2011’s Top 10 HBCU Endowments

2011’s Top HBCU Endowments

You’ll notice some schools missing from the 2010 list. This is a result of not responding to NACUBO’s survey in time for its publishing and not so much them dropping out of the top 10 by actual value. Even with that we see a $200 million increase in the top 10 list from 2010. A number that must be vastly improved to say the least (The Standford Challenge raised $6.2 billion over 5 years which is 4 times the size of our top 10 endowments combined over 100 plus years). A good sign is the 2011 list comprises five schools in the $100 million plus club versus only three from 2010. Make sure you know your HBCU’s endowment even if its not in the top 10. This is information you can request from your administration’s Chief Financial Officer. And as always if you don’t see your school here – INVEST.

Endowment (in millions) l Investment Return %

1. Howard University

$539,316 l 17.3%

2. Spelman College

$326,929 l 10.7%

3. Hampton University 

$240,014 l 12.8%

4. Florida A&M University

$111,516 l 16.0%

5. Meharry Medical College

$107,529 l 18.6%

6. Morehouse School of Medicine

$72,916 l 15.8%

7. Bethune Cookman University

$42,487 l 24.8%

8. Tennessee State University

$38,130 l 22.2%

9. Texas Southern University

$36,194 l 19.7%

10. Winston-Salem State University

$25,323 l 16.6%

Take a look at how an endowment works. Not only scholarships but research, recruiting talented faculty & students, faculty salaries, and a host of other things can be paid for through a strong endowment. It ultimately is the lifeblood of a college or university.

Additional Notes:
NACUBO Average Endowment – $497.3 million (17.8%)
NACUBO Median Endowment – $93.4 million (20.0%)
Top 10 HWCU Endowments combined – $141.1 billion
Top 10 HBCU Endowments combined – $1.5 billion
Source: National Association of College & University Business Officers