Endowment & Scholarships
A robust endowment is necessary to ensure that Burroughs can hire and retain the best faculty, and control tuition increases for all families from one year to the next.
The Burroughs endowment was established in the 1970s and consists mainly of permanently restricted funds — monies set aside for a particular purpose as directed by the donor. Investment income from the endowment provides approximately 10% of the school’s annual operating revenue: an average draw of 4.2%. Investment income from our endowment is the largest source of revenue after tuition and Annual Giving.
During Burroughs’ 50th anniversary in 1973, volunteers and school leadership launched the Fifty from Twenty plan to obtain $50,000 each from 20 donors to grow the Burroughs endowment. Twenty-three families ultimately donated. During the school’s 75th anniversary in 1998, volunteers and school leadership launched Phase II of The Next Level of Excellence Campaign to grow the endowment to $40 million. On October 7, 2022, Burroughs affirmed that endowment was again a central focus when it announced a goal of a $100 million endowment by June 2026 as part of our Centennial Campaign.
When you give to the Burroughs endowment, you:
- Provide a permanent place for your extended family to direct their gifts to Burroughs.
- Celebrate your family, a loved one, or a favorite faculty member by naming your fund.
- Secure permanent funding for Burroughs because the principal of your endowed fund is invested and untouched in perpetuity. Your gift lasts forever.
- Connect with the beneficiaries of your generosity through personalized reports that will give you the satisfaction of knowing how your funds impact the school.
You may also prefer to make a bequest to the Burroughs endowment to support what matters most to you.
Currently, our endowment is not yet of a value consistent with peer institutions.
ENDOWMENTS OF PEER INSTITUTIONS
Of 34 schools against which Burroughs evaluates its financial position, the school ranks 20th. This comparison includes schools with smaller student populations, such as Belmont Hill, Winsor, and Castilleja.*
| SCHOOL | ENROLLMENT | ENDOWMENT |
|---|---|---|
| Westminster Atlanta, GA |
1,800 | $303,594,664 |
| Belmont Hill Belmont, MA |
465 | $133,310,912 |
| MICDS St. Louis, MO |
1,251 | $127,454,908 |
| Lovett Atlanta, GA |
1,648 | $122,533,930 |
| Pingry Basking Ridge, NJ |
1,195 | $103,097,327 |
| Winsor Boston, MA |
472 | $101,065,216 |
| Castilleja Palo Alto, CA |
416 | $72,700,000 |
| Hawken Chesterland, OH |
1,243 | $70,835,833 |
| Burroughs St. Louis, MO |
659 | $70,609,279 |
*Table includes the voluntarily disclosed value of endowments at benchmark schools for the 2021-2022 school year.
A belief in education is a belief in the future. Gifts of endowment honor the thousands of remarkable people who have taught and learned on the Burroughs campus. The curious, kind, competitive, and talented people who help one another, love one another and grow-up together.
—
Andy Abbott, Head of School
