United Negro College Fund

The United Negro College Fund is a sixty-three year old foundation that supports the education of low income students, in particular African Americans. Through funding for scholarships and contributing to expenses at 39 colleges, 65,000 students are able to attend school each year due to the aid of this foundation.

Historically 39 African American colleges are members of the United Negro College Fund, and thanks to funding and small campuses, they are able to offer tuition to low income families at half the cost of typical private colleges. Students who receive assistance from the fund are not obligated to attend one of these colleges however; in fact, in one year, supported students attended over 900 different institutions. The United Negro College Fund is proud to say that they have given over sixty percent of their annual scholarship recipients the chance to be the first in their families to go to college. More than half of the students they help have parents who earn less than $25,000 a year. Over 400 scholarships are offered, as well as internships, with the goal that the opportunity to get a better education will change the financial situation for many minorities.

The United Negro College Fund attains all of the funds for its scholarships, internships, fellowships, and research, from fundraisers, donations and its annual telethon. In 1980, the first telethon was held to raise money for the fund and since then "An Evening of Stars" has aired every year, showing success stories related to the United Negro College Fund.