What is an endowed gift?
An endowed gift is a gift that the University of Miami holds in perpetuity. The gift is invested, and only a portion of its average annual investment return is used for purposes specified by the donor. To guard against the eroding consequences of inflation, the remaining investment return is added to the principal. The goal is to ensure that the principal maintains its value over time. Thus, a donor who creates an endowed gift today can be confident that it will grow and continue to support UM in the years to come.
Other donors choose to direct their gifts to programs of special concern to them, knowing that these additional funds provide an opportunity for those programs to grow and excel. Some donors choose to endow a professorship in the academic discipline that inspired them as students. Many donors create undergraduate scholarships or graduate fellowships to aid deserving students. Others choose to support health care research, in areas of particular importance to them.
Types of Endowments:
• Faculty Chairs- Endowed Professorships:
An endowed faculty chair provides the resources to fund a distinguished faculty member’s work, reward academic achievement, and enable the professor to pursue new areas of research or innovative teaching methods. Endowed chairs are often the reason UM is able to attract and retain the finest scholars. Being appointed to an endowed chair is one of the highest honors a scholar may achieve.
A gift to an endowed chair links a donor’s name in perpetuity to the accomplishments of the succession of scholars whose work the gift will ultimately support.
• Faculty Research Funds:
Endowed research funds are essential to the fulfillment of the School of Nursing and Health Studies’ academic mission. The School is committed to the support of innovative research that will affect the broader community. Income from endowed gifts supports the work of many of the University’s most distinguished senior scholars and scientists, as well as outstanding junior faculty members.
• Undergraduate Scholarships:
Scholarships allow the School of Nursing and Health Studies to meet one of its highest obligations: to attract and provide educational opportunities for its students. Endowed scholarships are an ongoing reminder of the important role generous donors play in the lives of successive generations of UM students. Talented and deserving students, who otherwise might not be able to attend the University of Miami, often find that a scholarship can make all the difference.
• Endowed Lecture Series:
An endowed lecture series enables the School to bring distinguished speakers to campus, giving students and faculty the opportunity to interact with important leaders, scholars, and professionals in various fields. Guest lecturers not only bring a new dimension to the academic environment, but also frequently provide stimulus for innovations in research and education.
