Endowments
Endowments are essential to the vitality and financial security of the university. These funds remain intact in perpetuity while earnings support students, faculty, and/or programs, as designated by the donors.
Create an Impact That Lasts
By establishing an endowment, you can turn what matters most to you today into opportunities for future Volunteers.
A Gift Today. An Impact for Generations.
Endowments are one of the most powerful ways to create lasting change at UT. Unlike a gift that is intended to be spent immediately, an endowed fund is invested for the long term. Annual distributions from the fund provide a dependable source of support for the purpose established by the donor.
That means one act of generosity can continue opening doors for students, advancing research, strengthening academic programs, and supporting outstanding faculty year after year.
To learn more about creating a lasting legacy through an endowment, contact utkadvancement@utk.edu.
Fiscal Year 2025
The total endowment for the UT system
Individual endowment
accounts for the university
Donors to endowments
New Endowments
A Legacy That Opens Doors
Established by the late Ken (’70, ’73) and Blaire (’71) Mossman, the Mossman Scholars Endowment helps as many as 10 students each year travel internationally for language study with $3,000 for travel, tuition, books, and other related educational expenses. The Mossmans deeply valued curiosity and discovery, and the scholarship established through their estate gift provides priceless experiential learning opportunities—like senior Johnson Zhang’s study abroad program.
Endowment FAQs
Perhaps the most rewarding aspect of establishing an endowment is that it allows you to directly accomplish your philanthropic goals while helping the university fund its initiatives and priorities.
The reasons for creating a named endowment are varied: the satisfaction of supporting academic excellence; the gratification of furthering important research; the pleasure of honoring a spouse, family member, or colleague in a way that is meaningful to him or her; the comfort of memorializing a loved one with a living legacy.
Additionally, creating an endowment may result in tax savings and other financial benefits that may enable you to give more than you might have thought possible.
If a donor wishes to make a cash and estate gift towards a faculty endowment, then the award title will be the cash amount and once the bequest is realized, the award will change to the increased endowment value.
Student Scholarships
- Undergraduate Scholarship: $25,000
- Graduate Fellowship: $250,000
The minimum gift level required to establish endowments are:
Faculty Support
- Faculty Awards: $100,000–$499,999
- Professorships: $500,000–$999,999
- Distinguished Professorships: $1,000,000–$1,999,999
- Faculty Chairs: $2,000,000+
- Dean’s Chairs: $3,000,000+
A minimum amount of $25,000 is required to establish an endowment; however, this can be pledged over a number of years. The gift for endowment purposes may take any of several forms. It can be an outright gift of cash; appreciated properties such as securities, real estate, and tangible and intangible personal property (art, books, copyrights, oil and gas interests, etc.) acceptable to the university. Endowments can also be created through a gift by will, a charitable trust or other life income plan, retirement plan assets, or an insurance policy. To learn more about planned gifts visit giftplanning.utk.edu.
You can also add to your endowment, beyond the initial funding level, through lifetime gifts, bequests, and beneficiary designations from life insurance or retirement plans. Many businesses and corporations have matching gift programs through which they match—and may double, triple, or increase by even more—donations made by employees. Participation in such a program enables your endowment to reach higher levels faster. UT Advancement staff are available to assist you in selecting a gift arrangement to best meet your financial and charitable goals.
Endowments allow the university to create and maintain excellence in academics beyond what can be accomplished with funding from the state. Endowments provide the funds for scholarships, fellowships, professorships, academic chairs, libraries, and programs that serve as crucial elements in student and faculty recruitment and retention.
When the gift or pledge is received, an Endowed Gift Agreement will be executed between you and the university. The agreement outlines the terms and conditions of your endowment gift. The university cannot change the agreement without the expressed consent of the donor or the donor’s designated representative.
Your fund will be officially endowed once the base funding requirement is fulfilled. The university will then administer your fund in adherence to the terms of agreement. You will receive an annual report on the use of your endowment funds from the chancellor of the university.
Your endowment will be invested in the university’s Consolidated Investment Pool (CIP). This pool is invested utilizing the expertise of internal staff at the university who work closely with an outside consultant to craft a dynamic investment program that addresses the needs of all constituents.
Invest in the lives of future Volunteers.
Want to learn more about creating a lasting legacy through an endowment?
Contact Us