CMSI Introduces New Report on Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott’s Historic Donations to HBCUs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Brandy Jones | brandy.jones@gse.rutgers.edu | 848-932-0788
New Brunswick, N.J., August 5, 2021—The Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions (CMSI) and TRIVIUM BI are proud to announce the release of a new report, “The MacKenzie Scott Donations to Historically Black Colleges and Universities: Exploring the Data Landscape.” The collaborative report uses a data-driven approach to delve into Scott’s $560 million in donations to 23 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
In the midst of 2020, Scott surprised the HBCU community with her donations to 23 out of 104 HBCUs in the United States. While philanthropists have always provided support to HBCUs, this support has “often been minuscule compared to their large donations to Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs).” According to the report, many HBCU presidents noted that the donations were the largest their institutions had ever seen and mentioned that “these gifts would be transformative in multiple ways.” The report explores Scott’s approach and attitude toward philanthropy and shares data on those HBCUs that received donations in comparison to those that did not.
“At the foundational level, our goal for this project was to develop visualizations designed to facilitate data literacy and empower institutions to identify key data points that can be leveraged to their benefit,” shared report authors Resche Hines and Angela Henderson, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Data Architect, respectively, at Trivium BI. “We wanted to provide a roadmap for how visualized data support HBCUs' ability to gain strategic insights from complex data and drives them to not only make data-informed decisions but to develop a culture nested in organizational learning.”
According to the report, MacKenzie Scott uses a groundbreaking approach to giving that serves as a model for future philanthropists. Authors emphasize that “her data-driven approach places trust in HBCU leaders’ decision-making ability and demonstrates an understanding of what HBCUs need in order to thrive and be sustainable in the future.” The report highlights that her methods of extensive research prior to giving, engaging experts from a variety of sectors to make the most informed decisions, and making donations upfront and with “no strings attached” is an effective way to give.
“When Scott’s historic HBCU donation went public, I was immediately intrigued by her choices,” said Marybeth Gasman, one of the report’s authors, Executive Director of the Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions, and the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Endowed Chair. “After diving into the data and learning more about her methods, it is clear that Scott was not only intentional in her giving to HBCUs, but that she aims to change the way philanthropy is approached overall.”
The report also includes a close comparison between several HBCUs that received donations and similar institutions that did not. Spotlight comparisons include Voorhees College and Paul Quinn College, Alcorn State University and Jackson State University, Prairie View A & M University and Florida A & M University, and Claflin University and Benedict College. It is important to note that the report's figures and comparisons are interactive. Readers can click on them and explore the data landscape of individual HBCUs and across HBCUs as a whole.
Report authors include recommendations to philanthropists regarding their approaches to giving and to HBCUs that are looking for ways to strengthen their public data profile. For philanthropists, the report recommends giving to colleges and universities that serve first-generation, low-income, and students of color, and giving widely across HBCUs in various regions of the country. For the greatest impact, philanthropists should give beyond well-known institutions and ensure that all HBCUs have a sustainable and equitable foundation in comparison to PWIs. For HBCUs, the report notes that having access to and reviewing important data metrics, while benchmarking their institutions in comparison to others may be beneficial for attracting future donations.
Most importantly, the report’s authors urge philanthropists to support lower-performing HBCUs in addition to higher-performing ones in order to foster true equity, promote justice, and ensure the sustainability of HBCUs overall.
The report can be found here.
About the Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions
The Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions (CMSI) brings together researchers and practitioners from Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, and Asian American, Native American, and Pacific Islander Serving Institutions. CMSI’s goals include: elevating the educational contributions of MSIs; ensuring that they are a part of national conversations; bringing awareness to the vital role MSIs play in the nation’s economic development; increasing the rigorous scholarship of MSIs; connecting MSIs’ academic and administrative leadership to promote reform initiatives; and strengthening efforts to close educational achievement gaps among disadvantaged communities. The Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions is part of the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute for Leadership, Equity and Justice (Proctor Institute) at the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers University, New Brunswick. For further information about CMSI, please visit http://cmsi.gse.rutgers.edu/.
About TRIVIUM BI
In the world of all things data, TRIVIUM BI guides its partners to know their data, understand the inherent patterns, and use data-informed insights to facilitate decision-making. The “Trivium Moment” occurs when the obscure that is right before our eyes suddenly becomes crystal clear and the impossible transforms into the possible. For more information about TRIVIUM BI, please visit https://www.triviumbi.com.
