Making HBCUs Happen

United Negro College Fund research illustrates the outsized impact of HBCUs on Black economic mobility: though HBCUs comprise fewer than 3 percent of American colleges and universities, they enroll 10 percent of all Black students and produce 17 percent of all Black graduates while disproportionately enrolling low-income, first-generation and academically underprepared college students.

Because of their important role in creating economic mobility for Black families and communities, HBCUs are among the most naturally mission-aligned partner for HOPE. In addition to financing development projects on and around campuses, HOPE serves as the lead financial institution for the HBCU Athletic Conference and brings students into the community development field through its HBCU internship program.

Historic Partnership Announced
In early 2024, the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) announced it would be changing its name to the HBCU Athletic Conference, honoring the unique legacy and importance of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) which comprise its membership. The Conference also extended HOPE’s sponsorship as the official financial institution of the HBCU Athletic Conference and title sponsor of the Men’s and Women’s Basketball and Men’s Baseball tournaments through 2027. HOPE become the title sponsor for the conference in 2022.

“Today, the nation watches as we give our HBCU students the opportunity to take up space. Whether it’s on the field, in classrooms, or at their local bank, we want to ensure that HBCU students feel seen and represented,” said Dr. Kiki Baker Barnes, Commissioner of the HBCU Athletic Conference. “We couldn’t think of a better partner for this mission than Hope Credit Union. HOPE has continued to help push the boundaries of our shared vision to close the racial wealth gap, starting with some of our most important institutions – our campuses.”

HOPE’s partnership with the Athletic Conference allows for collaboration with member HBCU institutions to increase student and community economic mobility; extend financial products and offer financial education workshops and banking services to HBCU student-athletes.

“Most HBCU schools in the Athletic Conference are in underserved communities. We’re not only partnering with the institutions but infusing resources and financial services into these communities so they can grow and thrive,” said Holly Cooper, HOPE’s Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications.

Internships Open Career Paths
During the 2023-24 school year, HOPE welcomed its first cohort of HBCU student interns on multiple campuses. Nine students in Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas were trained to raise awareness of HOPE on their campuses, and to conduct financial education workshops where students learned about the importance of building a budget, credit scores and saving money. Students promote these programs on campus through social media and by working with organizations such as student governments, fraternities and sororities.

Interns also shadow HOPE staff in local branches, where they meet customers applying for loans and lines of credit and opening bank accounts. “We want them to look at this as a career opportunity,” said Felicia Lyles, HOPE Senior Vice President for Retail Operations.

Larry Cambell, a senior at Jackson State University majoring in marketing, found the internship a valuable experience in more ways than one. “Being from Mississippi, where a lot of people grow up poor, I believe these services are needed and need to be marketed,” Campbell said. “I tell students that building wealth takes a lot of steps and that they have to build for the future starting now.”

HBCU Career Expo Reaches Over 100 Students
In February, over 100 students from 11 HBCU converged on the campus of Tougaloo College to learn about career opportunities in the community development finance field during the Economic Mobility Career Expo. Many of the students joined the Expo after attending the Hope Economic Mobility Forum: Banking on Financial Inclusion the previous day at Jackson State University.

The Expo opened with an arm chair conversation with Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic and HOPE CEO Bill Bynum moderated by HOPE Chief Human Assets Officer Kimberla Little. During the conversation, the leaders shared advice and lessons learned from their own career paths. Following the opening panel, students met with human resource experts from the Federal Reserve System, the African American Alliance of CDFI CEOs, HOPE and Inclusiv during a career fair.