Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) emerged in the early 19th century as a response to racial segregation and exclusion that characterized American postsecondary education. Of the 105 HBCUs, 47 are closely affiliated with a Black Church whose fundraising capability exceeded that of the HBCU. A decline in federal and state support for HBCU education and a shortfall in alumni fundraising relative to predominantly White institutions placed financial stress on HBCUs, which can raise tuition and reduce access to educational programs. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify, explore, and document, through the lived experiences and perceptions of HBCU alumni donors, regarding the reasons for giving and perceived support for Black churches and colleges. Expectancy value theory provided the theoretical framework for examining HBCU philanthropy. A purposive sample of 10 HBCU graduates who donated at least $100 annually to their alma mater and churches were recruited and participated in semi-structured interviews. Findings indicated that participants donated 10 to 20 times as much to their church annually as their HBCU alma mater. While church contributions were influenced by spiritual commitment, institutional loyalty and a sense of belonging influenced contribution to an alma mater. The culture of giving was more endemic to church support in the Black community than educational support. The main recommendation made by participants was that HBCUs should emulate churches by exercising greater transparency and accountability. Findings could help HBCU leadership in higher learning institutions understand that Black people are philanthropic and that they only need to be led into the culture of giving for future donations to the institutions. Future research is needed to develop repeatable programs and practices to improve HBCU giving. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]