Private School Endowments

[Anonymous]

Now that Woodberry’s endowment is north of $1 million per student maybe they can back off on the constant fundraising appeals to alumni

Upgrading the sand in the bunkers on the campus golf course isn’t one of my philanthropic priorities

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:STA's endowment is very large. I don't know what but I've heard it's the largest in DC. It's what allows them to very generous with financial aid and to be the one DC school that is truly "need blind" for admissions. Something like 40% of the boys get aid while other schools (including NCS) are around 20%.

Well, not quite. According to its own website it’s 31 percent, which is pretty far from 40.

STA is traditionally 31-35% depending on year. NCS is 19-21% depending on year.
NCS will give out 3.3 million in aid, STA 5.8.

Pretty anemic for NCS. What gives at that school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:STA's endowment is very large. I don't know what but I've heard it's the largest in DC. It's what allows them to very generous with financial aid and to be the one DC school that is truly "need blind" for admissions. Something like 40% of the boys get aid while other schools (including NCS) are around 20%.

Well, not quite. According to its own website it’s 31 percent, which is pretty far from 40.

STA is traditionally 31-35% depending on year. NCS is 19-21% depending on year.
NCS will give out 3.3 million in aid, STA 5.8.

Pretty anemic for NCS. What gives at that school?

It is just very poorly run.
Plus many alums are not happy so they don't give.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Now that Woodberry’s endowment is north of $1 million per student maybe they can back off on the constant fundraising appeals to alumni

Upgrading the sand in the bunkers on the campus golf course isn’t one of my philanthropic priorities

Money went to provide a better living wage for teachers. Something like $174 million was raised in six years. I can’t think of a better use of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Summary: Large endowments don't guarantee lower tuition or more financial aid. They are typically meant to sit there and grow and fund some special projects, and be there for rainy days, but schools will still fundraise for those projects. There's no limit to how much a school would like to raise. Some schools in LA, NY, DC and Baltimore have impressive endowments. Some don't. Endowment funds aren't the sole predictor of a well-funded, high-functioning school with a solid business plan. There's no correlation between endowment size and the type of school that is right for your kid. They don't need to be a factor in your decision process when choosing to enroll your kid, or when choosing to give extra money. There you have it.

I'd add that Madeira is quite the impressive "sleeper." Sneaking up to the top of that ladder int he DC area. Wow.

It is a 110+ year old girls' boarding school (3rd largest endowment among that cohort) with lots of loyal and rich families and alums. Hardly a sleeper.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Summary: Large endowments don't guarantee lower tuition or more financial aid. They are typically meant to sit there and grow and fund some special projects, and be there for rainy days, but schools will still fundraise for those projects. There's no limit to how much a school would like to raise. Some schools in LA, NY, DC and Baltimore have impressive endowments. Some don't. Endowment funds aren't the sole predictor of a well-funded, high-functioning school with a solid business plan. There's no correlation between endowment size and the type of school that is right for your kid. They don't need to be a factor in your decision process when choosing to enroll your kid, or when choosing to give extra money. There you have it.

I'd add that Madeira is quite the impressive "sleeper." Sneaking up to the top of that ladder int he DC area. Wow.

It is a 110+ year old girls' boarding school (3rd largest endowment among that cohort) with lots of loyal and rich families and alums. Hardly a sleeper.

Also, applies to boys schools: Prep has been around since the 1700s. It also has a boarding school element. It’d be interesting to know what Georgetown Prep’s endowment is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Summary: Large endowments don't guarantee lower tuition or more financial aid. They are typically meant to sit there and grow and fund some special projects, and be there for rainy days, but schools will still fundraise for those projects. There's no limit to how much a school would like to raise. Some schools in LA, NY, DC and Baltimore have impressive endowments. Some don't. Endowment funds aren't the sole predictor of a well-funded, high-functioning school with a solid business plan. There's no correlation between endowment size and the type of school that is right for your kid. They don't need to be a factor in your decision process when choosing to enroll your kid, or when choosing to give extra money. There you have it.

I'd add that Madeira is quite the impressive "sleeper." Sneaking up to the top of that ladder int he DC area. Wow.

It is a 110+ year old girls' boarding school (3rd largest endowment among that cohort) with lots of loyal and rich families and alums. Hardly a sleeper.

Also, applies to boys schools: Prep has been around since the 1700s. It also has a boarding school element. It’d be interesting to know what Georgetown Prep’s endowment is.

Founded in 1789. According to this source, $20.5 million. https://www.boardingschoolreview.com/georgetown-preparatory-school-profile

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Summary: Large endowments don't guarantee lower tuition or more financial aid. They are typically meant to sit there and grow and fund some special projects, and be there for rainy days, but schools will still fundraise for those projects. There's no limit to how much a school would like to raise. Some schools in LA, NY, DC and Baltimore have impressive endowments. Some don't. Endowment funds aren't the sole predictor of a well-funded, high-functioning school with a solid business plan. There's no correlation between endowment size and the type of school that is right for your kid. They don't need to be a factor in your decision process when choosing to enroll your kid, or when choosing to give extra money. There you have it.

I'd add that Madeira is quite the impressive "sleeper." Sneaking up to the top of that ladder int he DC area. Wow.

It is a 110+ year old girls' boarding school (3rd largest endowment among that cohort) with lots of loyal and rich families and alums. Hardly a sleeper.

