A challenge
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The full impact of your gift
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Duke's first scholarship funds were established in the late 19th century, and these have grown by over 3,700 percent. Consider the full impact of a new gift to Duke's Financial Aid Initiative.
"John and Nancy Smith" contribute $500,000 to establish the Smith Family Scholarship. The challenge matches their gift dollar for dollar, so the size of their scholarship fund doubles right away. Together, these assets are invested, and each year a portion of the earnings is paid out for student aid and the rest is used to build the market value of the fund.
The following table shows how John and Nancy Smith's gift of $500,000 might grow over a ten-year period. This illustration uses an estimated annual return of ten percent, but of course, actual year-to-year performance varies, and future endowment performance cannot be predicted by Duke's strong earnings over the past decade.
Ten years after it is fully funded, the Smith Family Scholarship Fund could have a market value of more than three times the value of the Smiths' original gift. In one decade, the fund could have provided well over $500,000 in grants to an ever growing group of Smith Scholars.
- Like most universities, Duke has safeguards in place to smooth the
effect of yearly market fluctuations and to grow endowment assets at
a rate that at least keeps up with inflation. Each year, the Duke Board
of Trustees sets a spending rate for endowments based on market performance
over a period of years and the payout amount of the previous year. Duke’s
spending policy, like those of many similar institutions, limits how
much an endowment’s payout can increase or decrease from the previous
year. This policy allows Duke to build its endowment in periods of economic
strength so that the university can still rely on its endowment for a
stable stream of income during periods of economic downturn.
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