What is an endowment?
An endowment is an invested pool of money that provides a reliable source of income in perpetuity. With appropriate investment and spending policies, the endowment’s purchasing power is preserved. An endowment that funds a scholarship or a program today will produce income to fund the same scholarship or program 20 years from now and beyond.

Why should I create an endowment?
An endowment gift can provide assurance that programs or initiatives that are important to you will survive. By creating or adding to an endowment for a designated purpose, you enable and obligate the university to carry out your expressed wishes, so long as it is practical and possible to do so. A restricted endowment ensures support for your priorities. Because an endowment gift is permanently invested, it can also serve as an enduring tribute to a loved one.

What size gift is required to establish an endowment?
The current minimum endowment level for a named scholarship is $50,000. A named endowed professorship requires a minimum gift of $250,000.

What giving options are there for making an endowment gift?
You can give at the endowment level with a one-time gift or with a five-year commitment. Many donors make larger endowment gifts, often through planned giving vehicles, than they dreamed were possible. Endowment gifts are sometimes the donor’s last (and largest) gift to the university. Donors can receive great satisfaction from making a significant contribution from assets accumulated over their lifetimes. In the case of deferred planned gifts, the gifts may be the donors’ final acts of contributing to the university.

How much support does an endowment provide each year?
The amount of investment return available for spending during a fiscal year is determined using a 5.0 percent 12 quarter moving market value average calculated on December 31 of the previous year. There are many factors that impact when and how much an endowment will allocate. A general rule of thumb is a fully funded $50,000 scholarship endowment will allocate $2,500 after being invested for three full years.

Can I add to an existing endowment?
Yes. You, or your friends and family, can add to a named fund by simply identifying the fund as the object of the gift. It makes a handy vehicle for friends and family members who wish to make meaningful gifts to people who already have enough “stuff.”

• $2,000,000 Endowed Academic Chair provides $100,000 annually

• $250,000 Endowed Professorship provides $12,500 annually  

• $100,000 Endowed Visiting Professorship provides $5,000 annually

• $50,000 Graduate & Undergraduate Endowed Research Fellowship provides $2,500 annually  

• $50,000 minimum Endowed Scholarship provides $2,500 annually

• $25,000 Endowed Program Fund provides $1,250 annually

• $25,000  Endowed Visiting Lecturer provides $1,250 annually

Example: A program endowment gift of $100,000 would create revenue of $5,000 per year for the program or department of your choice.