Rising costs, shrinking donations and DEI cuts force Black Greek Letter Organizations to rethink their fundraising strategies
By Amelia Orjuela Da Silva, Miami Times Staff
For more than a century, Black Greek Letter Organizations (BGLOs) — known collectively as the “Divine Nine” — have been cornerstones of educational, cultural and civic life. In Miami, their chapters raise scholarship funds, mentor young people, and provide school supplies and leadership development to students who often face financial and social barriers.
But as a new school year begins, these organizations are confronting fresh obstacles. Rising costs, shrinking donations, political attacks on diversity initiatives, and a crowded nonprofit market are forcing them to rethink their fundraising strategies. At the same time, students’ needs have grown more urgent.
Despite these challenges, Divine Nine leaders say they remain committed to their mission.
Delta Sigma Theta
“We service marginalized populations, and we are committed to making sure that we are in the gap for our young men and our young women and to continue to create opportunities, despite the climate that we’re living in,” said Dr. Nyree M. Washington, president of Delta Sigma Theta’s Dade County Alumnae Chapter.
The Miami-Dade National Pan-Hellenic Council gave out $2,100 between seven scholarships at its 75th Annual Scholarship Breakfast earlier this year.
In May, the Miami-Dade National Pan-Hellenic Council’s 75th Annual Scholarship Breakfastraised questions regarding fundraising challenges. The council awarded seven scholarships, each just $300.
Janice Spann-Givens, president of the Gamma Zeta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., said there are some obstacles regarding funds in the council. She explained that while each Divine Nine chapter can recommend one student to receive the $300 from the council, chapters also have the option to supplement that amount with additional funds of their own. Her chapter awarded its recipient an additional $1,000.
According to Spann-Givens, her chapter’s scholarship funds are tied directly to successful fundraising efforts from the previous year.
“For the year 2025, we originally allocated $16,400, but we actually have given out $21,800,” she said.
Most AKA scholarships are based on merit and financial need. They include renewable $3,000 awards for four HBCU students, one-time awards for seniors in the sorority’s mentoring program, book stipends, and a new “nontraditional scholarship” supporting older or returning students.
Most AKA scholarships are based on merit and financial need.
Still, Spann-Givens acknowledged that inflation and cutbacks have made the support feel smaller.
“It’s more challenging because the amounts that we are still giving out now, I would say in years past, were adequate,” she said. “With the rising costs and with so many programs being cut back in colleges and universities, funding being cut, even financial aid being cut, it makes it appear as if what we’re giving is very little, but we know every little bit helps.”
For Phi Beta Sigma’s Rho Sigma Chapter, the pinch originates in supporters’ wallets.
The Rho Sigma Chapter has donated $2,000 per year over the last 10 years.
“As expenses rise, especially in South Florida, people have less and less extra funds that they can allocate for different things because of their financial responsibility,” Chapter President Marcelin Fils-Aime explained. “People who may have supported in the past may not be able to support.”
Dr. Lois Lee, Zeta Blue Network Chair for Zeta Phi Beta’s Beta Tau Zeta Chapter, pointed to other challenges:
“One of them happens to be donor attention and competition, economic changes, uncertainty, actually looking at the alignment and motivation for various companies or organizations that we would appeal to for those donations.”
Corporate giving, Lee explained, has become more selective.
“In economic times such as the ones that we are facing now, companies’ budgets for charitable giving have been limited as they examine more closely that the organizations that they provide resources to are aligned with their mission.”
Even so, her chapter has given out up to $25,000 annually in scholarships.
But Washington said today’s climate has left all BGLOs competing for the same donors.
For more than a century, Black Greek Letter Organizations (BGLOs) have been cornerstones of educational, cultural and civic life.
“Fundraising is a challenge, and it’s not unique to our Divine Nine organizations. We have a very saturated market. We’re tapping into the same groups of people in this political climate, and we have seen a dwindling in corporate support.”
