Endowments 101
Funding an endowment is one of the most far-reaching acts of philanthropy because an endowed fund provides support in perpetuity. An endowment is a permanent tribute to the person whose name it bears, and a sound investment in the future.
Moreover, by selecting the title of your endowment, you can forever link your name, or that of a family member, friend, respected professor, or organization, to scholarly excellence.
Creating an endowment requires a minimum gift of $25,000.The donated funds are managed by The University of Texas at Austin Investment Management Company (UTIMCO). Your gift is invested — never spent — and each year a distribution, is made to your chosen program or area. Investment earnings above the distribution help the endowment value grow over time, to keep pace with inflation and maintain your endowment’s spending power.
Endowments can be created through a one-time gift or may be paid over a multi-year window. You may take up to five years to fund an endowment, and once it is officially established, you or anyone else may add to its principal at any time. Endowments are uniquely well-suited and gratifying funds for university families. Often established by parents or grandparents, they can be added to in future years by children or other family members.
The university’s minimum endowment amounts are set by the Board of Regents. The department seeks larger minimum endowments for some categories because the capital costs associated with recruiting faculty members and outfitting engineering laboratories is typically higher than those of other schools and colleges. There are many endowment opportunities and funding levels available. Choosing what your endowed gift will support is simply a matter of selecting a giving opportunity that matches your interests. From professorships to book funds, from undergraduate scholarships and graduate fellowships to dean’s excellence funds, your legacy can take almost any form.
| Endowment Options | Minimum Levels |
| Faculty | |
| Endowed Leadership Chair | $3 Million |
| Endowed Faculty Chair | $2 Million |
| Endowed Professorship | $750,000 |
| Endowed Faculty Early Career Award | $500,000 |
| Students – Graduate Fellowships | |
| Dean’s Graduate Fellow | $750,000 |
| Foundation Graduate Fellow | $250,000 |
| Endowed Presidential Graduate Fellow | $100,000 |
| Undergraduate Scholarships | |
| Texas Exes 40 Acres Endowed Scholarship | $500,000 |
| Endowed Presidential Scholarship (EPS) | $250,000 or more |
| Endowed Undergraduate Scholarship | $50,000 or more |
| Programs and Research | |
| Endowed Excellence Fund | $100,000 or more |
| Friends of Alec Excellence Endowment | $25,000 |
| Friends of Alec Legacy Endowment | $10,000 |