Endowment Stewardship

The UB Foundation is proud to manage a sizable endowment on behalf of the university. This endowment — which consists primarily of funds donated for the betterment of UB through the years — is designed to support the UB community in perpetuity by providing a long-term source of expendable funds for UB students, faculty and staff.

What is an endowment?

Endowments are primarily privately donated funds provided by donors to be invested and held in perpetuity, providing guaranteed income to support various areas throughout the university. Endowments help supplement and protect against declines in other revenues such as tuition, fees and state appropriations. Endowments allow for continued university support, including chairs and professorships; student scholarships, awards, internships and learning opportunities; research opportunities; specialized lectures; study-abroad opportunities; acquisitions for the libraries; classrooms and labs; athletics facilities; community engagement; emergency reserves and more.

An exponential impact at UB — and around the world

The endowment is a critical funding source for the university, ensuring the availability of resources for years to come, and allowing for countless enhancements that help make UB a premier, research-intensive public university. Through the endowment, the UB Foundation provides:

  • Professorships and chairs for world-renowned faculty
  • Scholarships to recruit and retain talented students with diverse socioeconomic backgrounds
  • Life-saving research
  • World-class library collections
  • Teaching excellence awards
  • Specialized laboratories
  • Performing arts experiences
  • Athletics support
  • Public outreach
  • Improvements throughout the physical campus

Committed to growing the endowment for
the betterment of UB

Within the endowment, hundreds of funds — and hundreds of millions of dollars — directly support student scholarships, fellowships, awards and other key initiatives.

Donor-Designated Purpose of Endowment Funds

  • Chairs and Professors
  • Academic Units
  • Research
  • Scholarships
  • Academic/Student Excellence
  • Other

A long history of competitive returns

For more than 50 years, the endowment has provided UB with a relatively predictable, constant and stable source of funds. By using successful long-term investment strategies, our investment committee and full-time staff focus on maximizing the total investment return while preserving the inflation-adjusted purchasing power of the portfolio. This approach enables us to consistently produce appropriate returns, even as the endowment value fluctuates due to ever-changing market conditions. In keeping with best practices, only the returns on the principal are made available for spending; the endowment principal is protected and invested in order to ensure the buying power stays consistent over the years.

Managed in accordance with each donor’s wishes

At the UB Foundation, we are grateful for the generosity of donors, and proud to serve as responsible stewards of the endowment. We strive to meet the intent of each and every donor, communicate with them in a way that is consistent with best practices, and honor their wishes in perpetuity.

How to measure an endowment

The full worth of an endowment cannot be measured in terms of yield, value-to-expenditure or other financial metrics. The real value of an endowment depends on how well it is managed, and — perhaps most importantly — the vast, ongoing benefits that it provides for the community, and for society as a whole.

Frequently asked questions

To learn more about the endowment, please see our Frequently Asked Questions.

 

IMPACT STORIES

  • Enhancing Education, Research and Clinical Care

    By helping to support endowed chairs, we play a role in attracting some of the world's top researchers and leaders to UB--including Anne B. Curtis, MD.

  • Sparking Innovation

    The UB Foundation manages the endowment that funded the Henry A. Panasci Jr. Technology Entrepreneurship Competition.

  • Promoting Global Conversations

    The Distinguished Speakers Series, supported by an endowment that we manage, brings speakers of national and international renown to campus several times a year.

  • Creating New Compositions

    An internationally recognized composer thrives at UB, thanks in part to our key role in supporting an endowed chair.

  • Searching For Cures

    At the UB Foundation, we are proud of our role in managing endowed chairs that attract world‐renowned researchers and scholars to UB—including James D. Bangs.

  • Leading International Research

    Gil Wolfe is an internationally known expert in myasthenia gravis (MG), the most common disease of neuromuscular transmission.

  • Attracting the Best

    Endowed chairs bring some of the world's leading scholars to UB, and are made possible in large part by the gift stewardship services that we provide.

  • Supporting Life-Saving Research

    The Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences can attract and retain leading researchers, in part because of the gift stewardship services offered through the UB Foundation.

Supporting The Campaign for UB

Boldly Buffalo logo

The UB Foundation has a critical role in supporting Boldly Buffalo: The Campaign for UB. Just as we have been involved in all of UB’s capital campaigns, we will continue to provide gift stewardship, manage the endowment, and help ensure that donors are able to direct their gifts. Boldly Buffalo 

Serving Donors and Managing Gifts

At the UB Foundation, we are proud to manage gifts from loyal donors around the globe. To read stories about how these gifts are changing lives on campus and worldwide, please visit the Boldly Buffalo campaign website .