Vanderbilt University 2024 Endowment Impact Report Booklet
Dear friends of Vanderbilt,
I am pleased to share Vanderbilt’s 2024 endowment report—a vivid illustration of the strong growth and careful stewardship of our endowment, and of how your vital support touches lives and drives advancements across our university. From scholarships and athletics to immersive learning and innovative research, our endowment—and your gifts—provide long-term sustainability for Vanderbilt while propelling us forward.
In a year of remarkable accomplishments, one standout achievement was our community’s exceeding the ambitious $3.2 billion goal for our Dare to Grow campaign almost two years early. Contributions to our endowment were a crucial component of this success. Surpassing our goal is a testament to your generosity and to our university community’s unwavering commitment to transformative education and pathbreaking research.
As with all of our successes at Vanderbilt, we are proud, but not satisfied. We will continue to push our Dare to Grow campaign to record heights. At the same time, we will pursue bold new initiatives that expand our capacity for excellence and impact, such as our College of Connected Computing, the Vanderbilt Institute of National Security, our Vandy United athletics initiative, and our proposed new campuses in New York City and West Palm Beach.
This report highlights yet again that when we come together as one community united by shared purpose and common values, there is nothing we cannot achieve. Our vision is to become the great university of the 21st century. Our endowment fuels this journey. Whether you are a new donor or a long-standing partner of the university, I am profoundly grateful for your support and your shared belief in Vanderbilt’s mission, vision and potential to change the world. Thank you. Crescere aude.
Sincerely,
Daniel Diermeier Chancellor
Dear fellow Commodores,
We were proud to announce at Reunion last fall that, thanks to our Commodore community, Vanderbilt has catapulted past the initial Dare to Grow campaign goal. As trustees and campaign co-chairs, we are deeply grateful for your dedication to our great university. With your generosity and support, you have helped drive Vanderbilt to the next level of excellence, and we are committed to keeping this momentum going forward.
The Vanderbilt community is filled with people who never stop daring—in the lab, in the classroom, on the field and around the globe. Thanks to philanthropic supporters like you, we have achieved significant fundraising milestones that strengthen endowed support for mission-critical programs, empowering our outstanding students, pioneering faculty and innovative initiatives.
Emboldened by this success, we are setting our sights even higher, determined to maximize our impact and create an even brighter future for Vanderbilt. By investing in our university, you are investing in the next wave of leaders, scientific breakthroughs, vital conversations and solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges. We are inspired by your steadfast commitment to Vanderbilt and our shared vision for the future.
Please continue to stay engaged by visiting vu.edu/daretogrow for the latest campaign updates and events. Thank you for all you do for Vanderbilt.
Sincerely,
Steven Madden, BS’91
Mark Mays, BA’85 Trustee, Campaign Co-Chair Trustee, Campaign Co-Chair
DARE TO GROW CAMPAIGN MILESTONES
At a Glance
As of November 2024
$3.2 billion
Raised for Dare to Grow campaign
138,500
Donors
$654 million
Contributed to support faculty and research programs
161 New endowments to support faculty
$452 million Given to support undergraduate students
687 New undergraduate scholarships established
$230 million Contributed to support scholarships for graduate students
489 New graduate scholarships established $354 million
Raised for Vandy United
JOSÉ JUAN ANDER DE OLLOQUI ALBARRÁN
OWEN GRADUATE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT CLASS OF 2025
OWEN SCHOLARSHIP
Scholarship support has played a pivotal role in enabling José Juan Ander de Olloqui Albarrán to pursue his dream of becoming a transformative social entrepreneur.
“I chose to pursue an MBA because I am deeply passionate about business development and entrepreneurship,” he says. “I am particularly inspired by the dynamic and innovative business environment in the United States, which offers unparalleled opportunities for growth and creativity. My long-term goal is to establish a business in my home country that not only materializes a long-held ambition but also contributes to the future of my countrymen.”
At Owen, Ander de Olloqui Albarrán has discovered countless opportunities for professional growth. In his Launching the Venture class, he led a team of talented peers to conceptualize, develop and pitch a business idea related to the sustainable industrial material industry. After a highly competitive process, they earned second place and were recognized by venture capitalists in the Nashville area for their innovation and strategic approach.
This experience taught me the value of effective collaboration, strategic decisionmaking and clear communication. The MBA program’s emphasis on real-world application has been invaluable in refining my leadership style and preparing me to take on future challenges with determination and resilience.
