Have you ever wanted to support your favorite HBCU, but didn’t have the means or the wherewithal to do so? This “spare change” app will help you do just that!
AfroTech previously spoke with Dominique King — founder of the I Heart My HBCU app — who leveraged this technology to make donations to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) easy (they can be done in as little as 60 seconds) back in December of 2020.
“When creating this app, it was important for me to encourage HBCU Alumni to support all HBCUs. Users can easily adjust how much or how little of the spare change they share to their five favorite HBCUs,” she said in a statement about the I Heart My HBCU app. “I Heart My HBCU became the first platform where users could donate spare change to any of the 104 HBCUs in one place.”
King first launched her groundbreaking app in 2017 and became one of an elite cadre of Black female tech entrepreneurs in the space. A graduate of Howard University, King’s first goal was to preserve the legacy of these HBCUs, and to ensure that “every little bit counts.” Best of all, one doesn’t have to be an HBCU grad to support their favorite college or university: anyone who is down with the cause and looking to help can download it, round up their purchases to the nearest dollar, and their donations will go to the college or university of their choice.
Best of all, they’re also a non-profit corporation — meaning all of your donations to your favorite Black college or university are tax-deductible.
Recently, though, the app announced that it’s gearing up for a relaunch and a new two-year partnership with Xavier University of Louisiana (XULA).
“We are excited for the opportunity to partner with an institution with such a rich history and ties to the community,” King said. “Through our platform, we hope to create not only a donor marketplace but an online community for all Xavier University supporters.”
During the two-year partnership, Xavier and I Heart My HBCU jointly aim to have 10,000 people join the XULA donor community. For every new donor sign-up, I Heart My HBCU will donate an additional $1, up to $10,000.
What's A Spare Change App?
Spare change apps have been around for quite some time. They’re sometimes used for savings and investment — Bank of America was one of the first “big banks” to launch and use their version of the spare change app, in which users could toss their “spare change” into an interest-bearing savings account — but, in this case, they’re used for donations.
I Heart My HBCU
Using the I Heart My HBCU app is simple. Go to the Apple or the Android store, download the app, select your bank, select the five HBCUs that should receive your “round up” donations, and shop as usual.
