Ways To Give | Endowed Funds
By establishing an endowed fund, you can make an impact that will last for generations. These funds can support students, faculty, programs or building maintenance in perpetuity or over an extended period of time, depending on your specifications.
Generally, three types of gifts are invested as endowed funds:
True endowed funds are created when a donor instructs KU Endowment to invest a gift to generate spendable resources in perpetuity to fulfill the donor’s intent. The gift is invested as part of a pool of similar funds, with the objective to generate as much spendable income as possible for the university’s benefit, now and in the future.
Term endowed funds exist for a defined period of time (a minimum of five years). During that time, the gift amount and all earnings are expended as the donor specified so that no funds remain at the end of the term.
Quasi-endowed funds may be created when a gift is sufficiently large to have a multi-year impact but the donor does not specify whether it should be expended or be held in perpetuity. A quasi-endowed fund is invested as if it were subject to the terms of a true endowed fund. However, the school or program benefiting from this fund ultimately may choose to spend all or part of the gift amount for the purpose designated by the donor.
When you endow a fund, you may choose its name. You may name it after yourself, or you may take the opportunity to honor and pay tribute to mentors or loved ones.
For certain purposes, such as providing unrestricted resources for an academic unit or for a student award, you may establish an endowed fund with a minimum $10,000 gift. For endowed scholarships, the minimum gift is $30,000. The amount varies for endowed professorships or other programs.
You may establish an endowed fund in several ways:
- Donating cash;
- Donating securities;
- Creating a planned gift such as an annuity, charitable remainder trust or by making a bequest in your will;
- A combination of these options.
We would be happy to answer your questions about establishing an endowed fund. Please contact the development staff member in your area of interest, or email us with your questions.