— José Juan Ander de Olloqui Albarrán
LINUS ZUNK
PEABODY COLLEGE, CLASS OF 2026
NATHAN CRAIG MEMORIAL EDUCATIONAL FUND
As I grew up, I knew my Uncle Nate as a fun man who dressed like Colonel Sanders, had a good sense of humor and gave generously to the community around him. It has been my honor to represent the Nathan Craig Memorial Educational Fund and know he would be so pleased to see that his giving has helped so many worthy student-athletes. I have been excited to meet many of them and know that if he were alive today, he would have loved to meet them as well.
— Craig Parrish Jr.
Linus Zunk credits the donors of the Nathan Craig Memorial Educational Fund for making his Vanderbilt education possible. “They are generous to support me and others,” he says. “Their contributions have made a huge impact.”
Born and raised in Berlin, Germany, Zunk moved with his family to the United States when he was in high school. That path led him to football, then to Vanderbilt, where he is a human and organizational development major with a minor in business.
“Vanderbilt is a perfect match for me. I am competing with the best,” he says. “The football season is always what I’m most excited about. Every year, we’re proud to show everyone what we’re capable of. I am grateful to call this place home.”
Kendall Kridner-Protzmann has a passion for direct patient care through behavioral health chaplaincy, an interest that ignited while completing their clinical pastoral education residency.
Inspired by their work as a clinical chaplain with a psychiatric unit at a hospital, Kridner-Protzmann pursued advanced psychiatric training to better serve patients and elevate the professionalism of what chaplaincy looks like in a behavioral health setting. Vanderbilt Divinity School’s Integrative Chaplaincy program represented not just an opportunity to expand their knowledge and skills, but also an alignment with their core values of accessibility and inclusivity. The university’s dedication to belonging, combined with scholarship support and the ability to continue their employment, were pivotal factors in KridnerProtzmann’s decision to enroll.
The program has profoundly influenced KridnerProtzmann’s career. As a result of the leadership skills and techniques they have learned, they achieved a long-
term goal with their promotion to spiritual care manager within the hospital.
This wouldn’t have been a program that I would have jumped into had I not felt like it was a safe space to enter. The Divinity School’s commitments honor my journey as a religious professional.
— Kendall Kridner-Protzmann
“Every week I’m learning something that directly translates to my role,” Kridner-Protzmann says. Students are encouraged to share their clinical experiences and cases with one another and take new strategies back to their practices. This collaboration and dialogue have encouraged Kridner-Protzmann to expand their view of spiritual care. “My vocation has expanded beyond what can be done in a spiritual care visit to thinking about how I can advocate for traditionally marginalized patients on a wider scale.”
KENDALL KRIDNER-PROTZMANN
VANDERBILT DIVINITY SCHOOL, CLASS OF 2026
EUNICE BATEY GOODALL MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP
ALLEN JOSEPH LUNA
SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, CLASS OF 2026
SCHIFF FAMILY MEDICAL SCHOLARSHIP
When deciding where to attend medical school, Allen Joseph Luna, who earned his bachelor of engineering from Vanderbilt in 2020, had many compelling reasons to return to his alma mater. In particular, he recalled the strong sense of community he felt as an undergraduate, the university’s distinctly noncompetitive culture and the many close friends he made from around the country.
The scholarship he received was another significant factor in his decision, as were the School of Medicine’s small class sizes and ample research opportunities. He was also excited by the chance to work at Vanderbilt’s Shade Tree Clinic, a student-run operation that provides health care to underserved communities in Nashville.
“Shade Tree is a great opportunity to give back, learn new skills, work directly with patients and establish a strong foundation in primary care,” says Luna, who works primarily in the clinic’s pharmacy department.
Luna plans to pursue radiology after graduation, but is also passionate about research, teaching and mentoring. He currently participates in a mentorship program that pairs Vanderbilt medical students with undergraduates on a pre-med track, bringing his experience full circle. “It’s the same program I participated in as an undergraduate studying biomedical engineering,” Luna says, “so now I get to pay forward the guidance and generosity that I received back then.” He plans to continue giving back for years to come.
I was inspired to establish a scholarship at the School of Medicine because I saw the debt burden that too many graduates were taking on. Opportunity Vanderbilt is such an incredible program to allow students to pursue their dreams without having to worry about the limitations of carrying the debt.
