JPMorgan Chase CEO Gives $12 Million to 12 HBCUs
Twelve historically Black colleges and universities are getting a major financial boost thanks to JPMorgan Chase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon and his wife, Judy Dimon.
Through the James and Judith K. Dimon Foundation, the couple donated $12 million to the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), creating the new Dimon Fund to Advance Economic Opportunity. UNCF announced the gift on August 20 as part of its larger $1.5 billion capital campaign.
Each of the 12 selected HBCUs will receive $1 million in permanent endowment funding. Unlike money designated for a temporary program, endowment funds are invested to help generate financial support over the long term, potentially benefiting students and campuses for generations.
The schools receiving funding are Benedict College, Dillard University, Edward Waters University, Huston-Tillotson University, Jarvis Christian University, Johnson C. Smith University, Miles College, Oakwood University, Shaw University, Stillman College, Tuskegee University and Voorhees University.
UNCF says the institutions were selected based partly on their leadership and financial governance, as well as their track records of preparing students for careers in education, nursing and other healthcare professions. The new funding will become part of each school’s institutional match within UNCF’s pooled endowment fund.
As first announced by UNCF and subsequently covered by outlets including Fortune, the donation comes through the Dimons’ family foundation rather than JPMorgan Chase itself. The foundation was established in 1996 and has previously supported education and economic-mobility initiatives.
The gift arrives as many HBCUs continue working to grow endowments that historically have been significantly smaller than those of predominantly white institutions. Instead of funding one building or short-term initiative, the Dimons’ contribution is designed to give the schools something particularly valuable: money that can keep working long after the initial checks are deposited.
This article was produced with the assistance of AI.
