1890 Universities Foundation
ActivePublic CharityInternational Affairs
About 1890 Universities Foundation
Elevating excellence in education, research, and community engagement by supporting the nineteen historically Black land-grant universities (the 1890 institutions) through partnerships, grants, and programs that advance sustainable agriculture, urban forestry, community empowerment, and student and faculty development.
Focus Areas
AgricultureUrban and community forestrySustainable agricultureCommunity empowermentEducationResearch capacity buildingHealth and wellnessEnvironmental justiceSTEM and workforce development
Funding Style
federal subawardpass-through/project-specific fundingcompliance-driven funding
About 1890 Universities Foundation
The 1890 Universities Foundation centers its grantmaking on the nineteen historically Black land-grant universities, using partnerships and program-specific funding to support education, research, and community engagement across the 1890 network. A defining part of that work is the USDA Forest Service–funded Urban and Community Forestry Initiative, a $35 million award that extends urban and community forestry projects across the universities, with six universities leading the effort and others expected to access funding over time. The foundation’s recent grants show a steady flow of federal subawards to individual 1890 institutions rather than broad open calls. West Virginia State University received $314,048 in one recent award, while Kentucky State University, Tuskegee University, Tennessee State University, Lincoln University, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, and Langston University also appear among the largest recipients. That pattern matches the foundation’s stated emphasis on sustainable agriculture, urban forestry, student and faculty development, and community empowerment. Its program design also reaches into workforce development and institutional capacity. Through the 1890-DVMC Veterinary Medicine Scholarship, it supports students pursuing veterinary medicine careers, and through the Centers of Excellence and related partnerships it backs research infrastructure, grantsmanship, and extension work across the network. The result is a funder that operates through targeted university-level awards tied to specific initiatives and federal program structures.
What 1890 Universities Foundation Funds
In urban greening and forestry, the 1890 Universities Foundation gave $175,000 to Fort Valley State University for a federal subaward, and the broader Urban and Community Forestry Initiative channels a $35 million USDA Forest Service award across the 1890 universities network. That aligns with its stated focus on urban forestry, environmental equity, and sustainability. In research capacity building, it gave $178,644 to Central State University for a federal subaward, reflecting the foundation’s emphasis on strengthening institutional research infrastructure and competitive grant capacity. The Research Capacity & Innovation Partnership with the QEM Network is designed to catalyze research capacity and innovation ecosystem growth across all 19 institutions. In agriculture and food systems, the foundation gave $170,000 to the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff for a federal subaward. Its Centers of Excellence initiative also supports research, extension, and capacity-building activities tied to agriculture and food systems research, faculty development, and community engagement.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$6.6M
Total Assets
$4.1M
Total Revenue
$3.2M
Total Expenses
$3.5M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $47K and $162K, with a median of $87K.
25th Percentile
$47K
Median
$87K
75th Percentile
$162K
Geographic Reach
Regional17 states funded
About 0% of grants go to recipients in AL.
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
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