Endowments
Endowments at CU Boulder: Building a Legacy That Lasts
An endowment is one of the most powerful ways to create lasting impact at CU Boulder. Your gift is invested in perpetuity, and a portion of the earnings supports the people, programs and priorities you care about — year after year, generation after generation.
With your partnership, CU Boulder can ensure that excellence is not only sustained but continually elevated.
Why Endowment Minimums Matter
Endowments are designed to meet today’s needs and tomorrow’s ambitions. To fund scholarships, faculty roles and program support, gift minimums are carefully set to reflect the true cost of excellence in a leading public research university.
These minimums ensure:
- Sustained impact: Funds remain strong and effective for decades.
- Full support: Roles and programs can deliver on their promise without budget gaps.
- Donor confidence: Your legacy is stewarded with transparency and care, and your gift will have its full intended impact.
How Endowments Work
At CU Boulder, endowments provide crucial support for students, faculty, research and programs.
What is an endowment?
An endowment is a type of donation that offers CU Boulder long-term support by investing the principal amount of the endowment and using a portion of the returns annually to fund specific programs, like scholarships, faculty positions or research.
What are the benefits?
- Sustained support: Endowments provide permanent funding for specific programs, scholarships and positions, enhancing CU Boulder’s ability to fulfill its mission and attract top talent.
- Funding stability: They provide predictable and stable funding to sustain programs over the long term.
Your Legacy, Your Impact
When you create an endowed fund, you:
- Invest in perpetuity. Your generosity provides annual support forever.
- Shape CU Boulder’s future. Endowed positions and programs attract top students, faculty, and research.
- Leave a visible legacy. Your name is recognized in meaningful, lasting ways.
Our Commitment to Donors
CU Boulder works closely with every donor to ensure each gift reflects their values and vision. We provide:
- Transparent guidance on minimums and impact.
- Collaboration to align your goals with university priorities.
- Stewardship to show the difference your gift makes over time.
- Recognition that honors your legacy for generations.
CU Boulder Endowment Minimums
Interested in creating a lasting impact?
An endowment is one of the most powerful ways to support the people, programs, and priorities you care about—today and for generations to come. The table on this page outlines the minimum investment required to establish an endowed fund and serves as a starting point for shaping a legacy that reflects your values and advances the future of CU Boulder.
Endowment Type | Minimum |
| Academic Leadership | |
| Deanship | $5,000,000 |
| Department Chair | $3,000,000 |
| Chair | $2,500,000 |
| Professorship | $1,000,000 |
| Faculty Fellowship | $500,000 |
| Scholarships & Fellowships | |
| Undergraduate Scholarship– unrestricted/auto-match | $50,000 |
| Undergraduate Scholarship – restricted | $100,000 |
| Graduate Fellowship | $250,000 |
| Distinguished Graduate Fellowship | $500,000 |
Learn More
Whether your goal is to create a scholarship, support a faculty leader or name a program, our team will help you explore opportunities that achieve lasting results.
Email donorservices@colorado.edu to connect with a member of our team!
Endowment Stories
Last fall, CU Boulder’s College of Music added a vocal jazz degree option to the Thompson Jazz Studies Program. Alumni and longtime donors Jack (Hist’64; MA’70) and Jeannie Thompson (Zool’64) expanded their endowment to further enhance their impact and legacy with the jazz studies program.
Through a generous investment in the future of space governance, CU Boulder donors Dale and Patricia Hatfield have given $2.5 million to establish the Hatfield Endowed Professorship in Space Policy & Law.