Thanks to this partnership, students will receive funding to ensure they will reach the finish line at their university.

According to a press release, the Anheuser-Busch Foundation has donated $200,000 to the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) for the second year in a row. The investment will allocate up to $2,500 for students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) who need funding to fulfill their degree requirements. In 2021, 69 students were awarded financial assistance to walk across the graduation stage.

“I would like to sincerely thank UNCF and Anheuser-Busch Foundation for the scholarship which enabled me to become a LeMoyne-Owen College graduate,” said Braxton Miller, a biology major at the college, in a statement.

“I want to truly thank UNCF and Anheuser-Busch. You saved me when I had to pay for not one but two courses I had to take. You truly and honestly blessed me,” James Wilson, a Benedict College graduate who majored in criminal justice administration, also shared in a statement.

More students will be supported in their educational pursuits as applications are set to open in July and around 70 recipients will be announced in the fall. To qualify, students must be African American and a senior attending a UNCF-member HBCU in need of financial aid to graduate. They also must be majoring in business, engineering, or supply chain logistics.

The efforts are a continuation of a 50-year commitment shared by Anheuser Busch and UNCF. To date, Anheuser Busch has donated over $5.5 million to propel UNCF’s mission to embolden the youth through scholarships and programs.

“For more than five decades, Anheuser-Busch and its foundation have championed UNCF’s efforts, making investments in HBCU students’ futures a priority, and helping so many students with emergency funding at a time when they needed it the most to graduate,” said Maurice E. Jenkins, UNCF’s Jr., executive vice president and chief development officer, in a press release. “We thank the Anheuser-Busch Foundation for helping these talented, deserving students to realize their college graduation and make their dreams come true.”

In addition, Julio Suárez of the Anheuser-Busch Foundation also wrote:

”At the Anheuser-Busch Foundation, we are committed to investing in the economic prosperity of our friends and neighbors to help build stronger communities. Through our longstanding partnership with UNCF and the degree completion program, we are proud to continue to empower these bright students, so that they may secure the full benefits of a college degree and be able to pursue their professional goals.”