The endowment is the financial cornerstone of Carleton’s excellence, one that ensures the college’s distinction and quality not only today but also for many decades to come. Each year, money from endowment earnings supplies almost a quarter of the college’s annual operating budget — significantly affecting the amount of aid available to students, the quality of our academic programs and facilities, and faculty salaries.
We want our endowment to support a substantially larger proportion of Carleton’s noble work, in perpetuity. The endowment grows through the accumulation of current gifts, bequests, and planned gifts that are invested to support the college’s mission, generating crucial income for Carleton. For many years, Carleton’s endowment has been considerably smaller than our peers; in fiscal year 2016, Carleton’s endowment was equivalent to $383,671 per full-time student while the average endowment for similar, top-tier liberal arts colleges was $511,072 per full-time student. Through the Every Carl for Carleton campaign, $259 million — 65 percent of the campaign total — will be committed to the endowment.
With this essential growth, the college will ensure a continuous source of funding for financial aid, teaching, research, and student services, thereby benefitting every Carl for generations.
The Power of Endowment
A $100,000 gift to Carleton for immediate use today would cover the equivalent of 2.6 need-based grants and scholarships for new students (based on an average Carleton grant of $38,893 in 2017). An endowment gift of $100,000, wisely invested by the college, over time will contribute many times that amount to support Carleton students and program in perpetuity — while the original gift continues to grow.
“Despite our success, we should not be under any illusion that there is no connection between the level of resources and the level of long-term quality. The fact that Carleton is relatively underendowed compared to our peers makes us vulnerable. Right now we’re a bit like a boxer who is fighting above his weight class. To secure our strength for the decades to come, we will have to increase our endowment dollars per student.”
President Steven G. Poskanzer, P’15