Endowments
Your gift to an endowment creates lasting impact — strengthening SDSU today while shaping opportunities for generations of Jackrabbits to come.
Invest In A Bold Future For SDSU
The impact of an endowment is truly transformative. Gifts of this nature make a difference for the yellow and blue community today, tomorrow, and generations into the future. With endowed support, SDSU strengthens its role as a premier institution and allows for constant progress in defining the Jackrabbit margin of excellence.
What Is An Endowment?
Endowments are long-term investments that provide perpetual support for students, faculty, and programs.
The earnings from these major gifts ensure a lasting impact on a program or area you’re passionate about for years to come. Endowments can support anything from individual positions, departments, or even an entire academic college.
Creating an Endowment
There are several options available to those interested in building their legacy through an endowment.
With a minimum investment of $50,000, you can fund an endowment as a one-time gift or establish it through installments paid over a five-year period. Endowments can be created now or structured as a deferred gift, depending on donor preference.
Many donors choose to fund an endowment in their family name or in honor of a person or organization that matters to them most. In doing so, you can preserve the memory of a loved one, uplift a cause you find meaningful, and make a significant difference for Jackrabbits at SDSU.
Ready to get started?
Contact our team to explore endowment options and build a legacy that lasts at SDSU.
Connect with usEndowments are a gift that truly last forever – and generosity doesn’t get more transformative than that.
The Greatest Gift
Through an endowed professorship, Gary and Sharon Van Riper are investing in a passion they value most.
Frequently Asked Questions
Most endowments live in perpetuity, but donors who establish a named endowment can specify its lifespan. Individual endowment funds with the SDSU Alumni & Foundation are pooled together for investment purposes, but each endowment retains its own identity and separate accounting.
Donors and their successors may receive an annual report of earnings and distributions. Earnings from the endowment pool are allocated to each fund based on a weighted average calculation. Amounts available for distribution are calculated annually using a spending formula consisting of a percentage of each fund’s average market value over a period of time.
There are several ways to fund an endowment:
- You may provide a one-time gift of at least $50,000 in cash or marketable assets such as securities or real estate.
- You can give using installments paid over a five-year period.
- Other funding methods could involve a deferred gift activated by your will, a trust, or another planned gift providing future support.
All endowments are governed by a memorandum of agreement clearly stating the donor’s intentions. The agreement also provides background information about the person being honored or memorialized as well as the reason for establishing the endowment.
Copies of the agreement are provided to the donor and all university offices that will play a role in using the endowment. You may establish new criteria or uses for the endowment at any time by adding an amendment to the original agreement.
We encourage donors to promote the establishment of new endowments, and the SDSU Alumni & Foundation will do so with the donor’s permission.
Endowments are frequently established in memory or honor of people who have made a difference in our lives. A public announcement of an endowment can serve as a way to honor a meaningful person, encourage additional gifts to the endowment, and inspire others to consider establishing an endowment.
That’s okay! If you’re not sure what do support at SDSU, we recommended creating an unrestricted endowment. This allows the university to act on new opportunities to make SDSU even better.
It also helps the university and the SDSU Alumni & Foundation plan for the future and demonstrates financial strength to other potential donors.
Yes! Contributions of any size can be added at any time to all endowments. Providing additional support to an existing endowment will help its market value, building larger distributions for programs and awards.
An investment committee comprised of members of the SDSU Alumni & Foundation's Board of Trustees with investment and financial experience is appointed by the Executive Committee. The Investment Committee works closely with a professional investment advisor to maintain a diversified asset allocation to maximize long-term total returns within an acceptable level of risk.
The advisor also helps select the actual investment managers utilized across the various asset classes. The Executive Committee approves a prudent spending policy, which considers many factors, including general economic conditions, the possible effect of inflation and deflation, and expected long-term total return and appreciation of investments.
Still have questions?
Our team is dedicated to supporting you through every step of the giving process. We’ll listen to your priorities, discuss your options, and work with you to determine the giving strategy that ensures maximum impact in the areas you care about.