— Dr. Robert C. Schiff, BS’77, Trustee Emeritus
We are deeply inspired by the Vanderbilt Lanier Scholar alumni and students, whose character, intellectual curiosity and accomplishments give us hope for the future. The Sartain Lanier Family Foundation is immensely proud to support Vanderbilt’s commitment to need-based financial aid through Opportunity Vanderbilt. We are equally honored to help fund transformative, experiential opportunities through Immersion Vanderbilt, ensuring all students have full access to the complete Vanderbilt experience.
—
Pat Erwin Lummus, BA’85 Executive Director, The Sartain Lanier Family Foundation Inc.
Having been exposed to both American and South Korean cultures throughout her life, Lena Kim has always been interested in how different countries view mental health. Her Immersion Vanderbilt project, which took her to Goa, India, for a three-and-a-half-month internship with a global mental health organization, deepened this interest even more.
Through her internship, Kim worked directly with local students, conducting analysis of their beliefs around peer counseling, among other facets of mental health. Her work was so well-received that she was selected to present research on a range of other topics— including nicotine addiction, transcranial magnetic stimulation and schizophrenia—during her time abroad. The experience also inspired Kim to conduct similar work in Comayagua, Honduras, and ultimately to continue pursuing global mental health education after graduation.
While her Immersion Vanderbilt experience was certainly transformative, it was not something she ever expected for herself when she first transferred to Vanderbilt. Rather, it was the result of her open-minded curiosity, strong bonds with faculty mentors and a proactive willingness to try new things. “Vanderbilt gives you so much,” says Kim, who, in addition to studying global health, is also a passionate cellist, a certified EMT and an experienced teacher, among many other interests and pursuits. “If you knock, a door will open. I encourage students to utilize Vanderbilt’s resources, and to just keep going. The journey will take you somewhere—personally, professionally or spiritually. Luckily for me, it was all of these.”
LENA KIM
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCE AND BLAIR SCHOOL OF MUSIC CLASS OF 2025
LANIER IMMERSION FUND
MAZYAR AZMI
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCE, CLASS OF 2026
ROTH FAMILY NEUROSCIENCE IMMERSION ENDOWMENT
Knowing donors generously supported students like me gave me a sense of responsibility and duty that I never expected. That was my primary motivator to push myself and make the most of my time.
— Mazyar Azmi
For Mazyar Azmi, the Roth Family Neuroscience Immersion Endowment provided a transformational opportunity to work with the Bastos Lab in the summer of 2024, furthering their research on primate cognition and brain-computer interfacing—specifically, the cognitive differences between how mice and macaques process unexpected events. The mission of the Bastos Lab is to understand how neurons perform the computations that enable cognition and consciousness.
“I worked with some of the most talented people I’ve ever met, including Dr. Bastos, all the graduate students, the lab manager and my very talented fellow undergraduate student, Aidan,” Azmi says. “All my colleagues were invested in their own projects, yet they
always took the time to walk me through unfamiliar territory, from making new MATLAB scripts and reading neuroscience literature, to caring for the monkeys.”
Azmi is from the New York City area, and he chose to attend Vanderbilt because of the neuroscience research being conducted at the university, as well as the welcoming community and campus. The funding from the endowment covered most of his housing costs during the summer, allowing him to fully devote himself to his research.
Azmi plans to continue his work with the lab in the future, saying, “This experience has truly sparked my love for research, and I just can’t get enough!”
CATIE CHANG
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
SALLY AND DAVE HOPKINS FACULTY FELLOW
Catie Chang’s Neuroimaging and Brain Dynamics Lab bridges engineering and data science with neuroscience and clinical applications to investigate human brain activity as it relates to health and disease.
“One reason brain science is fascinating is because people are contributing to this field from many perspectives. My students have backgrounds in computer science, biomedical engineering, neuroscience, physics and more,” Chang says.
The NEURDY Lab is collaborating with experts from neurosurgery and radiology to develop new methods for studying activity and communication patterns occurring between different areas of the brain.
“By integrating technologies like EEG and fMRI, and using AI and machine learning techniques, we hope to find meaningful patterns in brain activity that identify biomarkers for disease. EEG and fMRI provide complementary information and merging them can lead to richer measurements. This data could improve
early detection of Alzheimer’s disease and help us to understand cognitive dysfunction in disorders like epilepsy.”
The Sally and Dave Hopkins Faculty Fellowship propels Chang’s work forward by providing resources to explore new research directions, establishing seeds that can grow into larger, funded projects. It also supports computational tools including access to the computer cluster and GPUs for applying AI deep learning models.
