Endowment Giving

An endowed fund is a permanently invested fund, where the earned income will support a general or specific purpose. The principal gift is never touched, but continues to generate income in perpetuity. Endowed fund purposes include scholarships, professorships, research, and programs.

As of June 30, 2018, Jefferson’s endowment was comprised of more than 1,056 individual funds totaling approximately $933 million.    

In fiscal year 2018, endowment payout covered approximately 2 percent of Jefferson’s operating budget. Without this stable source of annual income, Jefferson would need to make up the difference by cutting expenses, raising tuition, or both. The more the endowment grows, the less Jefferson must rely on other sources of revenue.

Establishing an endowment can be done in various ways, from outright gifts to future gifts, such as charitable trusts and will bequests. Donors often fund endowments as a single gift or spread the payments over several years in the form of a pledge. Endowed funds can become family traditions, with succeeding generations adding gifts to the principal established by a founding donor.

Jefferson has set minimum gift levels for different types of endowed funds to ensure that sufficient income is available annually to support their designated purpose. For information about current levels, contact Stephen Smith at stephen.smith@jefferson.edu.

Yes, you can make a gift of any size to an existing endowment fund. An endowment may already exist that reflects your area of interest to which you can contribute. Also, many donors who have established endowment funds in the past continue making gifts to them over time. The larger the fund, the more it can do each year.

We invite you to learn about the many ways a gift today can have significant impact on the lives of students, patients, and their families now and for generations to come. Please contact Stephen Smith at stephen.smith@jefferson.edu for more information.