“First Ladies of Faith” Mobilize to Increase Church Giving to UNCF Metro Washington Area

WASHINGTON - July 13, 2015 - PRLog -- Evangelist Cheryl Jackson, one of the most recognizable voices on the radio in the Washington, D.C. area as a popular host on Radio One's Praise 104.1, and Lady Cheryl Robinson, Executive Pastor of the Master’s Child Church have joined forces to lead a new group of church first ladies in supporting the UNCF Metro Washington Faith Initiative. The group is called the “First Ladies of Faith” (FLF) and is comprised of pastors’ wives of local churches who are current UNCF donors as well as churches who are planning to become UNCF donors.
“We are excited about helping the UNCF Washington office expand its base of church donors and encouraging churches to host UNCF Sundays to increase the support the organization raises to support scholarships and programs that encourage our students to aspire to academic and career success” said Evangelist Jackson. “I consider it a blessing to be able to use my access in the community to increase awareness of UNCF and the outstanding work they are doing to help minority students get to and through college.”

The FLF will assist the Washington UNCF office in expanding its outreach to local churches to better educate the faith community about how UNCF can help students and families pay for college and to broaden awareness of UNCF core vision and mission across denominations. The purpose of the UNCF Metro Washington Faith Initiative is to secure unrestricted financial support to help strengthen UNCF member colleges and universities, strengthen student support and development by providing scholarships, fellowships and internships.

“Most of our churches have an education mission to assist parents and students and to serve as a resource for in helping them to prepare for college, and working with UNCF is a natural extension of that work” said Lady Robinson.  “We are proud to be associated with UNCF and are committed to helping them mobilize more churches to support the Faith Initiative.”

From the beginning, UNCF-member institutions and churches have enjoyed a close relationship. Churches and their congregations continue to be a part of the UNCF family and help to promote the UNCF mission and brand through church-based educational programs.  “We are honored and humbled that these distinguished leaders in the community are taking an active role in our Faith Initiative and we excited about the new energy they will bring to our annual fundraising campaign” said Meta Williams, UNCF Regional Development Director. “We are hoping that they can help us to recapture churches who formerly supported UNCF and whose contribution has lapsed as well as new churches who support our mission of getting more minority students to and through college.”

The UNCF Washington office has ranked among the top 5 UNCF offices in total church contributions in recent years. UNCF partners with local churches to deliver on UNCF’s motto:  “A mind is a terrible thing to waste, but a wonderful thing to invest in” and to build greater awareness about the work of UNCF.  UNCF is the nation's largest and most effective minority education organization and the largest provider of minority scholarship assistance outside of the federal government.

During 2015, the top donors to the Metro Washington Faith Initiative included:

Alfred Street Baptist Church, Alexandria, VA - $25,000

Mount Zion Baptist Church, Arlington, VA - $20,000

Antioch Baptist Church, Fairfax Station, VA - $10,000

Zion Baptist Church, Washington, DC - $10,000

Mount Ennon Baptist Church - $7,000

First Baptist Church of Highland Park - $5,000

The FLF will help UNCF raise the resources that students need to pay the costs of going to college and that UNCF HBCUs need to give young men and women the education they need and deserve. Sixty percent of the students that UNCF supports come from families with incomes under $30,000 and 92 percent of UNCF students need financial aid.  For information on how to become involved with the FLF, please contact Jennifer Coke at 202 810 0333 or Jennifer.coke@uncf.org.

About UNCF Washington
UNCF (United Negro College Fund) is the nation's largest and most effective minority education organization. The UNCF Washington Area Office manages an Annual Campaign that raises funds to provide critical unrestricted dollars needed for operational support for37 of the private historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and to provide scholarships to minority students attending HBCUs with some scholarships available to students attending non-HBCUs. UNCF administers more than 400 programs, including scholarships, internship and fellowship, mentoring, summer enrichment and curriculum and faculty development programs. Today, UNCF supports more than 60,000 students at over 900 colleges and universities.