Because of this gift, my students have more opportunities to explore their own paths. I’ve been able to send them to conferences and international meetings to network with trainees and faculty from across the world, gain confidence in explaining their research and meet potential collaborators. I am grateful for this support!
— Catie Chang
MARIANN PIANO
SCHOOL OF NURSING NANCY AND HILLIARD TRAVIS CHAIR IN NURSING
Since joining the Vanderbilt School of Nursing in 2017, Mariann Piano has led many initiatives—from strengthening the postdoctoral program, to mentoring junior faculty members, to establishing new resources and staff to grow research at VUSN. With support from her endowed chair funding, she has also advanced her own pathbreaking research regarding the effects of alcohol consumption on cardiovascular health.
In particular, endowed funding enabled Piano to launch a significant study that showed the correlation between binge drinking and early signs of cardiovascular diseases among young adults, as evidenced by changes in cardiovascular risk markers and the vasculature. Piano and her team have also used endowment funding to advance what’s known as the “know your numbers” approach—using alcohol biomarkers to help young adults determine precisely how much they drink. “I am so grateful for my endowed chair, which has allowed us
to quickly plan pilot studies and prepare larger grants for external funding,” says Piano, whose approach to research is informed by her unique dual training in physiologic and nursing sciences. “With this funding, we can continue to implement the methods and concepts we’ve learned toward new discoveries.” Beyond her transformative research, Piano has also experienced the impact of other endowments—including student scholarships—in action.
Training the next generation of staff nurses, nurse practitioners and nurse-scientists is central to what we do. Philanthropy helps bring great students to Vanderbilt, to make this possible.
— Mariann Piano
THE
CURB CENTER FOR ART, ENTERPRISE AND PUBLIC POLICY
ESTABLISHED
BY
THE GENEROSITY OF MIKE CURB
The Curb Center for Art, Enterprise and Public Policy is an interdisciplinary arts center that aims to elevate art as a mode of inquiry, a way of understanding and a celebration of the human spirit. Through programs that serve Vanderbilt students, faculty and staff, as well as the broader Nashville community, the Curb Center positions art as a tool for exploring crucial questions, understanding the complex challenges facing our world, and flourishing through creative and artistic expression.
In 2024 the Curb Center launched the Vanderbilt Eco-Grief Initiative, a yearlong collaborative project that used art as a tool to explore the complex emotions surrounding climate change. As part of the initiative, the Curb Center and the Science Communication Media Collaborative, along with the Department of Theatre, launched the Eco-Grief Performance Project and commissioned four playwrights to create original plays responding to the concept of eco-grief. The playwrights worked in close collaboration with Vanderbilt students from environmental studies and theatre to promote dialogue between the arts and sciences and foster interdisciplinary conversation toward enacting change. Additionally, the Curb Center presented the visual art exhibition Extraction/Interaction, featuring artists whose work considers themes of resources, extraction and sustainability.
The arts ask questions in the same way that science asks questions. What’s produced is different, but we are interested in art as a form of intellectual, emotional, and spiritual investigation.
— Leah Lowe, Director, Curb Center for Art, Enterprise and Public Policy and Professor of Theatre
The Eco-Grief Performance Project and commission were made possible by the generosity of the Gormley family and the family of Merrilee W. Kullman.
A scene from Daphne and Florence, one of the fall 2024 Eco-Grief productions.
Dialogue Vanderbilt Student Advisory Board member and president of the College Republicans Noah Jenkins shares his thoughts on the 2024 election.
DIALOGUE VANDERBILT
SARAH E. IGO
ANDREW JACKSON PROFESSOR OF HISTORY FACULTY DIRECTOR, OPEN DIALOGUE FELLOWS PROGRAM
Every campus in America is trying to figure out how to make universities more resilient in the face of disagreement. What makes Dialogue Vanderbilt uniquely successful is our whole-campus approach. We model open inquiry and vigorous-but-respectful argument at every opportunity. We bring prominent thinkers to campus to explain how they changed their views. We orchestrate lively debates on topics both local and global. We hold design workshops to help instructors foster curiosity and risk-taking in class. And we do all of this (and more!) in partnership with fantastic undergraduates on our Student Advisory Board who have the energy and appetite to make a real difference on campus.
In the last two years, thanks to tremendous donor support for our Open Dialogue Fellows program, our Student Advisory Board, our new Vanderbilt Civil Discourse Lab, and our innovative pedagogy programs for faculty, we’ve made huge strides in renewing Vanderbilt’s commitment to free and open dialogue. Simply put, there is nothing more foundational to our educational mission. Generous philanthropy has allowed us to bring prominent journalists, technologists, foreign policy experts, and political advocates from across the ideological spectrum to campus, where they don’t just give talks but instead challenge and mentor students in small group settings. Endowed support has also provided our faculty with pedagogical training and seeded a suite of brand-new courses that focus on controversial topics and how to talk about them.
