On Oct. 6, Pacific University named the Forest Grove campus library after two generous donors Tim and Cathy Tran, who established an endowment fund purely for the library.
“Endowed funds are a major focus of our comprehensive fundraising campaign,” Vice President of University Advancement, Cassie Warman said. “At current count, there are over 300 individual endowments that donors have established over the many years of Pacific’s history.”
However, their contribution is not just any regular gift the university receives; an endowment differs in a few key ways. First, the money for endowment is put in an account which generates interest, 4.25 percent of that interest is then used in whatever capacity the donor wishes. The generated interest greater than 4.25 percent is put back into the account to grow it perpetually.
Additionally, a donor can contribute money to any endowment to grow it through interest. The money given is a small amount of the overall total and the bigger the endowment, the more money there is to give. Second, gifts are usually given to support a development project of the university, such as the new turf field, while endowments are a major contributor to the scholarship money Pacific gives out every year.
For example, the Eva Krebs ‘Make a Difference’ Scholarship is an endowment, including many department specific scholarships. While the amount the Tran’s have committed remains confidential upon their request, Pacific has a total endowment of about $71.4 million. Of that $71.4 million, $40.7 million is endowment scholarships and the rest is used for faculty, programs or is unrestricted.
“Each endowment ranges in size and scope from the minimum of $25,000 to millions in fund totals,” Warman said.
During Pacific’s last fiscal year, July 1, 2016, to June 30, 2017, 38 percent of all gifts were endowments and this fiscal year is on track to be a record year for Pacific. Warman hopes this means more money for students, faculty and university programs.
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