Endowment Gifts

What Endowment Really Is

• Hood's endowment is its financial foundation, its security. 
• Endowment is an institution's invested capital that generates funds to be used, in perpetuity, to support the institution. 
• Margaret Scholl Hood's gift of $40,000 helped to form Hood College's initial endowment. A portion of those funds continue to support the College today. 
• Over the years, thousands of donors have added to the original endowment to provide permanent support for faculty, scholarships, academic programs, the library and sports teams, to name just a few. 
• Most of Hood's endowment funds are invested in a balanced blend of high-quality, readily marketable stocks, bonds and other assets. 
• Each year Hood College spends part of the endowment earnings on current operations and on the purposes designated by donors. The amount to be spent, called the payout rate, is set by the Board of Trustees to secure maximum purchasing power of the endowment. 
• Hood College avoids dipping into the principal of the endowment unless required to meet critical needs of the College that cannot be funded from current operations. 

What Endowment Does

• Hood's main sources of income are tuition, federal and state support, gifts and endowment. 
• Unrestricted endowment earnings support the general operating budget. Other endowment funds support scholarships, book funds, professorships or programs, as specified by the donors. 
• Today's students benefit from the endowment gifts of previous generations. Tomorrow's Hood is being created by today's endowment gifts. 

Ensuring Hood's Future Through a Gift Today

When it comes to endowment, Hood has precious little funding to allow us to move nimbly and opportunistically. Although we cannot know the precise contours of tomorrow’s Hood College, we trust that with care and investment, our College will flourish. The needs of our students and faculty, best-practice pedagogy, and rewarding external partnerships evolve over time. Since our founding in 1893, our Mission has remained unchanged, but today’s Hood College is obviously very different from the College of 125 years ago, and we must be prepared as an institution and a collection of those who care deeply about it to ensure the future. As needs arise—and they inevitably do—we have too few resources to sustain us through challenges or help us seize opportunities. Your and others’ significant investment will allow Hood to grow and to thrive, to change and to lead.  We welcome the opportunity to discuss funding opportunities with you, call the Office of Institutional Advancement at (301) 696-3700.