Endowment Funds
Purpose
Endowment Funds serve as a permanent resource, which the College uses to provide essential funding for capital projects, programs, and student scholarship support.
Student Scholarship support is the most common designation for YCP funds, in part because scholarship aid is an institutional priority. Three-quarters of our students require scholarship aid, and in the fiscal year 2007-2008 the College distributed $5.9 million of its own money to students in need. (The average student in need, meanwhile, remains underfunded by $6,000 per year).
Designations
Endowment funds can be designated, or restricted, to distribute funds for a specific purpose, subject to approval by the President and Board of Trustees. Scholarship Funds commonly specify support of students in specific academic programs, but other designations may be possible. Please contact the Development Office if you require more information.
Administration
The spending policy for endowment funds currently sets annual distributions at five percent (5%) of the average balance of the endowment fund over the three prior years.
Funding
York College asks donors to consider building a Fund that totals $250,000 or more. The College’s tuition remains relatively low (at this writing, just over $13,500 per year), which enables an endowment fund with a value of $250,000 to distribute a full-tuition scholarship. A minimum of $10,000 is required to establish an endowment fund, and this amount can be achieved over a period up to five years if necessary.
Outright gifts of cash and securities are the most common methods for funding an endowment. Planned gifts, such as bequests, are also excellent instruments that allow truly significant funding for an endowment.
Click here for a list of endowment funds.