Mission & History

Student Freedom Initiative^® (“SFI”) was founded in 2020 following Robert F. Smith, Philanthropist and Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Vista Equity Partners gift to the graduation class at Morehouse College in 2019.  While Robert’s initial gift was to the 400 men at this Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in Atlanta, GA, his goal was to provide a scalable solution to the $1.7 trillion student loan debt crisis, 43 million of whom have an average student loan debt balance of $38,000.  

With HBCUs comprising 3% of the colleges and graduating 13% of all Black students, 100% of Black VPOTUS, 85% of Black Doctors, 80% of Black federal judges, 75% of Black Veterinarians, 75% of Black Military officers, 75% of Black PhDs, 50% of Black engineers, 50% of Black pharmacists, 50% of Black attorneys, 46% of Black business executives, and 40% of Black dentists, Robert initiated SFI at nine (9) HBCUs but always intended to expand to Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), Asian American Native America and Pacific Serving Islander Institutions (AANAPISI), and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs). As of December 2023 SFI reaches ~200,000 students at 62  Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) in 22 states, District of Columbia, and US Virgin Islands.

A single purpose nonprofit organization, SFI was created to provide freedom in professional and life choices for students attending Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) by increasing their social and economic mobility using a student centric, evidence based, holistic, and collaborative approach.