Nearly 600 students at Spelman, Morehouse and Clark Atlanta receive support from Arthur Blank's $50 million scholarship
Less than a year in, Arthur Blank's big donation to Atlanta's historically Black colleges and universities is already paying off.
The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation announced Thursday that its $50 million, 10-year scholarship initiative supporting students at Atlanta's HBCUs has distributed more than $4.2 million to nearly 600 students since launching in October 2025, and some of those students are now preparing to graduate this spring.
The initiative was designed to tackle one of the most stubborn obstacles standing between college students and their diplomas: money. Specifically, the program targets gap funding, financial support for students who are academically on track to graduate but have exhausted every other source of aid and still face an outstanding balance that could prevent them from finishing.
The results so far break down across three schools. Spelman College has supported 189 students with $1.65 million. Clark Atlanta University has seen 290 students supported with $1.45 million distributed. Morehouse College has supported 115 students with $1.24 million.
The foundation says the funding is being directed at the most critical moment in a student's academic journey, often during junior and senior year, when financial gaps tend to be the largest and other resources have run dry.
One of those students is Kayla Drummond, a first-generation Clark Atlanta University student who will walk across the stage on May 18. Drummond had exhausted every available financial option before receiving support through the program.
"From my first time stepping on Clark Atlanta's campus, I felt a sense of family, and this is where I belong," Drummond said. "This diploma isn't just for me, it's for my family, it's for my friends, the love, the prayers, the support."
Managing Director of Founder Initiatives, Margaret Connelly, said the early results are exactly what the program was designed to produce.
"We've seen what's possible when students get the support they need to cross the finish line," Connelly said. "That's what drives this work, and why we hope this initiative encourages others to invest in closing these gaps and helping more students achieve the futures they've worked so hard to reach."
The foundation projects the initiative will support thousands of students over the next 10 years. Officials say the need remains significant, with institutions continuing to see academically prepared students whose degrees are at risk solely because of financial shortfalls.
The $50 million commitment, first announced in October 2025, is the foundation's largest-ever gift to Georgia's HBCUs. It follows previous donations, including $10 million to Spelman College for an innovation lab and $6 million to refurbish athletic fields at Clark Atlanta, Albany State, Miles College and Savannah State.
Blank, co-founder of The Home Depot and owner of the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United, has signed the Giving Pledge, committing to donate at least half his wealth. The foundation has distributed more than $1.7 billion in grants since it was founded in 1995.
