Endowment Giving
The Importance of Endowment
Earnings from endowments provide the great majority of the philanthropic support sustaining W&L each year. When you give a gift to establish or build an endowment, your gift:
- Provides annual revenues that support the chosen purpose of your endowed fund
- Helps W&L keep tuition increases to a minimum
- Contributes to the financial strength that allows W&L to remain true to its mission
W&L has established specific funding priorities and endowment sizes so your investment in an existing or new endowment will be helpful and effective.
Your Gifts at Work
51%
Percentage of W&L's 2023-2024 operating budget derived from philanthropy.
$1.974 Billion
W&L's aggregate endowment as of June 30, 2023
$34.3 Million
New gifts and pledges invested in W&L's endowment in 2023-2024
How Giving To Endowment Works
When you give to an endowed fund, the university invests your gift as part of its overall endowment portfolio. Each year, a portion of the value of your endowed fund is paid out to support the fund’s purpose (a scholarship, a professorship, etc.) Any remaining earnings are used to build the endowment’s value. In this way, an endowment fund can grow and provide support for its designated purpose in perpetuity.
Endowment Thresholds
Endowment thresholds indicate the minimum gift needed to establish an endowment supporting key fundraising priorities.
List of Endowed Funds
Washington and Lee’s endowed funds ensure talented students have access to a W&L education, provide faculty with opportunities for research and academic enrichment, support university programs so that they thrive, and sustain the beauty of the historic campus.
Giving
Endowment Giving
Office of University Development
- P: 540-458-8410
- F: 540-458-8428
- E: development@xiaoneizhi.com
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Endowment Giving
Office of University Development
Washington and Lee University
Development Building
Lexington, VA 24450
Funding Priorities
Your gift helps keep W&L at the forefront of liberal arts in our nation. Learn more about W&L's top fundraising priorities.
Student Scholarships
Washington and Lee enrolls students with exceptional academic ability who demonstrate outstanding leadership and character. Thanks to programs such as the Johnson Scholarship Program and the W&L Promise, the university meets 100 percent of demonstrated financial need for all admitted students. W&L seeks to grow endowments for scholarships in order to admit the strongest students every time, regardless of their family financial circumstances.
The W&L Fund
The W&L Fund brings the Washington and Lee community together in its common pursuit of excellence, harnessing the energy fueled by generous alumni, parents, and friends to support an outstanding academic experience for every student. Providing funding for the areas of greatest need to giving to any of the six designated areas within Washington and Lee University, contributing to the W&L Fund means empowering students to achieve their full potential. Annual giving impacts every sector of the university and provides significant support for the operating budget each year. Each gift advances W&L’s core mission, and the result is class after class of phenomenal leaders who go out into the world to make a positive difference.
Huntley Hall Renovation and Williams School Expansion
Washington and Lee’s Williams School of Commerce, Economics, and Politics stands out among the top 20 liberal arts institutions as the only internationally accredited undergraduate business program. The number of students majoring in accounting, business administration, economics, and politics at W&L has grown significantly over the last 20 years, with nearly 50 percent of each graduating class earning degrees in one of these disciplines. To accommodate that growth and to provide a modern learning complex that supports this robust program, W&L plans to renovate Huntley Hall and build a new Williams School structure on Washington Street. These improvements will facilitate hands-on learning, accommodate the university’s hallmark small class size, and enhance networking and professional development opportunities for students.
The Lindley Center for Student Wellness
In the last five years, both the Student Health Center and the Counseling Center have experienced a significant increase in visits. The critical services these facilities provide ensure the health and wellness of W&L students so they can take full advantage of the learning experiences available to them. Washington and Lee seeks to expand the Student Health and Counseling Center, consolidating medical practice, counseling and psychiatry services in one location, to support a team approach to caring for students in a setting that is easily accessible.
Contact a Gift Officer
If you are interested in establishing an endowment, please start a conversation with a member of our Leadership Giving team.
Susan Wood
Vice President for University Advancement
Susan leads the university’s Development Office and is a key partner in fundraising for W&L. She works with donors from Georgia and Tennessee.
Sydney Cross
Regional Director of Development and Special Projects Advisor
Sydney is a member of the leadership giving team and works with alumni, parents and friends in Southern California, the Pacific Northwest and Northern New Jersey.
Jocelyn Lewis
Executive Director of Development
Lewis manages the leadership gifts team responsible for securing private support from alumni, parents and friends of W&L. Her areas include women in philanthropy and she works with donors in Georgia, Maryland, Washington, DC, and Illinois.
Amy Bersett
Senior Director of Development
Amy is part of the leadership gifts team responsible for securing private support from alumni, parents and friends of the University. She works with donors from San Francisco, Washington, DC, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Pittsburgh.
Mike Fisher
Interim Director of Leadership Giving
Mike Fisher is part of the leadership gifts team responsible for securing support for W&L from alumni, parents and friends. He works with donors from North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri, Colorado, Utah, Kansas, Arizona and New Mexico.
Nancy McIntyre
Senior Philanthropic Advisor
Nancy secures private support for the university and serves as the university academic development staff liaison. In this role, Nancy will explore new opportunities for university faculty to connect with W&L alumni, parents and friends to enhance philanthropy and the student experience. She works with donors in New York City, South Carolina and Virginia.
Kenny Melvin
Senior Director of Development
Kenny Melvin handles giving in support of the university and serves as the staff liaison to the Williams School. He works with donors in New York City, New York State, Northern New Jersey, and Connecticut.
Megan McAllister
Regional Director of Development
Megan McAllister is part of the leadership gifts team responsible for securing support for W&L from alumni, parents, and friends. She works with donors from Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, northern Florida, and the Shenandoah Valley.
Danica Rose
Regional Director of Development
Danica Rose is part of the leadership gifts team responsible for securing support for W&L from alumni, parents, and friends. She works with donors from Dallas, Texas, central and southern Florida, West Virginia, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine.