$150 million latest donation from the Moody family is the largest single gift ever given to a HBCU university
The Moody Foundation’s newest $150 million gift to Huston-Tillotson University is already being hailed as one of the most consequential acts of education philanthropy in Texas—and in the U.S.—this year.
It comes with purpose, history, urgency, and a sense that for the Moody family, this is a defining moment.
The donation was unveiled September 18, 2025, at Huston-Tillotson’s annual fall convocation in Austin, timed to mark the university’s sesquicentennial (its 150th anniversary).
According to both the university and multiple news outlets, it is the most significant single gift ever given to a Historically Black College or University (HBCU).
Dr. Melva K. Wallace, Huston-Tillotson’s president and CEO, said that the gift will “completely transform Huston-Tillotson, as well as the city of Austin, and set us up for success for another 150 years.”
Among the immediate priorities are new student housing (up to 800 beds for undergraduate and graduate students), upgraded academic spaces, improvements to aging infrastructure, enhanced scholarship support, and professional support in strategy, marketing, culture, and development infrastructure so the university can elevate its profile and expand its reach.
Huston-Tillotson has around 1,000 students now but only two residence halls. Many students have been forced to live off campus or even at nearby institutions because of housing scarcity—a barrier the University says it loses students over.
Under this gift, the university aims to increase enrollment to about 1,700 by 2034.
While this gift is unprecedented in scale, it builds on a long, though much smaller, history of giving from the Moody Foundation to Huston-Tillotson. Since 1968, the Foundation has provided the university with approximately $1.3 million in various grants.
This new commitment is a dramatic leap in investment and signals that the Foundation sees Huston-Tillotson not just as an institution in need but as a catalyst for educational equity, civic influence, and social mobility.
The Moody Foundation has made clear that this gift is part of a broader, long-term strategy: it has pledged $1 billion toward transforming education in Texas by 2035, with special emphasis on early learning and post-secondary success.
Trustees of the Foundation—Francis “Francie” Moody-Dahlberg (president & CEO), Ross Moody, and Elizabeth “Elle” Moody (senior vice president & trustee)—led the decision.
Elle Moody has been particularly vocal about wanting the gift to do more than fund buildings: she emphasizes that its impact must be measured by how many students succeed, how many can graduate debt-free, how many stay in Texas, and how many are prepared to lead.
Ross Moody, in his remarks, said that when he had conversations with the university’s leadership about its vision, needs, and the obstacles it faced, the trustees of the Moody Foundation felt “called to do something extraordinary for this extraordinary school.”
The context in which this gift arrives sharpens its significance. Austin is growing fast, housing affordability is under strain, and many students, especially those from low-income backgrounds, find tuition, housing, and related living costs to be a barrier.
Huston-Tillotson’s recent rankings reflect that it is among the top U.S. colleges for social mobility—i.e., helping students from underserved communities achieve strong outcomes.
The gift is expected to help the university more fully meet its master plan and strategic objectives, accelerate expansion, and enhance its campus’s livability and competitiveness.
In short, this is not only a record-setting donation by dollar amount; it is also a signal of how the Moody family is orienting its philanthropy toward systemic change.
Their giving is increasingly less about isolated projects and more about transforming institutions, altering opportunity structures, and investing in equity at scale.
With this latest gift, they are helping Huston-Tillotson move from being a small, often under-resourced institution to one that can compete, grow, and serve far more students without compromising the core mission of access, values, and leadership.