Lisa Blunt Rochester

UNCF Celebrates 75 Years of Investing in Better Futures at National DC Gala

During an historic night—in more ways than one—UNCF (United Negro College Fund) celebrated its 75th anniversary at its national UNCF “A Mind is…” Gala in Washington, DC, March 7. The event helped the storied organization reach new fundraising heights, raising more than it ever has during a single event—$3.4 million—for UNCF’s historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). The event, whose title echoes the group’s iconic motto, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste,”® celebrated the founding of the organization by Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) president Dr. Frederick Douglass Patterson with backing from corporate leaders led by John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and Coca Cola President Robert W. Woodruff.