Philanthropy has also underwritten our ability to convene important national and international events, such as this year’s Global Free Speech Summit, and to partner with organizations devoted to finding common ground like One Small Step. This kind of generosity has enabled Vanderbilt to weave the principles and practices of free expression throughout campus—and to become nationally recognized for our efforts, leading the way for other institutions to follow.
OWEN D. JONES
VANDERBILT LAW SCHOOL
GLENN M. WEAVER, M.D. AND MARY ELLEN WEAVER CHAIR IN LAW, BRAIN, AND BEHAVIOR
Owen D. Jones, the Glenn M. Weaver, M.D. and Mary Ellen Weaver Chair in Law, Brain, and Behavior, has been intrigued since his youth by decision-making and society’s efforts to channel and regulate behavior.
“I hoped to find a career where I could bring these things together,” he says. Jones is currently working on two books, one introducing brain science for legal professionals and one advocating for a deeper understanding of evolutionary processes in law and other fields like medicine and artificial intelligence.
“Because law cares about behavior, and behavior originates from the brain, I explore ways that brain sciences can help us understand the relationships between and patterns across incentives and behaviors,” Jones says. “Students help me research in a wide variety of fields, from evolutionary computation and bioinspired engineering to cognitive biases and medical statistics.” Philanthropy is crucial to Jones, enabling him
to leverage his interdisciplinary work and examine the intersection of law and science.
Vanderbilt Law School encourages outside-the-box thinking. I don’t know any better place to do interdisciplinary work. The intellectual freedom here helps faculty and students explore, press and assess ideas.
— Owen D. Jones
Jones has co-published works with more than 60 co-authors, from primatologists and psychologists to neuroscientists and philosophers, a practice he considers necessary for progress. “Collaboration is key,” he says. “It can be challenging to communicate with colleagues in different disciplines, as we all have our own technical vocabularies, foundational principles and assumptions. But when we do, we add to our body of collective knowledge.”
ROBERT LOWTHER
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCE, CLASS OF 2025
CARPENTER FAMILY SCHOLARSHIP
Searching for an intellectually rigorous environment for his undergraduate education, Robert Lowther was drawn to Vanderbilt. “Two things about Vanderbilt caught my eye,” he says. “First, Vanderbilt has a huge emphasis on interdisciplinary education. I’m triple majoring and that has really been facilitated by the way the curriculum is set up. Second, Vanderbilt is one of the only top universities that gives merit scholarships. The financial aid is extraordinary, and I’ve benefited greatly from it.” Lowther is grateful for the support he has received to pursue his educational passions.
Being able to attend Vanderbilt was made possible only because of the scholarship I received from the Carpenter family.
— Robert Lowther
Additional financial aid offered through Opportunity Vanderbilt allowed Lowther to have transformative life experiences like studying abroad in Paris, where he applied his French studies while living with a host family.
Exemplifying the interdisciplinary nature of both the university and Lowther’s educational path, he is
currently working on a culminating thesis that applies all three of his majors as part of the History Honors program. “Nothing at Vanderbilt has pushed me intellectually so much as the honors program has so far,” he says.
A cornerstone of the program is collaboration and peer review. Students are encouraged to share drafts with one another for feedback. “That collaborative spirit,” Lowther says, “the fact that we are all looking to uplift one another, is something that has been really great about the environment at Vanderbilt.”
THE VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY LITERARY PRIZE
MADE POSSIBLE WITH THE GENEROUS SUPPORT OF THE MCENTIRE LITERARY PRIZE ENDOWMENT
Scan to watch A Portrait of Society
with poet Major Jackson
The Vanderbilt University Literary Prize, established in 2024, is awarded by a panel of jurists to the author of a full-length collection of poetry distinguished by artistic vision, poignant insight and rigor in form and language. The prize includes publication, a $10,000 honorarium, an invitation to read in the Gertrude C. and Harold S. Vanderbilt Reading Series, and a oneweek residency on campus to engage students and the Nashville community.
A collaboration between the Office of the Chancellor, Vanderbilt University Press, the English department and the MFA Program in Creative Writing, this initiative continues the university’s ongoing commitment to discovering new voices and to supporting the arts as transformative and essential to our community.
