Black College Funding Plan

Black College Funding (BCF)

Proposal

Written and Copyright©
By

Charles Earl Campbell, BSW, MSW

September 20, 2008


This proposal is in response to the great need to fund Black African American Colleges and Universities. There are 104 Black Colleges with more than one Million Students, Alumni and their Families and Friends. Black African Americans have an estimated collective income of between $700 and $900 Billion Dollars. This proposal seeks to leverage the collective spending power of Black College Students, Alumni, their Families and Friends.

What I propose:
Historic Black Colleges and Universities and United Negro Funded Colleges collaborate to develop a strategy to implement this proposal. Each College or University should raise $10,000 each year to a fund the implementation of this strategy. I propose that the National Urban League be contracted by participating Black Colleges and Universities to implement this proposal on behalf of participating Black Colleges and Universities. The National Urban League would create a division called the Black College Fund (BCF). The National Urban League already has existing leadership, expertise, connections and relationships with corporations and businesses. They are in a better position to negotiate a percentage or a flat fee from each partnering corporation or business. Those funds would be transferred to the National Urban League and then redistributed to participating Black Colleges and Universities. The $10,000 fee would pay for the National Urban League BCF Division Administration, Staff and operating expenses required to implement this proposal. This proposal seeks to collect a small percentage or flat fee from each sale of goods and services to Black College Students, Alumni, their Families and Friends. The National Urban League will negotiate agreements with national, regional and local companies, such as retail stores, electric companies, grocery stores, cable companies, gas companies, water companies, car manufacturers, banks, real-estate companies, companies, movie theaters chains, department stores, airlines, train companies, rental car companies, online companies, electronic companies, newspapers, book stores, tax preparation companies, drugs stores, hotels, fast food restaurants, insurance providers, gas stations companies, oil companies, toy store chains, fitness companies, hospitals, medical clinics, dental clinics and other corporations and businesses.

How this should work:
The National Urban League Black College Fund will meet with corporations and businesses and market this proposal. Those participating corporations or businesses would allow a percentage from each purchase to be sent to BCF for redistribution to the participating Black College or University chosen by the BCF Cardholder. Each Black College or University would encourage their Students, Alumni, and their Friends and Family Members to call a National Urban League toll free number or visit their website. They would be able to register their name, address and the participating Black College or University they want to support. They would receive a Black College Fund (BCF) Card with their college logo and their name and address and account number on it. This BCF Card would be provided free for those participating Black Colleges and Universities. BCF Cards will have a magnetic strip on the back, similar to a credit or debit cards. At the point of sale, BCF Cardholders would swipe their BCF Card through the credit card processing machine. They would then pay for their goods and services. A percentage or a flat fee would be automatically calculated and sent to the National Urban League Black College Fund at the end of each month by the corporation or business.

The BCF Card would contain information regarding what Black College or University will receive their contribution. For transparency and fiscal accountability, the National Urban League will pay for an independent financial auditing company, who will establish and maintain a website for participating Black Colleges and Universities and registered members to view financial reports that report monthly amounts contributed from each company to each Black College or University and by each BCF Cardholder and the expenditure of each participating Black College or University of specific Black College Funds. Any Black College or University failure to cooperate will this contract provision of the proposal to supply this information, would have their funds withheld until they cooperate. Repeated failure to cooperate would result in their removable from participating by the National Urban League.

Business Partnership Agreements between the National Urban League Black Colleges and corporations and businesses would allow BCF Cardholders to have a flat fee amount or a percentage of each purchase to be contributed to their College or University. For Example: If an individual chose to support Jackson State University was buying $100 worth of food at Black-Mart, he or she would swipe their BCF Card or give it to the cashier prior to the payment of $100. The computer system would automatically ID the individual and send 5% or $5.00 of that $100 amount to the National Urban League Black College Fund and then the National Urban League would wired all the funds collected from all the corporations and businesses for that specific month to Jackson State University or the participating Black Colleges and Universities.

