The University serves Virginia, the nation, and the world by preparing responsible citizen-leaders; advancing, preserving, and disseminating knowledge; and providing world-class patient care.
All gifts of any kind help secure the University’s place as a premier institution of learning and make it possible for our students, faculty, and researchers to shape a brighter.
You can give to all 12 schools across Grounds. The possibilities are endless for supporting our students, faculty, and programs. Together, we will find the way forward.
You can join the growing number of alumni and friends who invest now in the University’s future by including UVA as a beneficiary of their wills, charitable trusts, and retirement plans. Gifts like these can offer you and your family significant tax benefits as well as greater financial flexibility in meeting your personal and philanthropic goals.
Through Honor the Future, the Campaign for the University of Virginia, we are building on our strong foundations to support the president’s vision: to become the best public university by 2030 and one of the very best in the world.
OVERVIEW
Endowments produce a steady stream of funding for professorships to recruit and retain distinguished faculty; scholarships and fellowships to support deserving students; lectureships to bring distinguished speakers to Grounds; library acquisitions; and academic prizes to recognize outstanding students and faculty. The University’s unrestricted endowment generates vital funding for operations and enables the University to respond to important needs as they arise. Endowments must be funded at certain levels and may be designated for any school, department, or program at the University. They also may be named by the donor.
Endowed deanships enable the University to attract and recognize distinguished faculty who contribute to the academic rigor of the institution and help shape its future.
Endowed professorships provide permanent sources of support for faculty excellence. With their prestige and financial rewards, endowed chairs recognize scholars’ achievements and enhance their professional standing throughout the academic world.
Endowed scholarships help ensure that a UVA education is affordable for all undergraduate students regardless of their means. While financial aid from state and federal sources meets some of this need, donor-funded scholarships ensure that all qualified students have the opportunity to attend the University. Scholarships attract prospective students who in turn add significantly to the quality of life at the University.
Endowed fellowships enable the University to recruit outstanding graduate students, who are essential to the intellectual life of the institution. Graduate students pursue their own projects and assist faculty in their research and scholarship. They also play a critical role in undergraduate education, teaching basic and introductory courses and leading small discussion sections for large survey classes.
Faculty funds for excellence allow schools to nurture faculty research, support new initiatives, create new courses and more. An endowed, named research fund may support faculty engaged in humanities scholarship or in research needed for discoveries in the hard and social sciences, including medicine and engineering. This support is vital for professors to fulfill their roles as scholars, researchers, and teachers.
Endowed lectureships generate funds to bring distinguished speakers to the University’s Grounds, enriching academic discourse and exposing students, faculty, and the larger community to new perspectives.
Research funds support faculty engaged in humanities scholarship, or the research needed for new discoveries in science, medicine, or engineering.
Library funds help the University Library pursue pioneering initiatives in digital scholarship while continuing to purchase ever-more-expensive books and journals.
There are many opportunities to support the University’s various centers, institutes, departments, and programs. They may be named by a donor who contributes an endowment that generates at least half of the entity’s projected operating costs.
Memorial or commemorative endowed gift funds can be meaningful ways to honor friends, family members, or favorite professors.
Prizes and awards are tangible expressions of the University’s values that also recognize distinguished contributions by faculty, staff, and students.
At a minimum level of $100,000, a donor may designate an endowed gift to support the school, program, or initiative of his or her choice, to be used by the designee when and where needed.
Your endowed gift is a vital investment in UVA. Thanks to the expert management of UVIMCO, the University of Virginia’s strong endowment has been a critical asset in expanding UVA’s programs and launching new initiatives. An effective long-term investment strategy helps maintain the endowment’s value over time, and provides a steady and growing stream of income essential to funding teaching, scholarships, research, and world-class patient care.
Ruth Cunningham Cross was one of The Fralin Museum of Art’s most loyal and visionary supporters. A new endowment is ensuring that her legacy lives on.
John L. Nau III (Col ’68) has created an endowment to support democracy and the John L. Nau III Center for Civil War History.
