Endowments

Today’s Legacy and Tomorrow’s Foundation

A gift to Whitman College’s endowment is an investment in the future. Endowed funds are held in perpetuity and invested for long term growth while providing income to the designated program. An endowed gift helps ensure that generations of Whitman students will have access to an outstanding liberal arts education. Whitman offers the opportunity for endowment donors to link their name or that of a loved one or favorite professor to an endowed fund supporting a meaningful area of interest.

Opportunities begin at $50,000 for a named endowment.

Types of Endowments

Unrestricted

Unrestricted endowment gives Whitman the greatest flexibility to meet challenges as they arise. Gifts to general endowment help Whitman attract and reward faculty, keep abreast of new developments in teaching or technology, maintain campus facilities and grounds at an appropriately high level, and launch innovative initiatives.

Minimum to establish: $50,000.

Designated Fund

An endowed fund can be established to support any existing program or need of the College: specific academic programs, lectureships, research, internships, student or faculty awards, president’s initiatives, or library or book funds. Often a student’s experience at Whitman is shaped by his or her participation in a single academic or extracurricular program. A designated endowment can provide the funds necessary to continue an important program, make a great program extraordinary, or create a new program that will make a significant contribution to the Whitman community.

Minimum varies with purpose.

Scholarship

Whitman should be accessible to the finest students from all backgrounds. While Whitman provides more than $23 million per year in scholarships to students, we need additional support and a permanent endowment base for access. Endowments for need-based, merit, diversity, and international student scholarships enable the college to recruit and retain outstanding students.

Professorships and Chairs

You can make a strategic investment in the faculty and curriculum of Whitman College through an endowed chair or professorship in a specific academic discipline. A visiting professorship endowment brings to Whitman on a rotating basis nationally-recognized scholars or experts to provide differing perspectives on academic subject matter. The level of support determines the interval and length of visiting professor appointments. Endowed funds can also be used to support a permanent existing faculty position or to create a new position. Each new chair or professorship strengthens our traditional disciplines and interdisciplinary endeavors.

• Minimum for visiting professorship: $1 million
• Minimum for permanent professorship: $1.5 million
• Minimum for permanent chair: $2 million

Our Endowment’s Growth

Whitman’s endowed funds are carefully managed to allow for maximum benefit to programs while maintaining the overall growth of the fund. Currently, about 5% of the market value of the endowment is expended annually to provide support for a wide variety of programs. Endowment growth reduces our reliance on current funds and strengthens the foundation of our rigorous academic programs – essentials to long-term financial stability and educational excellence.

Making a Gift

Your endowment gift to Whitman can be an outright gift of cash or appreciated securities, a structured transfer of real property, a planned charitable trust or gift annuity, or a bequest. Development staff members can assist you in exploring giving options that will maximize the tax benefits of your gift. They will work with you to prepare a written endowment agreement outlining the purpose of the fund and the College’s commitment to administering the income from the endowment in accordance with your wishes.