Emory University’s endowment increased by 39% from $7.94 billion in fiscal year 2020 to $11.03 billion in fiscal year 2021, according to the annual study conducted by the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO).
This jump represents significantly more growth compared to the 0.82% increase from fiscal year 2019 to fiscal year 2020, reflecting financial repercussions from the first few months of the pandemic. Emory now ranks No. 16 of the 735 U.S. and Canadian institutions surveyed, up from No. 17 of 717 last year.
Of participating colleges and universities in Georgia, Emory’s endowment remains the largest, followed by the Georgia Institute of Technology with $2.97 billion and the University of Georgia with $1.82 billion, which nationally ranks them No. 49 and No. 78, respectively.
Emory’s $11 billion endowment comprises 2,000 individual endowments. Assistant Vice President for Communications and Marketing Laura Diamond wrote in a March 4 email to the Wheel that each endowment represents the culmination of months-long conversations between the University and potential donors.
In a Feb. 18 press release, NACUBO highlighted that institutions across the country have taken advantage of “dramatically higher investment returns” to better fund student financial aid. According to Diamond, 70% of Emory endowment funds are contractually restricted in their usage and the other 30% are unrestricted. Both types of endowments support academic programs such as scholarships and fellowships, with restricted funds contributing $40.1 million in fiscal year 2021 and unrestricted funds helping support the Woodruff Scholars, among other programs.
Although donors are able to restrict the use of their funds, Emory Investment Management has the discretion to invest the funds. “Emory’s endowment is invested in a globally, diversified portfolio of investments,” Diamond wrote. However, the NACUBO report noted, endowments are beginning to turn their attention to the navigation of growing inflation.
Diamond said the University’s “primary investment objective is to earn an average annual real total return of at least 5% per year over the long term, net of cost,” in order to sustain the endowment’s purchasing power and support funding priorities.
“Emory’s endowment was a beneficiary of the unprecedented performance in global equity markets in 2020 and 2021,” Diamond concluded.
