Endowment Performance
Dickinson’s pooled endowment (the portion managed by the college’s outsourced investment office, Investure LLC) closed the 2023 fiscal year at $538.2 million, and the total endowment closed the fiscal year at $626.4 million.
This represents a one-year gain of 3.2% for the pooled endowment, and the pooled endowment continues to perform well over the long term, with a 10-year average annual rate of return of 8.6 %.
This solid average over the last decade compares favorably to our passive benchmark (6.6%), which is based on a basket of varied, widely held securities, and our strategic goal of spending-plus inflation (8.4%) for the same 10-year period. Accordingly, the endowment continues to perform well, positioned for long-term growth and stability, managed to maximize risk-adjusted returns, net of all costs, over rolling 10-year periods. This approach enables the college to minimize the negative impacts of downturns in the economy, while positioning the endowment to recover quickly from down years.
Endowment Growth
Fiscal Years 2013-23
*Note: Despite earning 3.2% on the pooled endowment, the overall endowment value declined slightly after $24.1 million in appropriations for the annual budget (see the following pages for the impact of this spending). Despite this one-year decline in total value, the endowment is managed so that current spending does not draw down on the endowment over the long term. Dickinson is committed to balanced budgeting, and we are confident the value of the endowment will continue to rise.
Dickinson’s total endowment has grown by 61% (investment returns, plus new gifts) since fiscal year 2013.
Thanks to our donors and sound management, the growth of Dickinson’s endowment over the last decade has had a tremendous impact on the college. Sustained growth like this, which comes from a close partnership with the college and our donors, is vital to continuing to move Dickinson forward.
In Fiscal Year 2023 you Added...
$8.3 Million in Gifts
to the endowment and exceeding our
10-year annual endowed giving average of $6.3 million.
“You play a pivotal role in helping us innovate in the classroom and throughout the curriculum. … every day across this campus and well beyond, your gifts are an instrumental part of how we innovate, and i’m so grateful for that support and engagement
RENÉE CRAMER
Provost & Dean of the College
Peer Institution Comparison
Total Endowment Dollars per Full-Time Student*
FUTURE GIFTS REMAIN CRITICAL
The endowment’s performance continues to be solid, and our financial discipline and investment in budgetary reserves outside of the endowment allows us to continue to use the endowment’s growth to move Dickinson forward. Yet, as you can see from the comparison list to the left, our endowment still lags behind many of the institutions with which we compete for students and faculty.
Simply put, more endowment dollars per student means more money to create lifechanging educational experiences for each student. That is only possible through continued partnership with dedicated donors like you. Thank you for your vital philanthropic support.
Note: Dickinson’s endowment is composed of the pooled endowment, which is managed as part of a consortium of colleges and universities by Investure LLC, and the nonpooled endowment, which consists of funds held in trust for the college, endowed pledges and other assets. The pooled endowment makes up roughly 80% of the total endowment, while the nonpooled assets make up the remaining 20%. Throughout this report, information about the endowment’s investment returns refer solely to the pooled endowment, while information about the endowment’s total value refers to the pooled endowment and the nonpooled assets.
For more information, visit the Financial Options website.
The Impact of New Gifts
To the endowment over the last decade
$63.3 Million in new gifts over the last decade prodivded an additional $8.2 Million for the operating budget while still generating $29.1 million in estimated additional returns over the decade
Endowment giving makes a far-reaching and permanent impact on Dickinson, enhancing the experiences of current students as well as future generations. Each endowed gift generates income each year for the operating budget while also generating returns funding the future as well. That means every gift to the endowment is truly an investment in today and tomorrow.
But all this endowment growth is about much more than numbers. The real story here is the way these gifts have enabled Dickinson to enhance the student experience and innovate academically over the last decade.