Also, applies to boys schools: Prep has been around since the 1700s. It also has a boarding school element. It’d be interesting to know what Georgetown Prep’s endowment is.

Founded in 1789. According to this source, $20.5 million. https://www.boardingschoolreview.com/georgetown-preparatory-school-profile

Pretty sure the 1789 is the date Georgetown University was founded too. Wonder if there was really a distinction between the college and preparatory school at that time.

[Anonymous]

I went to a K-12 type school in the Midwest with an endowment over $100M so I’m a little surprised to see what DC schools have.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to a K-12 type school in the Midwest with an endowment over $100M so I’m a little surprised to see what DC schools have.

Which school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Summary: Large endowments don't guarantee lower tuition or more financial aid. They are typically meant to sit there and grow and fund some special projects, and be there for rainy days, but schools will still fundraise for those projects. There's no limit to how much a school would like to raise. Some schools in LA, NY, DC and Baltimore have impressive endowments. Some don't. Endowment funds aren't the sole predictor of a well-funded, high-functioning school with a solid business plan. There's no correlation between endowment size and the type of school that is right for your kid. They don't need to be a factor in your decision process when choosing to enroll your kid, or when choosing to give extra money. There you have it.

I'd add that Madeira is quite the impressive "sleeper." Sneaking up to the top of that ladder int he DC area. Wow.

It is a 110+ year old girls' boarding school (3rd largest endowment among that cohort) with lots of loyal and rich families and alums. Hardly a sleeper.

Also, applies to boys schools: Prep has been around since the 1700s. It also has a boarding school element. It’d be interesting to know what Georgetown Prep’s endowment is.

Founded in 1789. According to this source, $20.5 million. https://www.boardingschoolreview.com/georgetown-preparatory-school-profile

Pretty sure the 1789 is the date Georgetown University was founded too. Wonder if there was really a distinction between the college and preparatory school at that time.

They have a common history/roots.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Summary: Large endowments don't guarantee lower tuition or more financial aid. They are typically meant to sit there and grow and fund some special projects, and be there for rainy days, but schools will still fundraise for those projects. There's no limit to how much a school would like to raise. Some schools in LA, NY, DC and Baltimore have impressive endowments. Some don't. Endowment funds aren't the sole predictor of a well-funded, high-functioning school with a solid business plan. There's no correlation between endowment size and the type of school that is right for your kid. They don't need to be a factor in your decision process when choosing to enroll your kid, or when choosing to give extra money. There you have it.

I'd add that Madeira is quite the impressive "sleeper." Sneaking up to the top of that ladder int he DC area. Wow.

It is a 110+ year old girls' boarding school (3rd largest endowment among that cohort) with lots of loyal and rich families and alums. Hardly a sleeper.

Also, applies to boys schools: Prep has been around since the 1700s. It also has a boarding school element. It’d be interesting to know what Georgetown Prep’s endowment is.

Founded in 1789. According to this source, $20.5 million. https://www.boardingschoolreview.com/georgetown-preparatory-school-profile

Wow. I clicked. I had no idea Georgetown Prep has the oldest founding date of ALL schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s directly tied to several factors:
1. The age of the school (more years of being in business = more years to raise and grow an endowment.
2. The demographics of the school and their graduates. More financially successful people tend to give more because they have the means to do that.
3. The makeup of the families. For schools that are transient or very international (like WIS), it can be a great place but Americans are unique in viewing schools philanthropically. In other words, folks from other parts of the world are not accustomed to donated to schools and their giving patterns reflect it.
4. To a lesser extent, the duration that someone is at a school is tied to affinity. In many cases, one is more likely to give to a K-12 and than a K-8. The propensity for a family to give iss higher as the kids get older.
5. Management of fund. Money grows so wise investment pays off.

Huge emphasis on the schools’ persistence and eloquence in soliciting donations; in conjunction with extremely smart management of the funds

Endowments are key to long term financial sustainability for independent schools. But they are hard to come by unless the school is both old and big, as described above.

I totally agree with the OP that it is a good idea to understand the financial structure and health of a school before giving a large donation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s directly tied to several factors:
1. The age of the school (more years of being in business = more years to raise and grow an endowment.
2. The demographics of the school and their graduates. More financially successful people tend to give more because they have the means to do that.
3. The makeup of the families. For schools that are transient or very international (like WIS), it can be a great place but Americans are unique in viewing schools philanthropically. In other words, folks from other parts of the world are not accustomed to donated to schools and their giving patterns reflect it.
4. To a lesser extent, the duration that someone is at a school is tied to affinity. In many cases, one is more likely to give to a K-12 and than a K-8. The propensity for a family to give iss higher as the kids get older.
5. Management of fund. Money grows so wise investment pays off.

Huge emphasis on the schools’ persistence and eloquence in soliciting donations; in conjunction with extremely smart management of the funds

Endowments are key to long term financial sustainability for independent schools. But they are hard to come by unless the school is both old and big, as described above.

I totally agree with the OP that it is a good idea to understand the financial structure and health of a school before giving a large donation.

What is considered a "big" or large endowment?

[Anonymous]

I’m not really sure how to answer this. I guess an endowment at a particular school would be considered high if it was way above the average endowment size for that type of school.

But the point is that large endowments can generate a lot of income that can supplement operating revenue or financial aid or just get saved. What a school with a large endowment does with the income generated says a lot about its values.