The National Trust for Historic Preservation, National Endowment for the Humanities, Ford Foundation, The JPB Foundation, J.M. Kaplan Fund, and The Executive Leadership Council are collaborating on a $1 million pilot project that aims to develop conservation and preservation plans for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

The so-called HBCU Cultural Heritage Stewardship Initiative is an outgrowth of the National Trust's African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, a $25 million initiative billed as "the largest preservation campaign ever undertaken on behalf of African American history." 

A statement published by the National Trust explains, "The historic buildings and landscapes on HBCU campuses—many of which were built and designed by African American architects, planners, and students—hold a diverse and empowering collection of stories and artifacts that help tell the full American story and reflect the important legacy of the Black educational experience and communities that surround and support these institutions."

The initiative aims to develop conservation plans for for HBCUs, work with HBCU leadership to promote building and campus stewardship plans, and will help promote the historic and architectural legacies of these campuses to the wider public. 

105 HBCUs are currently in existence around the country, according to the National Trust. HBCUs across the American South were listed among the National Trust's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places in 1998 with many facing "ongoing threats of demolition, deferred maintenance, and insufficient funding."