Securing the Future
Endowments at UC Santa Cruz support lasting, transformative change. With endowments, UC Santa Cruz is cultivating a vibrant learning community—one that truly supports the students and faculty of today and tomorrow. This strategy allows the university the freedom to be proactive in its planning, visionary in approach, and agile in its ability to respond to new opportunities.
Endowments enable UC Santa Cruz to accomplish its greatest priorities:
- Recruit and challenge outstanding students
- Attract and retain renowned faculty
- Support outstanding research and creative achievement
Donating to Endowments
Donors may establish a new endowment that creates a permanent legacy honoring a person, a program or an area of interest. UC Santa Cruz has determined minimum financial levels for establishing a new endowment, and at these levels the donor will have the opportunity to name the endowment fund.
Donors are also welcome to donate to existing endowments that fit their interests to support UCSC’s educational mission. Most endowments can accept additional gifts, which enhance their impact.
Be a part of defining the next 50 years of achievement at UC Santa Cruz. If you want to learn more about endowment giving, please contact a development officer in your area of interest. If you need help donating to UC Santa Cruz, please email giving@ucsc.edu.
How Endowments Work
When you contribute to endowments, you help create a permanent legacy of support for UCSC. Endowment assets are invested and a portion of the value of the fund is paid out each year to support the fund’s purpose. Any earnings in excess of this distribution are used to build the fund’s market value. In this way, an endowment fund can grow and provide support for its designated purpose in perpetuity.
UC Santa Cruz has a portfolio of more than 400 endowed funds with diverse purposes, created to enhance the educational experience of our students. Endowments can be restricted to specific areas and needs, such as scholarships, professorships, academic programs, and campus life. Many gifts to endowments are made in support of the library, education, research, athletics, leadership programs, the UCSC Colleges, and other areas related to the quality of our campus experience. Unrestricted endowments enable the Chancellor, deans, and other campus leaders to address pressing needs or opportunities.