Scholarship Gift Opportunities - Development - Invest in Wartburg

Endowed Scholarships
An endowed scholarship gift is an ideal way for donors to make a lasting difference, positively impacting Wartburg students for generations to come. Such a gift also allows the donor to create a legacy by naming the scholarship after themselves or their family, in honor of a loved one, etc.

The minimum gift or pledge required to establish an individual endowed scholarship is $25,000. Except when making a deferred gift, donors should complete their endowed scholarship pledge within five years. Donors may make additional contributions to their endowment at any time. In return, the donor will be entitled to:

        • Name the scholarship
        • Assist in establishing scholarship award criteria
        • Receive recognition in the Wartburg College Heritage Society

When discussing an endowed scholarship with donors, Development Officers should strive to keep the award criteria as unrestrictive as possible. The fewer restrictions, the more helpful a scholarship will be in meeting future needs of students and the College.

The preferred award criteria would be something like…this award shall be directed to a needy and deserving student…or…this award shall be based on merit and/or financial need as determined by the Wartburg College Financial Aid Office.

If the donor is steadfast in his/her desire to restrict the use of the scholarship, then an attempt should be made to soften the restrictions by using preferences or special consideration. