$100 million commitment to historically Black colleges & universities announced by real estate entrepreneur Tawan Davis

Tawan Davis’s Steinbridge Group announced a $100 million, privately funded commitment to the nation’s Historically Black Colleges, Universities, and other institutions. Announced on the main stage during the First Annual ForbesBLK Summit, Steinbridge Group, a rapidly growing impact investment firm, committed $100 million to real estate partnerships aimed at transforming the underutilized assets owned by the nation’s black colleges and other institutions to catalyze the properties to economically impactful uses.

Steinbridge Group aims to partner with higher education and other institutions in search of a roadmap to generate value from their underutilized real estate. Many HBCUs and other institutions own significant amounts of land, but often lack the capital to activate it for productive use.

The Steinbridge commitment envisions these institutions retaining meaningful ownership of developments, while generating revenue, and bolstering long-term financial gain, all while remaining consistent with their missions and values. Steinbridge is finalizing initial catalyst developments and plans to commit at least $100 million into those developments over the next year.

“This $100 million commitment expands our strategy to meet the housing and other real estate needs of people in rapidly changing communities across the country, while contributing to capital and investment goals of HBCUs and other organizations,” said Tawan Davis, Founder and CEO of the Steinbridge Group. “I look forward to partnering with Historically Black Colleges, Universities, and other institutions.”

Funding for HBCUs has been shown to be 30% lower than their counterparts, with endowments of a mere 1/10 the size of other institutions. By partnering with Steinbridge, HBCUs and other institutions will unlock latent value in a way that supports their vitality over time.

Another goal is to ensure that HBCU graduates and staff have the opportunity to take advantage of homes delivered through the partnerships. As part of the initiative, Steinbridge plans to collaborate with partner HBCUs to make it possible for graduates to become homeowners, building wealth in communities that are at risk of displacement due to the impacts of gentrification in transitioning neighborhoods.

By educating the largest number of the nation’s Black scientists, engineers, professionals, entrepreneurs, leaders and culture-shifters, historically black colleges and universities help to anchor America and incubate its future. For generations, these institutions have spurred economic mobility for African-Americans, their neighborhoods, and the communities where their graduates live and lead.

Housing attainability remains a major problem for American families. Half of American renters are housing burdened – paying more than 30% of their income in rent. At the same time, increasing property values and a 40% increase in mortgage costs delay the dream of homeownership. The Steinbridge Group is working to address this problem by advancing a strategy to acquire, renovate and develop homes to lease and sell to working families in major cities throughout the United States.

The Steinbridge Group is an impact investment company with an initial focus on impact through real estate. The company is currently advancing a strategy to acquire, renovate and develop homes to lease and sell to working families in major cities throughout the United States. Steinbridge recently launched an initial $50 million general partnership with FrontRange Capital Partners to identify and initiate developments that improve housing options throughout the United States. In June, Steinbridge Group launched an innovative program with PNC Bank aimed at expanding homeownership and ensuring that families have the tools and support to find and buy quality homes.

The Steinbridge team includes leading professionals with global experiences across real estate and finance with billions of dollars of investing, acquisitions, asset management, construction, development, and leasing experience.

Tawan Davis is a Founding Partner and CEO of the Steinbridge Group. He is also recognized as one of America’s emerging business, economic, and social leaders.

Davis’ leadership combines deep training and experience in finance and economics with a prolific social activism. He began his career as an investment banker with Goldman Sachs and was later a real estate private equity investor with Prudential Financial, leading and managing investments both in Europe and the United States. Davis later served as Vice President and Head of Public-Private Partnerships in the administration of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and as CIO of a $5 billion national real estate development firm.

In addition to leading Steinbridge, Davis is also an Adjunct Professor of Real Estate at New York University (NYU), and serves on the boards of Harlem Hospital, the New York Urban League and the New Horizons Children’s Advocacy Group.

Tawan Davis earned his Bachelors degree with honors from Georgetown University, a Masters of Sciences degree from England’s Oxford University and a Masters of Business Administration degree from Harvard University.