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Endowed Gifts

Maximize your impact

When you give to an endowment fund, you generate long-term support for the program or purpose you choose. It’s one of the strongest ways to make a long-lasting—often permanent—impact on the IU causes that are important to you.

What is an endowment fund?

An endowment fund is a collection of donations invested in a particular fund as well as the returns on the investment. Endowed funds are the lifeblood of IU in that they provide long-term, sustainable support for IU’s mission of teaching and research.

Each year, a portion of the endowment is paid out, making funds available to the university beneficiaries selected by our donors. It’s the IU Foundation’s duty to invest gifts responsibly and provide annual payout transparency at our donor(s) request.

How to give to an endowment fund

You can give to an existing endowment fund now or through a gift in your will or a beneficiary designation. Through the fund, it can be dedicated to a meaningful program, scholarship, or IU's general mission.

See it in action

Dr. Jean Creek (BS’49, MD’52) worked his way through school and graduated with no debt. He waited tables at his Acacia fraternity house, played trumpet in a big band at a Kentucky nightclub, and worked summers as an orderly—a patchwork of jobs that was enough to cover his tuition.

“Students today could never do what I did,” says Dr. Creek. “When I first came to IU, undergraduate tuition was $44 a semester and $100 at the [IU] School of Medicine.” Today, those amounts have risen exponentially.

When Jean approached his wife, Doris, about making a gift to the medical school, she thought it was a great idea. They wanted to help students deal with increasing tuition and growing student debt. In addition to establishing medical scholarships, the Creeks endowed a scholarship for the IU Jacobs School of Music.

Creating your own endowment fund is easy and impactful

Are you interested in making a large gift that establishes your legacy? Consider creating your own endowment fund to support and sustain the area closest to your heart. Reach out to IU to start a conversation about how to best make your charitable goals a reality.

Let us help

The Office of Gift Planning Services is happy to answer your questions and provide more information.

Request a confidential conversation with our team

If you’ve already made a gift to IU from your IRA, let us know. You might qualify for Arbutus Society membership!

Learn more about the Arbutus Society