Michael Bloomberg Invests $20M To Create Charter School-To-HBCU Pipeline For Black Students

Former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg is investing in charter schools designed to create pathways to HBCUs for Black students.

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is deepening his support for historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) with a $20 million investment to launch two K–12 charter schools on HBCU campuses.

One year after donating $600 million to support medical schools at four HBCUs, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and the education nonprofit City Fund, have launched a $20 million initiative to open two public schools in Alabama, one at Stillman College and another at Tuskegee University, Forbes reports. As part of the initiative, D.C. Wolfe Charter School in Shorter, Alabama—converted from D.C. Wolfe Elementary—will open near Tuskegee University in fall 2026.

The I Dream Big Academy on Stillman’s campus recently launched as Alabama’s first HBCU–charter school partnership. Both schools will serve as direct pipelines to HBCUs and strengthen students’ future career opportunities.

“We are truly grateful,” the I Dream Big Academy wrote on Facebook.

Students at the schools—both located in the Black Belt, a region still facing major educational and economic challenges—will have access to dual-enrollment courses at the partner universities and opportunities to participate in community internships. Launched in collaboration with the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), the effort builds on Bloomberg’s 2022 donation of $10 million to support K–12 charter programs serving Black students. The long-term goal is to expand beyond the two schools into the rest of Alabama, the South, and eventually nationwide.

“There are two schools that have been announced, and there are a few more in the pipeline that we’re really excited about,” said Jasmine Jenkins, senior program officer for education and advocacy at Bloomberg Philanthropies. “This is a continuation of the work that Mike Bloomberg and Bloomberg Philanthropies has been doing for over a decade—supporting high-quality public charter schools and supporting the work that historically Black colleges and universities have been doing for decades.”

Bloomberg’s latest investment in HBCUs comes after his $100 million pledge to reduce medical school debt at four institutions in 2020, followed by a $600 million commitment in 2024 to Charles R. Drew University of Medicine & Science, Howard University College of Medicine, Meharry Medical College, and Morehouse School of Medicine. His support adds to a wave of major billionaire donations to HBCUs in recent months, including the $700 million MacKenzie Scott has given to HBCUs in the last three months, and Home Depot cofounder and Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank also pledged $50 million to Atlanta-area HBCUs in October.