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University Relations

Endowments

The University of Minnesota relies heavily on its endowments to supplement public funds and tuition in order to create world-class academic programs and support students’ education. The Office of Federal Relations works to educate policymakers regarding the importance of university endowments, and the harm that proposed federally mandated payouts may cause to its ability to manage its resources.

Like other land-grant institutions, the University of Minnesota was founded in part with the proceeds from grants of land set aside by Congress and the Minnesota Territorial Legislature prior to statehood in 1861. Additionally, over the past century the University has successfully raised dollars from generous donors, and these donations and their investment earnings have come to comprise the largest portion of the $2.86 billion in endowed funds held by the University and its affiliated foundations.

The University of Minnesota manages its endowed funds carefully, spending as much of the earnings on its principal as it can while still preserving the inflation–adjusted value of the principal in perpetuity.

• The University of Minnesota is already using its endowment to support tuition relief and public research.

• The U takes great care to manage its endowment effectively, using as much of its earnings as possible to support the University

• Federal mandates regarding the use of university endowments could harm the U's ability to plan strategically to meet future student and institutional needs.

University of Minnesota Foundation

U endowment fact sheet (PDF, 328 KB)

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