Endowment

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Creating an Endless Legacy

When describing an endowment, the key word is everlasting. When you create an endowed fund, your donation is invested, allowing the principal to remain intact and grow over time. The original gift is never spent, but rather a portion of the investment return is used to provide ongoing permanent support. Your individual endowed fund becomes a part of the University’s overall permanent endowment, yet still maintains a separate identity. Not only is an endowment a beautiful way to carry on the legacy of a loved one or mentor, but it also provides a self-sustaining source of funding that never ends.  Endowed funds truly allow you to support WKU in perpetuity. 

The College Heights Foundation understands the value of your gift—both monetarily and sentimentally—and is therefore extremely protective of it. The Foundation understands that prudent risk-taking is necessary in order to achieve its overall objectives. Acknowledging that there is a direct correlation between the relationships of risk/return under Modern Portfolio Theory, the Foundation does not seek to eliminate risk but to effectively manage it. Endowment funds are commingled and invested in a manner that aims for consistent long-term growth with the goal of preserving and enhancing the enduring value of the endowment. The CHF invests the endowment using a diversified portfolio consisting primarily of equity, fixed income, and alternative asset classes. Foundation policies strike a balance between providing spendable income in a given year and preserving the principal of the endowment base for the future. Through this method we are able to ensure your legacy and gift will change lives for generations to come. 

For any further explanation or specification on investments, please read the College Heights Foundation's Investment Policy.

As with our investment strategies, the College Heights Foundation is also very thoughtful about our spending policies. The Foundation recognizes that as a perpetual entity, the framework of its spending decisions should be centered upon long term market cycles. The Foundation’s spending policy rate is reviewed by the Executive Committee on an annual basis. In the initial year an endowed fund is established, the annual distribution goal shall be four percent of the beginning market value of the endowment.  However, the annual distribution may not be made until the endowed fund has been established and invested for at least one calendar year. In subsequent years, the annual distribution is calculated on a three-year rolling average.

For more information on spending, please read the College Heights Foundation's Spending Policy.  Please also visit our FAQ for answers to common questions

To learn how an endowed fund works, please read the Scholarship Endowment page.