However, she said, there are some corporations that still believe in the work they do and continue to support them. Her chapter continues to distribute between $26,000 and $30,000 in scholarships each year.
The chapter’s largest scholarship is $6,000. It also gives $1,000 to students who excel across five areas: educational development, physical and mental health, international awareness and involvement, economic development, and social action.
Chapters are adapting with creativity. Some turn to traditional galas or debutante cotillions, while others innovate with smaller, community-driven events.
“We consistently donated $2,000 per year over the last 10 years — four deserving students in the South Florida area, each receiving $500,” said Fils-Aime, noting the funds come from grassroots efforts and memorial donations.
“Since we’re nonprofit, we’re not making any consistent money, so we have to get creative every year and go with different fundraising initiatives to make sure we help the students,” he said.
Alpha Phi Alpha’s Iota Pi Lambda Chapter in Richmond Heights created the Taste of South Florida: Food and Wine Festival.
“That event supports the chapter, and it supports our scholarships, so it has a twofold purpose,” said Dr. Takevess Hatcher, the chapter’s president.
The chapter, which is relatively small, typically awards $7,000 to $10,000 annually in scholarships.
(Zeta Phi Beta- Beta Tau Zeta Chapter via Facebook)
Zeta Phi Beta relies on its Zeta Debutante Cotillion and youth auxiliary programs, teaching young women etiquette, financial literacy and mental health awareness, while cultivating partnerships with other nonprofits to broaden its fundraising reach.
“We are doing the work,” said Louverante Orange-Tyson, executive board chair. “Your dollars are helping us continue with this type of programming that is helping some of our at-risk, young adults.”
Meanwhile, Alpha Kappa Alpha’s national educational foundation has built a $10 million endowment, with $6 million going toward scholarships for HBCU students.
“It is important to us to help students financially. The more support they have financially, the more they can focus on their academic limits, so it frees them up from having to get multiple jobs or take out student loans,” Spann-Givens said.
Scholarships are only one part of the fight, however. Program cuts, privatization, and attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies have only raised the stakes.
“With the current emphasis on eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion, our BGLOs, which have struggled in the past with getting the same type of funding as (Predominantly White Institutions), and the (Hispanic-Serving Institutions) are really headed for an uphill battle, having to depend, of course, more on our alumni and our politicians to step up and support us,” Spann-Givens said.
Phi Beta Sigma brothers have volunteered directly in schools — painting classrooms and donating backpacks — while Alpha Phi Alpha mentors students one-on-one.
“Mentorship is crucially important,” Hatcher said. “We schedule a day to meet with them one-on-one, and we go over their report card. If it’s a bad grade, we tell them that we believe that they can do better.”
Fils-Aime said rewarding students for good grades is also strategic.
“When it’s time to make certain cuts, they’re looking not only at the school enrollment, but the school performance as well. So if you have a school not performing well and they’re under-enrolled, that makes it easier for them to make those decisions to close them,” he said.
Delta Sigma Theta and Zeta Phi Beta advocate directly with elected officials at the county and state levels for public school funding.
“We’re always a champion for public education,” Washington said. “There are many educators in our organization, from school board members to principals to teachers, and so we are on the front line. We are advocating with them. We have Delta Day in Florida, and so that is our opportunity to go and speak with our legislators.”
Her chapter also supports programs like the Dr. Betty Shabazz Delta Academy and Delta GEMS, which offer leadership training, college tours and etiquette workshops.
Rho Sigma Chapter volunteered directly in schools, painting classrooms like those at George Washington Carver Elementary.
From scholarships and mentorship to political advocacy, Miami’s Divine Nine are navigating tough times with resilience and creativity. They acknowledge the challenges, but they also believe that community support will sustain their mission.
“We cannot do it alone,” Dr. Lee said. “It is the visibility, the trust that we built in the community, the impact that we’ve been able to demonstrate because of our consistency in assisting the young people.”
“Whenever you see an organization doing a fundraising event, definitely please help. Because we know that it does take a village.”
