PrincetonUniversity
A Princeton Profile 1997-98The Endowment
Princeton's endowment is the fourth largest in the country, with a value of $4.8 billion as of March 31, 1997. (Harvard, the University of Texas, and Yale have larger endowments.) The endowment is invested primarily in stocks and bonds but also includes real estate, venture capital, energy resources, and other assets not traded on organized trading markets.
Princeton's portfolio has historically experienced solid returns. The total return on Princeton's endowment--defined as "dividends and interest on portfolio holdings plus or minus capital appreciation or depreciation"--was equivalent to approximately 14.6 percent per year over the 20-year, 9-month period ending March 31, 1997.
Fund-raising
Fund-raising from all Princetonians--undergraduate and graduate alumni, parents, and friends--is vital to Princeton's mission. Their gifts make continued academic leadership and innovation possible. As part of Princeton's 250th anniversary activities, the University launched the Anniversary Campaign for Princeton: a five-year effort, culminating in the year 2000, to raise $750 million in Annual Giving and capital funds. At the end of the second year of the campaign, a total of $435 million in gifts and pledges had been raised.
Annual Giving. Each year roughly 10 percent of the University's overall budget for educational and general expenses is raised through the Annual Giving campaign. In its 57-year history, Annual Giving has raised over $385 million for Princeton. In 1996-97 this initiative produced a record total of $29.6 million in unrestricted funds, with 61 percent of all undergraduate alumni contributing. Annual Giving owes its success to an extraordinary volunteer effort that reaches out to all Princetonians and friends through direct mail, phonathons, and personal conversations.
Capital Giving. Capital gifts support specific projects at the University, from professorships and scholarships to buildings and equipment. Among the current capital priorities are major construction projects, including a campus center, a physics teaching building, and new dormitories; a 250th fund for innovation in undergraduate education; new programs in environmental studies, finance, and engineering; and fresh endowment to support continuing needs such as faculty positions, book funds, athletic programs, graduate fellowships, and undergraduate scholarships. As part of the Anniversary Campaign, Princeton is seeking capital support from alumni, corporations, foundations, and other friends of the University.