U.S. Higher Education Endowments Report 6.8% 10-Year Average Annual Return, Increase Spending to a Collective $30.0 Billion
Annual NACUBO-Commonfund Study shows participating institutions spent nearly half of endowment distributions on student financial aid
WASHINGTON, DC (February 12, 2025)—Data from the 2024 NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments® (NCSE) show that the 658 U.S. colleges and universities and affiliated foundations participating in the Study continue to rely on their endowments to support student financial aid, faculty and staff salaries, operating budgets, and more. Strong 10-year annual returns, a key measurement of endowment performance, made this spending possible and prudent.
The 658 institutions in this year’s study represented a total of $873.7 billion in endowment assets. The median endowment was $243 million, and nearly 30 percent of study participants had endowments that were $100 million or less.
In total, participating institutions withdrew $30.0 billion from their endowments during the fiscal year, a 6.4 percent year-over-year increase. A majority of endowment spending (48.1 percent) funded student financial aid, while 17.7 percent was distributed to academic programs. Other recipients included endowed faculty positions (10.8 percent), operation and maintenance of campus facilities (6.7 percent), and all other purposes (16.6 percent). On average, institutions participating in the FY24 study used their endowments to fund 15.3 percent of their annual operating expenses.
“These results really capture what endowments are all about—the generosity and goodwill of donors who, in perpetuity, support the essential teaching, research, and service missions of American colleges and universities,” said NACUBO President and CEO Kara D. Freeman. “Faculty and staff certainly benefit from this philanthropy, but students remain the primary beneficiaries, as the bulk of these resources is used to maintain student aid and affordability. This is incredibly important work and demonstrates how short-sighted it would be to further tax these funds and divert them from their true purpose.”
Media Contacts | |
Katy McCreary |
Emily Roy |