Endowment

Endowed scholarships

The gift of an endowed scholarship provides Columbia College with a permanent asset from which students can receive support. Scholarships at Columbia College are established with a minimum investment of $10,000. The donor has the option of creating a scholarship with an outright gift or a pledge to be completed within five years. The gift becomes a fund managed by professional advisers, whose investment objective is to achieve growth sufficient to preserve the value of the gift so the annual award is not diminished by inflation.

Program endowments

The earnings from program endowments provide Columbia College with permanent earnings to enhance certain designated programs of the college beyond the resources provided by the annual budget. Because of this, program endowments require a much larger principal than scholarship endowments.

Endowed chair Endowed chairs are the highest honor the College can bestow upon our faculty members. They exist to support Columbia College faculty in academic disciplines. The support of endowed chairs is the result of gifts to the College in excess of $1 million dollars. The income from the endowment is used for salary supplements, start-up costs and other operating expenses that support the endowment. Columbia College will recruit, retain and reward distinguished faculty members through endowed chair positions in their fields of expertise. Endowments allow Columbia College not only to honor deserving faculty but to provide continuing support to benefit our students and local community through innovative learning opportunities.

Endowed professorship An endowed professorship is a distinction awarded to an instructor in recognition of past and potential original contributions to an academic discipline. The minimum gift for endowing a professorship is $500,000. Professorships can be funded over a five-year period. Endowments, which are originally established as a professorship, can be upgraded to an Endowed Chair. A professorship at Columbia College promotes faculty excellence in teaching and provides permanent funding in support of scholarly efforts. Maintaining a quality liberal arts and sciences experience for our students through exemplary teaching methods is a mission of Columbia College.

Naming a building or portion of a building

When a contribution to the college results in a request to name a building or portion of a building for a donor or other individual, the Executive Director of Development and Alumni Services should be notified. A profile of the donor, the area of interest with any proposed stipulations and information about how the gift will be paid should be provided. They will discuss the potential naming with the President and other appropriate college officials.

Planned giving

Planned gifts provide donors with excellent benefits and the knowledge that their support will impact the future success of the college. Benefits can include life income, future continued use of gift property, an avoidance of capital gains tax and an immediate income tax deduction.