a competitive grant program administered through the U.S. Department of Education, with appropriations spanning fiscal years 2027 through 2032. The measure prioritizes campuses with the most critical physical and technological needs, focusing heavily on modernizing infrastructure through essential structural repairs, facility renovations and environmental remediation across aging campus buildings.

Beyond physical repairs, the legislation targets technological advancement by supporting broadband expansion, campus safety upgrades and the creation of artificial intelligence and workforce innovation hubs. To ensure long-term stability and stewardship, the bill authorizes the forgiveness of nearly $300 million in outstanding HBCU capital financing loans, while requiring institutions to develop comprehensive facilities master plans to maintain complete financial and operational transparency.

In July 2026, UNCF announced its mobilization push before more than 1,300 attendees gathered in Atlanta for UNITE 2026, the country’s largest national convening of HBCU presidents, faculty, students, advocates and philanthropic partners. Throughout the event, organizers actively mobilized a grassroots coalition of parents, alumni and educators to contact their congressional delegates to demand immediate action on the bill.

The UNITE 2026 convention dedicated significant portions of its schedule to federal and state policy discussions. Highlights included strategy panels with government affairs representatives from Clark Atlanta University and the Morehouse School of Medicine, as well as operational guidance sessions led by officials from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Federal Student Aid. Scholars from Tuskegee University and Bard College also hosted a specialized symposium examining youth voting rights under the 26th Amendment.

To maintain momentum, UNCF is directing supporters to sign its national petition, download digital advocacy toolkits, and message Washington lawmakers directly through its action portal at UNCF.org/IGNITE.