Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have a history of "doing more with less" and this is often reflected in their effectiveness in securing financial resources from private donors. The purpose of this study is to probe and explore how the Kresge Foundation's HBCU Initiative strengthened HBCU fundraising capacity from private sources--especially alumni. This study examines the full scope of the Initiative from conceptual development to conclusion, thereby shedding light on how the Kresge Foundation, as a strategic grant maker, designed and facilitated a program resulting in sustainable change for final grantees. While the Kresge Foundation produced a publication focusing on the experiences of the five full grantees at the conclusion of the Initiative in 2005, my proposed study takes a comprehensive approach to examining this Initiative and its legacy related to HBCU fundraising by focusing on the perspective, experiences and activities of not only grantees, but also that of the Kresge Foundation and other Initiative stakeholders. There have been few cases where grant makers have focused on designing and implementing strategic initiatives to strengthen HBCU organizational capacity to fundraise from specific constituent groups (Gasman & Bowman III, 2011). In addition to supporting the interests of HBCUs working to increase their effectiveness in fundraising from alumni, my study serves as a resource for funders seeking to build capacity and foster sustainable change for colleges and universities (including HBCUs) that have historically struggled with raising funds from alumni. [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.]