HBCU First

College success + career access for Black youth

New York, NY   |  https://hbcufirst.com

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 info

2019

Managing Founder

Courtney Gray

Main address

244 Madison Ave #227

New York, NY 10016 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

84-3831738

NTEE code info

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.

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Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

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 Our nation's outdated approach to preparing students for success is both an outcome, and driver of this national crisis.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

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

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.

Population(s) Served
Students
People of African descent
Young adults

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.

Population(s) Served
Students
People of African descent
Young adults

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.

Population(s) Served
Students
People of African descent
Young adults

Current HBCU students called "HBCU Student Advocates" lead choice-focused workshops helping college-bound Black youth navigate the high-school-to-college journey.

Population(s) Served
Students
People of African descent
Low-income people
Adolescents

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.

Population(s) Served
People of African descent
Students
Low-income people
Children and youth

Where we work

Videos

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

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

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

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

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.

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

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

HBCU First

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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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HBCU First

Board of directors
as of 12/25/2021
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Courtney Gray

Josh Bruce

Infosys

Roi Ward

Science Museum of Minnesota

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

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

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 08/10/2021

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
Black/African American/African
Gender identity
Male, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or Straight
Disability status
Person without a disability

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

Disability