The news was initially announced at the ESSENCE Festival of Culture this past Saturday. The initiative is geared toward providing opportunities for diverse populations to grow into “storytellers and innovators in media and entertainment,” according to a news release.

Specifically, the Disney Storytellers Fund will provide stipends for students working on projects geared toward storytelling across different mediums.

These stipends will be issued over five years. Some pertinent disciplines include animation, digital design, gaming, journalism, live-action, performing arts, product design, visual design and virtual reality.

On top of the financing, Disney will also connect program participants to speakers, mentors and internship opportunities to “spark interest in these fields and help them build the skills necessary for a future career in entertainment.”

Disney will also fund creative, collaborative space within the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts and the Cathy Hughes School of Communication at Howard University.

We are pleased to announce the creation of the Disney Storytellers Fund in partnership with Disney. The fund will support multimedia storytelling projects created by students. Read the full story on The Dig.👇 https://t.co/jWFA3N6ZAI pic.twitter.com/I63NzsZY62

— Howard University (@HowardU) July 5, 2022

“Across Disney’s brands, we are working to amplify underrepresented voices and untold stories,” Jennifer Cohen, Disney’s executive vice president of Corporate Social Responsibility, noted in the statement.

“The Disney Storytellers Fund at Howard will help us support students and the innovation and creativity that the university has cultivated for more than 150 years. We are excited to help the next generation of Black storytellers bring their ideas to life,” she added.

Phylicia Rashad, dean of the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts, also spoke on the initiative within the same news release.

“Our students at the College of Fine Arts find their creative expression in many ways — in the performing arts, in animation, in the design of the products that we use in life. The Disney Storytellers Fund is a great support for our emerging artists as they explore and develop their potential within and across disciplines,” Rashad said.

All in all, this partnership with Howard University is Disney’s latest effort in “helping today’s youth to pursue their dreams, build their talents and skills, and become who they imagine they can be,” and it’s sure to help give Black creatives at the Washington, D.C., HBCU a helpful platform.