There are some people who are dreamers and some people who are doers. Xavier Peeples is both. He has taken his experience in private wealth management and the financial sector and put it to use to raise money for Historically Black College and Universities. He is the founder of HBCU Change, an app focused on raising $1 billion dollars for HBCUs over five years. He is infectiously committed to affecting positive change through financial literacy, wealth building, political engagement and advocacy within the African American community. We sat down with this dynamo to learn more about this exciting project.
SVL: What is HBCU Change? How did it come to be?
XP: Our mission is for HBCUs to become self-sustaining and not have to rely on government funding and sporadic big donations to keep their doors open.
We round up daily transactions from HBCU alumni and supporters. Take the change and give it to the HBCU of the user's choice. (ex: if a cup of coffee costs $3.50, we will round the transaction up to $4.00. The .50 cents will go to the favorite HBCU.)
HBCU Change was established to help HBCU alumni give back to their schools easily. They can give without even thinking about it. Most schools have challenges getting their alumni to consistently give back to the school. This is a simple solution that allows alumni to give change from their daily transactions.
SVL: Why are HBCUs important to our country?
XP: HBCUs are institutions that give primarily African American students the confidence to thrive in our country which ultimately makes our country better. African Americans are vital to our country.
SVL: How can a little change actually help?
XP: On average, when rounding up change on a monthly basis, each user of HBCU Change rounds up $27. Take Clark Atlanta University for instance; an institution that has approximately 40k alumni. If only 10k were to download and connect to the HBCU Change app, that could create over $3 million dollars a year from change. That would have a tremendous impact on Clark Atlanta University.
SVL: What is your goal with this app?
XP: Our goal is to raise $1 billion dollars for Historically Black Colleges and Universities. HBCUs have produced the best and the brightest with one hand being financially strapped behind their back. Imagine what they could do if they consistently have the financial resources that will allow them to thrive like never before.