The United Negro College Fund has announced a three-year, $1.12 million grant from the Kresge Foundation in support of historically black colleges and universities.

The grant will enable UNCF’s Institute for Capacity Building to provide technical assistance to twelve of its member colleges and universities, including $214,000 in institutional awards in support of efforts to attract and retain more African-American and other traditionally underrepresented students. The grant also will enable ICB to develop best practices in institutional advancement, enrollment, and fiscal management; hire new program staff; create an annual ICB publication; and produce six training webinars on best practices.

Launched in 2006 with $8 million in seed funding from Kresge, ICB works to strengthen UNCF’s member institutions and ensure that all remain fully accredited.

“UNCF’s ICB has measurably helped our university move to higher heights, from substantially increasing our fundraising efforts to increasing our student enrollment,” said Henry N. Tisdale, president of Claflin University in Orangeburg, South Carolina. “We are now able to compete with some of the top institutions in this country to attract and retain some of the best and brightest students, faculty and staff.”