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UMass Endowment Grows To A Record High Of $757M

The University of Massachusetts' endowment has grown to a record high $757 million after fundraising efforts exceeded expectations during the latest fiscal year, system President Robert Caret said Wednesday.

The five-campus system raised almost $117 million in gifts and pledges during the 2014 fiscal year, a 12 percent increase over the previous year and about $12 million more than the goal, he said.

"We have established increased private support as a top priority and are pleased to be seeing clear signs of success," Caret said at a meeting of the Board of Trustees Committee on Administration and Finance.

"At a time when state government has stepped up its financial commitment to UMass, we see similar progress in the area of private support as being central to the university's long-term stability and success," he said.

The total endowment growth over the previous year was 14 percent and the investment return for the fiscal year was 13.7 percent, he said.

The university received 14 gifts in excess of $1 million, including a $10 million gift from longtime supporters Douglas and Diana Berthiaume to create a Center for Entrepreneurship at the Amherst campus' Isenberg School of Management.

The university was supported by 21,360 first-time donors, the most in its history.

"We are heartened to see this major infusion of new donors, as this significant expansion of our donor base augers well for the future," Caret said.

The flagship Amherst campus led the way, raising nearly $46 million, followed by the medical school in Worcester at $32 million; Lowell at almost $21 million; Boston at almost $14 million; and Dartmouth at about $4.5 million.

The endowment distributed almost $18 million to all campuses during the last academic year, much of it to student scholarships.

UMass is in the early stage of its first system-wide capital campaign, which has a goal of raising $800 million over five years.

This article was originally published on September 10, 2014.

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