An endowment is an opportunity for a lifetime.
For a student, it can be the opportunity to get a college education, to
return to college after raising a family, to retrain for a second
career, or to study abroad.
For faculty it can mean the resources that enable them to reach out to
their students or expand their research in ways that might not have
been possible before.
For alumni and friends, it is the opportunity to perpetuate the memory
of a loved one, to enhance a program that contributed to one's own
career, or to improve the quality of life in our world.
For the University, it is the opportunity to do whatever it will take
to prepare students for the next era. It will help UNCG look to the
future with the assurance that we are protected, at least to some
degree, from the uncertainties that lie ahead.
When you make a gift to establish an endowed fund, the gift principal is preserved in perpetuity. The University invests the principal to generate a permanent stream of income for scholarships, academic programs, or whatever other purpose you specify when you make your gift. Only a portion of the investment return each year -- 4.25 percent under current University expenditure policies -- is spent. Any additional return is reinvested to prevent the endowment's erosion by inflation. The University's goal is to enhance the real purchasing power of its endowment while providing a predictable stream of earnings to meet current needs.
Thanks to private gifts and investment returns, UNCG's combined endowments have grown from $10.3 million in 1985 to over $117 million today. The donor who makes an endowment gift today can do so with the confidence that it will continue to grow and support its intended purpose for as long as the University exists. Over time, the accumulated benefit of the endowment will far exceed the value of the gift that originally created it.
You do. You might, for example, establish a scholarship for undergraduate students, a fellowship for graduate students, a professorship to assist UNCG in recruiting and retaining the best faculty, or a fund to support the academic program or your choice. We would be happy to meet with you to discuss the range of possibilities for your gift, and in fact we encourage you to call us in advance of making your gift so that we can be sure we can honor your wishes.
>> More On Scholarships
>> More On Fellowships
>> More on Professorships & Faculty Support
An endowment will generate income in perpetuity for purposes specified by the donor. "In perpetuity" is a long time, however, and donors often wonder how they can be certain that their wishes will always be honored.
The answer has two parts. First, we confirm our understanding of your intentions in writing when you make your gift in a "statement of establishment."
Second, the University will give you an annual report on your fund's account balance and the use to which its income has been put. (For a scholarship, for example, would send you the names of the students who have benefited from your philanthropy and, if you would like, try to arrange a meeting with your recipients.) At the end of your life we will continue to send reports to others whom you have designated.
The process is almost the same if you want to make a gift though your will or another deferred gift instrument such as a charitable trust. In consultation with you we will draft a "statement of intention," an agreement documenting your intentions to make a gift in the future and the University's promise to honor your wishes when your gift is eventually received. We urge you to contact us if you are contemplating such a gesture to help ensure that we can honor your wishes.
>> More on Planned Giving
An endowment immortalizes the memory of the person for whom it is named, and it is your privilege as the donor to name it. Many people establish endowments in their own names; others perpetuate the memory of family members, friends or colleagues.
Minimum Endowment Levels for Student Support
Minimum Endowment Levels for Faculty Support
Not necessarily. There are several ways to fund an endowment:
1) Establishing a permanent endowment through a single, lump sum payment, in which case income for the purpose of the endowment will be available after the endowment has been invested for a period of time. You can also make an additional, current gift to be used immediately for the purpose of your endowment, knowing that after a year it will become self-supporting.
2) Creating a term endowment, meaning that you will be funding your endowment over a term of up to five years. Many donors choose to make supplementary current gifts during this period of time to accomplish what the endowment itself will when fully funded at the end of the term.
Please contact the UNCG Development Office at 1-888-641-8276 (toll free), 336-334-5677, or weston_hatfield@uncg.edu
