Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade, and Carmelo Anthony have teamed up to award several HBCU students with scholarships.
The trio is behind the Social Change United Fund, which was created in response to racial injustice, pooling their collective resources to support communities of color, its website mentions. It aims to create equity in entrepreneurship, leadership, and innovation.
“It started back in, I want to say, 2020,” Anthony told Fast Company. “It was a real moment. We were watching a moment in society and our community, and our country, and it’s right in front of our faces, and the world was watching. It was a moment where I had to figure out, ‘Da-n, what do I want to do?’ And I think everyone was asking that same question. We just talked, came together, and we founded the Social Change Fund United.”
He continued, “What we did was create a really clear vision on what we wanted to do on strategy, how do we advance equity, how do we advance social justice, criminal justice reform, strategic partnerships. We became very intentional in our outreach, our partnerships, and just the messages that are out there. It took something tragic to happen for us—me, Dwayne, CP—to really have a vision on what we wanted to do.”
The Social Change United Fund has taken action over the years providing community partners with nearly $1 million in grant funding, and reaching 132,000 people through strategic initiatives and outreach. Its most recent course of action is awarding $40,000 in scholarships that will be distributed to eight undergraduate or graduate business students attending a Historically Black College or University. Each will receive $5,000.
To apply for the 2025 scholarships, students had to share their plans on how their business will uplift underrepresented communities and provide economic empowerment for the long-haul as well as how their career goals are tied to social justice and equity. Applications closed on June 1, and recipients will be announced one month later on July 1.
“HBCU business students, the future is yours—let’s fund it,” a caption on the Social Change United Fund Instagram read.