UConn announces progress on fund raising, growth of endowment.

[Palatine]

The UConn Foundation has announced that it raised more than $144 million in fiscal year ’25, marking one of the top fundraising years in its history. The UConn Foundation is poised for its most successful fundraising year to date in fiscal year 2026.

With momentum continuing to build and more than $757 million already raised toward the $1.5 billion goal, growth of the endowment to $670 million, and an alumni engagement rate of 32%, the Because of UConn Campaign is entering into a pivotal moment of growth fueled by inspired donors, passionate volunteers, and a sharpened focus on transformational impact. An ambitious slate of Campaign initiatives positions the Foundation to set new records and drive lasting progress for UConn students, faculty, and communities across the state and beyond.

UConn Foundation Closes One of the Most Successful Fiscal Years in its History - UConn Today

The UConn Foundation announced Monday that it raised more than $144 million in fiscal year ’25

today.uconn.edu

 

[husky8273]

how is the endowment only $670MM if $757MM has been raised?

 

[LIUCHusky]

how is the endowment only $670MM if $757MM has been raised?

Not all donation dollars go into the endowment. Much of the money raised for athletics has gone directly into new athletic facilities. I’m sure that is true of money raised by other areas of the university.

 

[Palatine]

My guess is that the endowment has restrictions that the current crop of fund raisers do not want to abid by.

 

[LIUCHusky]

My guess is that the endowment has restrictions that the current crop of fund raisers do not want to abid by.

Meaning?

 

[husky8273]

Not all donation dollars go into the endowment. Much of the money raised for athletics has gone directly into new athletic facilities. I’m sure that is true of money raised by other areas of the university.

do/will they disclose how the $757MM is to be allocated - endowment? scholarships? athletics, other?

 

[LIUCHusky]

do/will they disclose how the $757MM is to be allocated - endowment? scholarships? athletics, other?

For the most part, yes.

 

[Palatine]

Meaning?

A different way to think about it is that the endowment is the university's saving account. You try not to touch your saving account for day to day expenses. The idea is to grow it and only use it for major needs.

Because of UConn is a limited ($1.5 bilion) fund raising campaign designed to be spent on specific immediate purposes (four pillars), a portion of which will go into the endowment.

 

[Chuck]

UConn really needs to grow that endowment. It would help the school be weather state budget constraints like it's going through right now.

I find the impact of sports on higher education very interesting. I don't live in Connecticut and I'm old enough that my undergrad degree doesn't mean anything professionally. I'm still interested in UConn because of the sports teams (mostly basketball). My son almost went to UConn because of my love for the team that I've passed on to him and I've still given some money to the school (and basketball) because of the athletics.

But the hundreds of millions of dollars allocated to athletics by the state, and more importantly, by alums is taking away from other areas (if you believe the donations would still come without sports). I'm not saying that UConn should de-emphasize athletics. I just find the prioritization compared to a school that doesn't really compete on the field interesting.

 

[Kolumbo]

This link shows brief descriptions using simple language making it easy for people like me to understand:

UConn Foundation Endowment | UConn Foundation

Supporting the University's Mission The UConn Foundation is pleased to raise, manage, and administer endowed funds in support of the University’s missi ...

www.foundation.uconn.edu

Endowment FAQ
What is an Endowment and why is it important to the University?
An endowment is a fund where donor gifts are invested to generate a stream of investment returns to support a particular University purpose in perpetuity. The investments of numerous individual endowment funds are pooled together for the purpose of efficiency, consistency, and economies of scale. The Foundation endowment pool is known formally as the Long-Term Endowment Investment Portfolio but is colloquially referred to as “the Endowment”.

Each endowment’s investment income is distributed to support its intended purpose, while the donated principal remains in place permanently and invested to keep pace with the rate of inflation. Endowments are important to the University because they provide a stable and ongoing source of funding to support its students, faculty, and community.

What is the current market value of the Endowment? Is this relatively small compared to other public Universities?
As of December 31, 2024, the endowment’s market value stood at $634 million. The endowment is young, about half the age of most peers and close to a century younger than some. For this reason, we have had half the time for fundraising and half the time of compounding of investment returns. Despite our relative age, the endowment size was recently ranked 71st among 239 public universities and is targeted to grow to over $1 billion under our recently-launched Because of UConn capital campaign.

How does the Endowment grow?
While investment returns are expected to produce nominal growth at or above the rate of inflation, real (inflation-adjusted) growth occurs through active philanthropic fundraising by a professional team of dedicated Huskies in partnership with University leaders, Deans and faculty.

How is the UConn Foundation governed and audited?
The UConn Foundation is governed by a Board of Directors that includes independent directors (largely UConn alumni) as well as ex-officio members including the UConn President and other University officials. A Master Agreement between the University and the Foundation details each party’s roles and responsibilities, and each year a Statement of Work (SOW) is prepared to define the goals, objectives and financial considerations. The Foundation Board bylaws, the Master Agreement, and the SOW can be found on our Governance and Disclosure page.

The Foundation is required to provide audited financial statements annually to the University, the State of Connecticut, and other parties. Grant Thornton LLC currently provides this audit as well as the Foundation’s annual Form 990 tax returns, both of which can be found on our Financial Information page.