At a time when a college degree is what a high school diploma was to previous generations. UNCF plays a critical role in enabling more than 60,000 students each year to attend college. To live up to the ideal expressed in UNCF’s universally-recognized motto, ”A mind is a terrible thing to waste,”® UNCF helps students go to and through college by:

• Awarding 10,000 students each year through 400 scholarship and internship programs so that students from low- and moderate-income families can afford college tuition, books and room and board;
• Providing operating funds for its 38 member colleges that offer a small-college experience for tuitions that average more than 30 percent less than those at comparable colleges and universities;
• Serving as a national advocate for the importance of education for all Americans by serving as the voice of students of color through its annual television program, UNCF An Evening of Stars®, a national public service announcement campaign built around “A mind is a terrible thing to waste”®and commentary in national media.