As an example if Jackson State University (JSU) has 100,000 Students, Alumni, Families and Friends who spend $300 per week or $1,200 per month on goods and services from corporations and businesses participating in the proposal. This would be $120,000,000 million dollars and 5% of that amount per month, would be provided to JSU. That amount will increase with the amount of money spent by Black College Students, Alumni, their Families and Friends with participating businesses.

We have the talent, expertise and skills to implement this proposal. The question is; Do we have the will? The purpose of this proposal is to fund Black Colleges and Universities and to reduce tuition costs for current and future students. In order to do so, I recommend this spending plan. Fifty percent of the funds collected should pay for Administration, Teachers, Staff, Equipment, New Buildings and fifty percent should pay to reduce tuition of current and future students, with the goal to reduce tuition to Zero. Out of State Tuition and In-State Tuition should be adjusted to be the same amount. For example: If Rust College’s In State Tuition is $3,000 per year and Out of State Tuition is $5,000 per year and there are 2,000 In-State Students and 500 Out-of-State Students, by making the tuition the same, Rust College would recruit more Out-of-State Black Students. Each Black College or University should develop a strategy to increase their enrollment to between 20,000 to 40,000 Black African American Students by 2015.

As a requirement for participating in the lower tuition or zero tuition program, each student would be required to participate in a Weekly Community Work Study Program in the Black Community designed by his or her academic department chair or dean. This proposal will provide an investment in Black Students and they must provide a Return on Our Investment by engaging in Community Work that impacts our Black Communities.

My First Concern is Black College Leadership:
It must get over the division between HBCU’s and UNCF Colleges . We are Black African American People and so are our children and they deserve a College Education. Black Leadership must love our children enough, get over their egos and pride, and put aside any petty differences. Our only competition should be during athletic games. This proposal is an opportunity for our leaders to demonstrate their leadership ability. It will only work with the collective unity, numbers and spending power of Black African American People. Only one collective group of Black Colleges and Universities will have my permission to implement this proposal. This proposal should not interfere with any other fundraising efforts by Black Colleges, nor should it affect federal and state funding.

My Second Concern is Greed.
With any new opportunity to generate large amounts of money, there will be some who feel that they deserve more, because their college or university is larger, has more programs, a longer existence, or has more political power. Based upon this belief, they will seek more money from this proposal and therefore attempt to divide and conquer or destroy this proposal, because of their self-hatred, ignorance or because of a racist agenda to keep Black Colleges and Universities in the place. Greed has no place in this process.



Each Black College and University must be contacted by the National Urban League and given an opportunity to participate with this proposal. I recommend that after a certain time, the opportunity to participate be closed and re-opened twenty year later. Those who wish to participate twenty years later must pay $50,000 to the National Urban League BCF and the yearly membership rate at that time.

How much will this cost?
The National Urban League Black College Fund Division will be supported by membership dues of $10,000 per year from each participating Black College . Black Colleges Alumnus should be given the opportunity to generate the initial startup capital for their colleges or university. The National Urban League Black College Fund should hire a vice president, chief finance officer, attorney, technology officer, receptionist, secretary, marketing vice president and any necessary staff required to implement this proposal. If 50 of the Black Colleges and Universities chose to participate and paid $10,000 per year, which would generate $500,000, which would be donated to the National Urban League for the implementation of this proposal.

The Next Step:
Black Colleges and Universities should contact the National Urban League to request that they establish a Black College Fund (BCF). Every person should read this proposal and forward it to every person in their email list, print a copy and share it with their family and friends. They should also contact a Black College or University they want to participate with this proposal and express their wishes. They should also ensure that every Black College and University President, Administration, Alumni and Student read this proposal and begin sending $10 per pay to help their Black College or University generate the $10,000 participation fee. Black Colleges and Universities must get approval from their College Boards to participate, if required as soon as possible. If Black Colleges and Universities wanting to participate in this fundraising proposal are denied the opportunity by their State or Regional College Boards, then their National Alumni Association should participate on their behalf. The National Urban League should begin contacting Black Colleges and Universities implement this proposal as soon as possible. This proposal should be implemented by July 1, 2009 .