JACKSONVILLE, FLA., AUGUST 20, 2026 — Edward Waters University (EWU) announced today that it has been selected as one of twelve UNCF member institutions nationally to receive $1 million in permanent endowment capital through The Dimon Fund to Advance Economic Opportunity, a historic $12 million gift from The James and Judith K. Dimon Foundation to strengthen the long-term sustainability of historically Black colleges and universities.
Established within UNCF’s $1.5 billion capital campaign, the gift provides permanent endowment capital to twelve selected UNCF member schools as part of their $5 million institutional match within UNCF’s pooled endowment fund.
According to UNCF, recipient institutions were selected for the strength of their leadership andgovernance and for their proven record of preparing educators, nurses, and other healthcare professionals — high-demand fields in which HBCUs consistently deliver outsized outcomes for first-generation and underrepresented students. UNCF further noted that a number of the selected schools maintain distinctive cross-institutional collaborations, including credit-transfer partnerships in health-related disciplines that shorten the distance between classroom and career launch, describing such arrangements as a national model for building talent pipelines at scale.
Edward Waters University’s academic portfolio aligns directly with those priorities. The University offers a Bachelor of Science in Public Health and maintains a nursing pipeline partnership with the University of Florida College of Nursing leading to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing — a credit-transfer collaboration that places EWU students on a direct pathway into one of the nation’s leading nursing programs. In education, the University offers the Master of
Education Policy and Advocacy (MEPA), among the first graduate degree programs in its history.
For Edward Waters University, the award represents the second largest private gift to the institutional endowment in its history and lifts the University’s total endowment above $8.6 million — an increase of more than 200 percent since 2018, when the endowment stood at $2.8 million.
“This award is transformational for Edward Waters University, and I want to be precise about why,” said Dr. A. Zachary Faison, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of Edward Waters University. “A permanent endowment does not fund a moment. It funds a century. The earnings generated by this gift will support scholarships and academic investment for generations of students who have not yet been born, at an institution founded in 1866 by people who had been denied by law the right to learn to read.”
“I would also note what UNCF said about how these twelve institutions were chosen — the strength of their leadership and governance, and their record of preparing teachers and healthcare professionals,” Dr. Faison continued. “Our partnership with the University of Florida College of Nursing takes an Edward Waters student from this campus into one of the finest nursing programs in America. Our public health degree and our Master of Education Policy and Advocacy put graduates directly into the fields where Northeast Florida’s need is most acute. Edward Waters has never before been named to a philanthropic cohort of this tier. That we are on this list is a statement about the seriousness of the work happening on this campus, and it belongs to our faculty, our staff, our Board of Trustees, and our students.”
“I would encourage anyone evaluating this investment to consider what it is buying,” Dr. Faison added. “Edward Waters University generates $56.2 million in annual economic impact for the State of Florida and supports 542 jobs. Our 2021 graduating class alone will produce an estimated $361.5 million in lifetime earnings. This institution is not a charitable cause. It is one of the highest-yielding economic engines in Northeast Florida, and the Dimon Foundation has recognized that.”
Edward Waters University is Florida’s first independent institution of higher learning and the state’s first historically Black college or university, founded in 1866 and affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal Church. The University has recorded significant institutional momentum in recent years, including:
– Fall 2026 enrollment of 1,281 students, an overall increase of 37.4% since 2019 and the highest in more than two decades
– Largest graduating class in institutional history, with 236 graduates in May 2026
– Six consecutive years of net cash operational surpluses, reversing a preceding decade of operational deficits
– Reaffirmation of accreditation by SACSCOC in December 2025 with zero recommendations, extending accreditation through 2035
– Growth from eight to seventeen-degree programs, including the first graduate degree programs in institutional history
– Ranked No. 25 nationally among Top Performers on Social Mobility by U.S. News & World Report in 2025
– Transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II athletics, completed in July 2024, becoming Florida’s only NCAA Division II historically Black college or university
The Dimon Foundation gift was cultivated under the leadership of Dr. Johnnetta Betsch Cole, UNCF president-in-residence, and co-chair of UNCF’s capital campaign.
“I am enormously grateful for this generous donation and the unwavering support of HBCUs by Jamie and Judy Dimon. Their gift is both a vote of confidence and a catalyst,” said Dr. Cole. “By accelerating endowment growth, this commitment from The Dimon Foundation will strengthen the financial position of these vital institutions and expand their capacity to make long-term decisions benefitting students, faculty, and the broader communities they serve as they prepare the teachers who awaken young minds today and the healers who will mend our communities, tomorrow.”
“At UNCF, we have long believed the strongest way to expand opportunity is to strengthen the institutions making opportunity possible. Endowments create permanence. Permanence creates independence. Independence creates the freedom to innovate, to lead, and to serve generations of students,” said Dr. Michael Lomax, UNCF President and CEO. “Jamie and Judy Dimon have embraced that vision, and their investment will strengthen the future of HBCUs in the years to come.”
Jamie Dimon is Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and previously served on UNCF’s board of directors. Judy Dimon is President of The Dimon Foundation.
“Our country’s future and strength depend on our young people. Our system of HBCUs continue to serve as the springboard to success for thousands of students in pursuit of the American Dream,” said Jamie and Judy Dimon. “We are honored to help UNCF strengthen the long-term financial viability of these critical schools of higher learning.”
In addition to Edward Waters University, the following institutions were selected to receive $1 million each through The Dimon Fund to Advance Economic Opportunity: Benedict College (Columbia, SC), Dillard University (New Orleans, LA), Huston-Tillotson University (Austin, TX), Jarvis Christian University (Hawkins, TX), Johnson C. Smith University (Charlotte, NC), Miles College (Fairfield, AL), Oakwood University (Huntsville, AL), Shaw University (Raleigh, NC), Stillman College (Tuscaloosa, AL), Tuskegee University (Tuskegee, AL), and Voorhees University (Denmark, SC).
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About Edward Waters University
Founded in 1866, Edward Waters University is Florida’s first independent institution of higher learning and the state’s first historically Black college or university. Affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal Church, EWU is a private, coeducational, liberal arts institution located in Jacksonville, Florida, offering seventeen undergraduate and graduate degree programs. The University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) and is a member institution of UNCF.
About United Negro College Fund (UNCF)
UNCF is one of the nation’s largest and most effective supporters of higher education and serves as a leading advocate for college-bound students. Since its founding in 1944, UNCF has raised more than $6 billion to support students’ access to higher education, provide scholarships and strengthen historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Each year, UNCF awards more than 13,000 scholarships to more than 10,000 students totaling more than $64 million. The scholarships support students attending more than 600 US-based colleges and universities including 36 UNCF-member HBCUs. Learn more at UNCF.org.
About The James and Judith K. Dimon Foundation
The James and Judith K. Dimon Foundation was created in 1996 to pursue scalable, sustainable solutions to systemic obstacles impeding the economic success of young people and families. In 2022, the Foundation launched its most ambitious endeavor by helping to scale FutureReadyNYC, a public–private partnership designed to close the gap between New York’s labor market demand for skilled talent and the lack of clear pathways for high school students preparing for 21st century careers.
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Media Contact: Office of Institutional Advancement, Edward Waters University, 1658 Kings Road, Jacksonville, FL 32209 | 904.470.8230