The prize was spearheaded by Major Jackson, Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Chair in the Humanities, professor of English and director of the creative writing program. Jackson has been honored by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Pew Foundation and the Witter Bynner Foundation in conjunction with the Library of Congress. His accolades include membership in the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Guggenheim Fellowship, an Academy of American Poets Fellowship, a Pushcart Prize and a Whiting Award. He is also the host of the celebrated podcast The Slowdown from American Public Media with funding from the Poetry Foundation, and the poetry editor of the Harvard Review. Jackson attributes his success as a writer to the community and mentorship that shaped his journey— values he aims to share with students through his teaching and leadership in establishing the prize. He will present the inaugural winner, Stephanie Niu, with her award this spring and moderate a discussion about her work I Would Define the Sun, which “declares the impossibility of defining something as immense as the sun while striving toward that impossible act.”
Average annual compounded rate of return over the most recent five years: 9.9%
*These returns are net of internal investment office expenses.
ENDOWMENT BY USE
¢ SCHOOLS AND DEPARTMENTS
¢ SCHOLARSHIPS AND FINANCIAL AID
¢ ENDOWED CHAIRS
¢ PROGRAMS AND RESEARCH
¢ OTHER
The role of Vanderbilt’s endowment is to provide a permanent source of support for the university’s students, faculty and programs. While current-use gifts support the university’s immediate needs, the endowment ensures long-term sustainability.
Vanderbilt’s $10.2 billion endowment includes more than 3,300 individual funds with unique restrictions and designations. As with a mutual fund, these assets are pooled and invested collectively. When donors make endowed gifts, shares are purchased in the university’s endowed pool. The value of the shares reflects investment returns after the annual endowment payout.
WHO MANAGES VANDERBILT’S ENDOWMENT?
The university’s Office of Investments manages the endowment under the direction of the Vanderbilt University Board of Trust Investment Committee. Vanderbilt maintains a highly diversified investment portfolio designed to mitigate the effect of downturns in any one sector of the economy. The Board of Trust also periodically reviews the endowment’s payout rate to ensure that the university’s current needs are met while also safeguarding the endowment’s future.
WHY DOES SO MUCH OF VANDERBILT’S ENDOWMENT SUPPORT FINANCIAL AID?
In academic year 2023–24, more than 65 percent of undergraduate students and more than 90 percent of graduate and professional students received financial assistance. This is a result of our generous endowment donors’ intentions to support scholarships, allowing Vanderbilt to recruit increasingly talented and diverse students. In 2008 the university launched Opportunity Vanderbilt, its bold initiative to replace all undergraduate need-based student loans with grants and scholarships. Scholarship support is a top priority for all undergraduate, graduate and professional schools.
WHAT PERCENTAGE OF VANDERBILT’S ANNUAL BUDGET DOES THE ENDOWMENT FUND?
In fiscal year 2024, endowment distributions comprised 25 percent of the university’s operating budget. The remaining 75 percent came from other sources such as grants and contracts, student tuition and fees, and current-use philanthropy.
HOW DID VANDERBILT’S ENDOWMENT PERFORM THIS YEAR?
At the end of fiscal year 2024, Vanderbilt’s endowment was valued at $10.2 billion. The U.S. stock market was strong for the second consecutive year, driven by a handful of large technology companies. But private investments continue to suffer from the lack of mergers, acquisitions and initial public offerings, after helping to deliver exceptional returns in fiscal 2021. The payout rate is based on a three-year market average, which helps minimize the impact of a single year’s performance. Across the last decade, Vanderbilt’s endowment has grown by more than $6 billion, which is an increase of more than 2 1/2 times.
WHAT IS THE PAYOUT?
A portion of the endowment’s value is distributed monthly to support the donor-designated purpose, such as scholarship, faculty or program support. This distribution is known as the payout. The annual payout rate is 5 percent of the average per-unit market value for the prior three calendar year-ends. In fiscal year 2024, the endowment paid out more than $463 million.
CAN I CREATE AN ENDOWMENT THROUGH MY ESTATE?
Absolutely! The vast majority of testamentary gifts are directed for endowed purposes. Such gifts can become a donor’s legacy at the university, benefiting students, faculty, programs or other special interests. To learn more about how you can leave a lasting legacy at Vanderbilt, visit vanderbilt.giftplans.org
If you would like to know more about Vanderbilt’s endowment, contact the Office of Stewardship at stewardship@vanderbilt.edu or 615-343-6196.
