United Negro College Fund History
The beginning of the United Negro College Fund was a simple appeal to the national conscience to raise money in order to help black students study and get educated. This appeal was sent out to the nation by Dr. Frederick D. Patterson in 1944. The next year in the month of April, Dr. Patterson, along with Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune and others incorporated the United Negro College Fund. At the start of the organization, they had the support of 27 member colleges.
Some of the early supporters of the fund included President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and John D. Rockefeller, Jr. The fact that these eminent personalities supported the fund was a great boost to the efforts that were conceptualized with regards to raising funds. Initial efforts resulted in $760,000, an amount that was worth much more than it seems today.
The United Negro College fund has attracted many donors who have come across with cash gifts and other offerings to help keep students in their college. The funds allow these students to pursue their academic goals without having to worry about how the next session's tuition fee will be paid.
The campaign created by Forest Long, an executive at Young and Rubicam, in 1972 created advertising history through an advertising campaign for the United Negro College Fund. The tag-line “A mind is a terrible thing to waste” is considered to be one of the most memorable tag-lines ever. It appealed to the people to keep all prejudices aside who came together to help people learn to the best of their capabilities.
The United Negro College Fund has helped many families send their children to school. They have made a contribution to society that cannot be compared to any other. Those who have benefited from the scholarships of the fund are now independent and free people who are giving back to society what they have taken.
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