William and Mary endowment increases $94.2 million in 2006-07
The endowment at the College of William and Mary increased 19.2 percent, or $94.2 million, during the 2006-7 fiscal year. As of June 30, 2007, endowment funds that support William and Mary totaled $585.9 million, an increase from $491.7 million the previous year.
“Thanks to a sophisticated investment strategy and the heartening support of alumni and friends of the College over the past fiscal year, this is terrific news for all who love this College,” said William and Mary President Gene R. Nichol. “This growth in our endowment will continue to cement the long-term financial health of this historic institution for generations to come.”
The consolidated endowment is comprised of seven organizational sources of capital, including the William and Mary Foundation, the Board of Visitors endowment, Marshall-Wythe Foundation, as well as foundations at the Mason School of Business and Virginia Institute of Marine Science. The net 19.2 percent increase is the result of a number of factors, including new contributions to the endowment, positive investment performance, gains in funds held in trust by others, increases in real estate holdings, and increases in gift receivables.
“As a result of this investment performance, all of the important programs and priorities of the College will be even stronger in the long term,” said Howard Busbee, chair of the William and Mary Foundation. “Particular recognition should be given to our Chief Investment Officer, Brian Hiestand, and his staff, and the Investments Committee of the Foundation and its former chairman, Marshall Acuff, who was the force behind the creation of our William and Mary Investment Trust and the CIO position at the College.”
The largest and most representative investment pool that supports the College is the William and Mary Investment Trust, which had an investment return of 19.5 percent for the fiscal year to a total of $383 million.
The news of the increase in endowment comes on the heels of the College’s successful completion of separate financial success, the Campaign for William and Mary. That unprecedented seven-year campaign finished June 30 with a total of $517.5 million. The "comprehensive" campaign raises gifts over a period of time for expendable operating purposes as well as for capital purposes, such as endowment and facilities. By comparison, the endowment consists of assets accumulated through gifts made to the College to be held for perpetuity. The College has been raising money for and accumulating our endowment for more than 70 years through the William and Mary Foundation.
Busbee (’65) said the financial benefits from the endowment will continue to serve the future generations of William and Mary students and faculty.
“As the stewards of these important funds, the William and Mary Foundation takes a great deal of pride in this exceptional rate of return,” he said.
