Endowed Funds
The Board of Trustees has established minimum support levels to guarantee the income will be adequate to achieve the benefactor’s intent. Although gifts of any size may be added to an existing fund, the minimum thresholds listed are required to create and name a new fund.
For more information about giving to an existing endowment or creating an endowed fund, contact the Office of Gift Planning at legacy@beloit.edu or 1-800-331-4943.
Endowed Chairs/Professorships: $1.5 million
Quality faculty form the backbone of Beloit, and receiving a named endowed professorship is a mark of teaching excellence. A named endowment of $1.5 million or more will yield support for a professor’s salary and benefits, and provide additional funds for scholarship research and professional development. A full roster of prestigious endowed chairs will not only honor our most distinguished senior faculty, it will also enable the College to attract and retain the best young scholars and teachers in the future.
Named Scholarship Funds: $25,000
Endowed scholarship funds make it possible for Beloit to admit the most qualified applicants, regardless of their family’s ability to shoulder the full cost of a Beloit education. It takes gifts totaling $25,000 to create a named scholarship fund that will begin making grants to students.
Permanent Named Endowed Scholarship Fund: $50,000
When gifts totaling $50,000 have been given to a named scholarship fund, the fund will become a permanent part of the College’s endowment. While most named scholarships can be awarded to students in any major, donors may wish to state a preference that reflects their own interests and goals.
Endowed Program Funds: $25,000
$25,000 is required to establish a named endowed fund in support of an academic department or program such as a lecture series or student internships. Donors may also establish or add to named funds that support athletics, entrepreneurship, the museums, international education, and campus maintenance.
Endowed Library Funds: $5,000
A $5,000 gift is required to establish a named endowed library fund that will produce revenue to support the purchase of library materials of all kinds, including books and online journals and research tools. Donors may direct that the income be used to enhance the library’s collection in a particular discipline or to support general library initiatives.
About Endowed Funds
The College’s endowment includes more than 500 named endowed funds. Each fund was established in one of three ways: by a gift from a living donor, by a bequest in a donor’s will or trust, or by a resolution of the College’s Board of Trustees.
Endowed gifts are held by the College in perpetuity. The initial gift is invested in a diversified pool of securities to produce revenue to support important aspects of a Beloit education. Annually, a portion (about 5 percent) of the fund’s market value is awarded for the purposes designated by the benefactor. A benefactor who makes an endowment gift today can feel confident it will continue to support its intended purpose far into the future.
Who decides how endowment money is spent? In general, the donor decides by choosing from the following options:
- Direct gift to the general endowment – the Board of Trustees decides how income from this general pool will be spent.
- Add to an existing fund – these gifts are subject to the restrictions already established by the original donor.
- Create a new fund – by working with the College, the income designation is determined by what best fits program needs and the donor’s interests.