The hardworking and growing income provided by the SMU endowment is a powerful force for the University’s success. Unlike income from student tuition and fees or annual gifts, endowment is protected against fluctuating student enrollment and the whims of the economy, offering financial stability and the confidence that the University’s mission of providing a superior educational experience will be sustained far into the future.

ABOUT THE SMU ENDOWMENT

Established in July of 1914 with a gift of $111,540 from the General Education Board of the Methodist Church, SMU’s endowment now represents more than $1.3 billion in assets invested in a diversified portfolio designed to ensure current support as well as growth for the future. The portfolio includes traditional and nontraditional investments, an asset allocation mix that provides both stability and strong growth. For fiscal year 2007, its return was more than 20 percent, comparing favorably to its benchmark. The numerous funds comprising the SMU endowment fall into two main categories: those restricted to specific areas and needs, such as scholarships, professorships, academic programs and campus life; and unrestricted endowments that primarily support operating expenses.

WHY ENDOWMENT GIVING IS IMPORTANT

A strong working endowment is fundamental to the advancement and success of an institution of higher education.  It allows SMU to accomplish its greatest priorities, namely:

• Recruit and challenge outstanding students
• Attract and retain prominent, well-respected faculty
• Support original and significant research and creative achievement
• Provide operational funds for new and innovative curriculum and academic programs
• Enhance the campus experience
• Raise the profile and reputation of the University

Today SMU is ranked 55th among the 62 colleges and universities with endowments of $1 billion or more. A strong endowment allows the University to offset the rising cost of higher education by providing a dependable source of income for student and faculty investment and to relieve its dependence on continued tuition increases. Tuition and fees alone provide for only 68 percent of the cost of an SMU education. The balance is provided largely by annual gifts and endowment income. Continuing to build the endowment will increase SMU’s ability to provide a valuable education for its students.

THE FUTURE OF THE SMU ENDOWMENT

Each endowment fund at SMU has a personal and unique story behind it – a passion, a dream, a sense of gratitude, a desire to give back. The donors have had their vision for the future of SMU. Over the past century their gifts have transformed the University and, through it, the lives and dreams of its students. New gifts of endowment are needed now to continue that transformation as SMU enters its second century of higher education leadership and service.

GIVING TO THE SMU ENDOWMENT

Giving to the SMU endowment provides the opportunity to change the lives of students and scholars and to create a permanent legacy honoring or memorializing the life and work of an individual or organization. Within the SMU endowment are hundreds of named endowment funds that are “pooled” together for investment purposes but administered individually to ensure that the purposes defined by the donor are accomplished in perpetuity.

The SMU Board of Trustees has determined that certain types of endowment purposes have financial levels at which the endowments operate most effectively to enhance the educational experience of our students, and that at these levels the donor will have the opportunity to name the endowment fund. (See sidebar for examples of minimum funding levels.)

In addition, anyone may make a gift of any size to the SMU Endowment for broad purposes such as scholarship support.  These gifts are pooled together with like gifts in a larger fund, adding to its principal and thus increasing its significant support of the University.

CONTACT

To reach the Endowment office, call 214-768-4745 or e-mail endowment@smu.edu.