Fact sheet:
University endowments
Key facts:
Endowments operate like annuities, not savings accounts.
Taxing endowments reduces money available for breakthroughs in areas that strengthen the nation’s economy and enhance its security.
Taxing university investment income forces institutions to find new revenue, often resulting in higher tuition for students and reduction in funds available for financial aid.
Princeton facts:
Princeton uses its endowment every day to support nearly every aspect of the institution, including:
- A generous financial aid program
- Research that benefits the health, security, and prosperity of the nation
- Expansion of the undergraduate class
- A transfer program that enables community college students and veterans to come to campus
Resources:
Endowment 101: President Eisgruber on how Princeton’s endowment works and why it matters
Association of American Universities: University endowments support students, science and American competitiveness
Share these stories:
Across the Princeton University campus and beyond, groundbreaking biomedical advances are emerging from interdisciplinary partnerships among brilliant scholars – each bringing their individual gifts to the toughest medical questions. Explore how biomedical research is surging at Princeton.
Princeton’s scientists, engineers and scholars tackle the world’s toughest problems and have shown again and again that they can deliver extraordinary breakthroughs, like those that launched the machine learning revolution, established the first climate models and led to a revolutionary lung-cancer treatment. While we don’t know with any certainty which research will produce the next blockbuster result or scientific miracle, history tells us they are most likely to come from universities. Read more about the search for the next big breakthrough at Princeton.
Princeton’s Emma Bloomberg Center helps students from all backgrounds — including those from first-generation college, lower-income, transfer, veteran and military backgrounds — thrive in their academic journeys to, through and beyond college. Learn more about how Princeton helps these students succeed in school and beyond.
Tell your story:
What is something Princeton is pursuing with the support of its endowment that stands out to you?
Did you benefit from financial aid or know someone who did?