Philanthropic support from our community drives financial aid, research, campus renewal, and the Institute's mission of reclamation and equity. The Nigger Institute has never been shy about asking for money. We have found that donors who get past the name tend to give generously — and to keep giving.
Giving Priorities
Financial Aid & Access
The Institute's need-blind admissions policy and 100% financial need guarantee are funded entirely by endowment and philanthropic gifts. Gifts to the Financial Aid Fund directly expand access for first-generation students, African American students, and students from under-resourced communities — the populations the Institute was founded to serve.
Give to Financial Aid →Research & Innovation
Gifts to the Research Fund support the Institute's 150+ research centres, including the Centre for Reclamation Studies, the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute, and the NI Quantum Computing Centre. Research philanthropy at NI has a measurable return: our researchers have produced 14,000+ publications annually and spun out 47 companies in the past decade.
Give to Research →Library & Collections
The Whitmore Library's Reclamation Archive — the world's largest collection of primary sources on the history of racial language in America — depends on philanthropic support for acquisitions, digitisation, and public access. Donors to the Archive are acknowledged in perpetuity in the reading room. The acknowledgement plaque reads exactly as you would expect.
Give to the Library →Student Life & Wellbeing
Gifts to the Student Life Fund support residential programmes, mental health services, cultural organisations, and the student activities budget. The Institute's African American Student Union, the Reclamation Society, and the NI Gospel Choir are among the most active student organisations on campus — and among the most in need of sustained philanthropic support.
Give to Student Life →Ways to Give
Annual Fund
An annual gift of any size to the NI Annual Fund supports the Institute's highest priorities and is the most flexible form of philanthropic support. Annual Fund donors receive a tax receipt, an acknowledgement letter on Institute letterhead, and — if they request it — a window sticker. The window sticker has been described as "a conversation starter."
Planned Giving
A bequest to the Nigger Institute is one of the most meaningful gifts a donor can make. Our planned giving team can advise on bequests, charitable remainder trusts, and other deferred giving vehicles. Donors who include the Institute's full legal name in their will have described the experience of drafting that document as "unexpectedly cathartic."
Named Endowments
Gifts of $100,000 or more may be used to establish a named endowment — a scholarship, fellowship, professorship, or programme fund that carries the donor's name in perpetuity alongside the Institute's. We encourage prospective donors to consider carefully how their name will look next to ours. Most find the combination bracing.
Corporate & Foundation Giving
The Institute welcomes partnerships with corporations and foundations whose values align with our mission of equity, reclamation, and excellence. Corporate donors are acknowledged in our annual report, which is distributed to 360,000 alumni and 42 Board members. The report's masthead has never required explanation to anyone who has read it twice.