Student Freedom Initiative Closing the Wealth Gap.One Scholar at a Time. Your browser doesn’t support HTML5 video. SEE HOW STUDENT FREEDOM INITIATIVE WORKS ✕ Check out the HBCU Shift report Download the report by Student Freedom Initiative and EAB and the Center for the Study of HBCUs at Virginia Union University Help Us Support our mission Student Freedom Initiative is expanding opportunity for students by increasing access to affordable education and empowering Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs). Our mission is to address the wealth gap through the lens of education. How Can We Help? Student Freedom Loan The Student Freedom Loan is the alternative to Parent PLUS. Where Parent PLUS shifts the cost of a degree onto families who often can least afford it, the Student Freedom Loan holds the debt with the student and structures repayment around post-graduation earnings. It’s the mechanism by which SFI turns education into a wealth-building asset rather than a generational liability. Apply Now Internships & Certifications InternXL is uniquely positioned to bring precision, diversity, inclusion, and efficiency to the internship matching process. Check Eligibility Student Programs We offer a wide range of programs to help students persist in school including our emergency grant program and our investment program – with many more on the way. View All Programs Each of us will be measured by how much we contribute to the success of the people around us. Robert F. Smith Unlocking the Potential of the SFI Ecosystem We are partnering with the best HBCUs in the country to make college more attainable, strengthen their cybersecurity, expand access to broadband, implement green energy at their campus, and make their institution more competitive and more resilient. See all Partner Schools Leaders of Today Helping Leaders of Tomorrow Student Freedom Initiative was founded by Robert F Smith, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners and Philanthropist. Robert enlisted Henry Louis Gates, Director of The Hutchins Center for African and African American Research, Michael Lomax, President & CEO of The United Negro College Fund, Lawrence P. Bancroft, President and CEO of Bivium Capital, and a selected team of professionals and community leaders who are dedicated to using the lens of education to eliminate the structural and societal barriers that create the wealth gap in the United States. meet the team