Endowments
Growing the U of A’s endowment expands and secures the impact of our programs deep into the future
Establishing an endowment ensures the causes you care about have stable, lasting support year after year.
You can establish an endowment with a gift of cash or stock or through a planned gift and name the endowment in honor of an individual or organization. Endowments can support faculty, scholarships, programs or research.
Minimum funding levels for endowments are set by the University’s Endowments policy. As of March 4, 2026, the following describes the minimum required gifts to create new endowments at the University of Arizona. You may increase the impact of any existing endowment with a charitable contribution in any amount.
These are the most common types of endowments at the University of Arizona, but it is possible to create other endowed funds, such as in support of a specific program or for general unrestricted use.
Deanship
Appointment to an endowed deanship recognizes exceptional leadership, vision, and sustained achievement in advancing academic excellence, research, teaching, and service. Endowed deanships are established to honor an outstanding current dean, recruit a distinguished leader, or retain a dean whose contributions align with the University’s mission and strategic priorities. Set at a minimum gift of $5 million, an endowed deanship is designed to support the scholarship, teaching, research, outreach, and public service activities of the college.
Endowed Chair
Appointment to an endowed chair recognizes exceptional and sustained achievement, demonstrated through national and/or international distinction, in at least one of the three areas of professional excellence: research, teaching, or service. Endowed chair appointments may be used to honor an outstanding tenured/continuing status faculty member, recruit a distinguished scholar, or retain an exceptional faculty member whose excellence and impact align with the university’s mission and strategic priorities and are set at a minimum gift amount of $3 million.
Endowed Professorship/Fellowship
An endowed professorship/fellowship at the University of Arizona is a prestigious recognition of a tenured/continuing status faculty member’s sustained excellence and distinction in at least one area of professional achievement in research, teaching, or service. Appointments may be used to honor an exceptional current faculty member, recruit an outstanding scholar, or retain a faculty member whose contributions advance the university’s mission and strategic priorities and are set at a minimum gift amount of $1 million.
Endowed Early-Career Professorship
An Early-Career Professorship at the University of Arizona recognizes a tenure eligible/continuing eligible faculty member who has demonstrated exceptional promise and achievement in research, teaching, or service early in their academic career. Appointments may be used to support and retain promising faculty, recruit outstanding early-career scholars, and foster their development in ways that advance the university’s mission and strategic priorities, and the minimum gift amount is set at $250,000.
Endowed Scholarship
A minimum of $50,000 establishes an endowed scholarship, awarded to undergraduate or graduate students based on need, academic merit, or other factors.
The University of Arizona Foundation manages endowed funds in accordance with its Investment Policy Statement. Click here to access the most recent Investment Policy Statement.
New endowment gifts are subject to the University of Arizona Development Fund fee, a six percent charge on gifts of $1,000 or more. The fee sustains the growth of philanthropy on campus—four percent is allocated to the Foundation to support centrally managed development activities, 1 percent is allocated to the university president’s development activities and 1 percent goes to the beneficiary college or unit to sustain development activities. The charge applies to the first $3.5 million of a gift. Learn more in UA Financial Policy 8.33.
Endowments Established Before March 4, 2026
The University of Arizona raised the minimum gift levels for new endowments on March 4, 2026. Endowed funds established before this date are not affected by the changes. Donors can grow their legacy by making annual gifts to existing named endowed funds. Use our Giving Search Tool to access the secure online donation page for an endowed fund. If you need assistance locating the donation page for a specific fund, contact Donor Services.