Arthur M. Blank is giving a powerful gift to students in his hometown of Atlanta, Georgia. He owns the Atlanta Falcons and helped build The Home Depot. His foundation, the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, is donating $50 million to four historically Black colleges and universities in Atlanta.
These schools are Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Spelman College, and Morris Brown College. The money will help students who are close to finishing college but are short on funds. It's designed to cover the small but painful gap that keeps too many young people from walking across the stage.
This gift will be spread out over ten years. It starts in 2026 and is expected to help nearly ten thousand students. The foundation calls these awards “gap scholarships.” They are meant for students who are in good academic standing and have tried every other source of aid. These students have come so far, and this final push can carry them to the finish line.
The donation is also clear about how the money is shared. Clark Atlanta University will receive $16.5 million dollars. Morehouse College will receive $16.5 million. Spelman College will receive $16.5 million. Morris Brown College will receive $500,000. Those numbers add up to the full fifty million dollars. Each school knows what it will receive and how it can use the funds to keep students on track.
Leaders at each campus say this is life changing. Morehouse announced its share and said the funds will help juniors and seniors who are most at risk of leaving school before they graduate. Clark Atlanta called its portion "the largest private gift in the school’s history." Spelman celebrated a major boost to student access and success.
Why does this matter so much? Because a small unpaid balance can be a huge setback. Many HBCU students receive Pell Grants. They juggle jobs and long commutes. They help support family at home. They are smart and determined, but life can throw big problems at them. A few hundred dollars or a few thousand dollars can be the difference between graduating and completely giving up. The foundation says the goal is to raise graduation rates by easing this last mile. That is not just good for the students. It is good for Atlanta. HBCUs power the city’s future. They produce leaders, teachers, scientists, and entrepreneurs. They also bring a billion dollars in yearly economic impact to the region. Helping more students finish helps the whole community.
According to Forbes, Arthur Blank's net worth is $11.2 billion, and he shared a message of hope with this gift on his foundation's website.
Arthur M. Blank said, "Atlanta holds a special place in my heart and will always be an integral part of our family foundation’s giving. We know Spelman, Morris Brown, Morehouse and Clark Atlanta are vital to Atlanta’s future, and we are deeply committed to supporting the students who will carry that legacy forward... Our hope is that by helping more students earn their degrees, launch successful careers and become alumni who give back, we are investing in a cycle of opportunity that benefits young people and their families in Atlanta and communities across the nation for years to come."
This is not the first time the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation has stood with Atlanta’s HBCUs. It has previously funded programs that improve campus facilities, athletic fields, and labs, and it has supported student-athletes and innovation spaces. This new $50 million gift is the largest yet to Georgia’s HBCUs. It shows a steady hand and a long view. It reminds us that student success is not a one-day headline. It is careful work over many years and a promise to show up again and again.
Learn more about the incredible work the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation is doing here: https://blankfoundation.org