Mission
HBCU First's mission is to increase college success + career access for Black youth.
Notes from the nonprofit
As the nation's leading HBCU student internship program, we help Black youth navigate the college-to-career journey and bridge the gap between learning and doing.
Ruling year
2019
Managing Founder
Courtney Gray
Main address
244 Madison Ave #227
New York, NY 10016 USA
EIN
84-3831738
NTEE code
Educational Services and Schools - Other (B90)
Cultural, Ethnic Awareness (A23)
Youth Development Programs (O50)
IRS filing requirement
This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.
Sign in or create an account to view Form(s) 990 for 2020 and 2020.
Register now
Communication
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Research shows persistent socioeconomic inequality is putting America's future at risk. Our nation's outdated approach to preparing students for success is both an outcome, and driver of this national crisis. We believe a holistic experiential approach to college & career readiness, led by students and supported by industry leaders, is key to moving America forward — economically and socially.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
HBCU Leadership Incubator™
The HBCU Leadership Incubator™ is a 12-week leadership development program helping top Black college students bridge the gap between classroom learning and professional-world doing.
Each HBCU student "Lead" gains entrepreneurial skills and professional leadership experience by developing & managing an HBCU First program and team.
HBCU Near-Peer Mentoring Program
The HBCU Near-Peer Mentoring Program is a 10-week internship helping students attending America's 101 HBCUs navigate the college-to-career journey.
Utilizing our social-emotional-resilience-based curriculum, HBCU student "Near-Peer Mentors" help first-year schoolmates adapt to Black college life and develop a playbook for college-to-career success.
HBCU Equity™
HBCU Equity™ is a student-led, primary research program charged with better understanding the socio-academic drivers of America's Black youth.
HBCU student "Peer Researchers" conduct career-related studies detailing the goals, priorities, and views of Black college students.
HBCU Exploratory Program™
Current HBCU students called "HBCU Student Advocates" lead choice-focused workshops helping college-bound Black youth navigate the high-school-to-college journey.
HBCU YSE STEM™
HBCU Youth Social Entrepreneurship (YSE) STEM is an experiential learning program helping Black youth foster a social entrepreneur mindset through STEM skill mastery.
Leveraging the YSE Choice-Based Learning Framework, the Program provides K-12 students hands-on STEM experiences and a pathway to STEM-based careers.
Where we work
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of youth mentored
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
People of African descent, Students, Young adults
Related Program
HBCU Near-Peer Mentoring Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Total dollars received in contributions
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
People of African descent, Students, Young adults
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of new grants received
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
People of African descent, Students, Young adults
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Increasing
Median grant amount
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
People of African descent, Students, Young adults
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Increasing
Average grant amount
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
People of African descent, Students, Young adults
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of programs documented
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
People of African descent, Students, Young adults
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of program graduates
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
People of African descent, Students, Young adults
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of new programs/program sites
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
People of African descent, Students, Young adults
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
We aim to help Black youth move America forward — economically and socially.
HBCU First's mission is to increase college success + career access for Black youth by helping students to:
(1) navigate the college-to-career journey
(2) bridge the gap between learning and doing
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
We believe a holistic experiential approach to college & career readiness, led by students and supported by industry leaders, is key to moving America forward — economically and socially. So in 2019, HBCU First launched the HBCU Experiential Framework™.
The HBCU Experiential Framework™ is a college success + career access model for Black youth helping students (1) navigate the college-to-career journey and (2) bridge the gap between learning and doing.
To ensure our work has real impact, we enlist the help of the people we serve — Black youth. Through our HBCU Leadership Incubator™, students from America's 101 historically Black colleges develop & manage our programs and resources.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
HBCU First is uniquely qualified to fulfill our mission and keep our promise:
(1) we established the leading resource (HBCUFirst.com) for Black college information
(2) we established America's first & only HBCU Experiential Framework™
(3) we have the vision and lived experience required to adapt and get things done
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
In just two months of operation in 2019, HBCU First had two major accomplishments:
(1) Established the leading resource (HBCUFirst.com) for Black college information
(2) Launched the HBCU Exploratory Framework™
In 2020, HBCU First launched six student-led initiatives:
(1) HBCU Leadership Incubator — professional leadership development program
(2) HBCU Career Talks — forum unpacking the success journeys of Black executives
(3) HBCU First Master Class — partner-led professional development classes
(4) #NextMove — student-produced interview series about HBCU life and career readiness
(5) HBCU Near-Peer Mentoring Program — 1-to-1 national HBCU student program
(6) HBCU YSE STEM — K-12 entrepreneurship-based STEM program
Financials
Unlock nonprofit financial insights that will help you make more informed decisions. Try our monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights?
Learn more
about GuideStar Pro.
Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
HBCU First
Board of directorsas of 02/22/2022
Courtney Gray
Josh Bruce
Infosys
Roi Ward
Science Museum of Minnesota
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
-
Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Not applicable -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Not applicable
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? GuideStar partnered on this section with CHANGE Philanthropy and Equity in the Center.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
Thanks for signing up!
An email has been sent to the address you provided. Click on the link in that email to get more GuideStar Nonprofit Profile data today!
(Don't see an email in your inbox? Click here to resend it.)
GuideStar Pro Reports
Report successfully added to your cart!
Want more data?
A GuideStar Pro report containing the following information is available for this organization:
- Email contact information
- Financial trends metrics for five most recent years 2020*
- Letter of Determination
- Officer and/or Employee data for 2020
- Contractor and/or Paid Preparer data for 2020
- Board of Directors data for 2022
- *with the ability to download the data for 2020
Download it now for $125.
Need the ability to download nonprofit data and more advanced search options?Consider a Pro Search subscription.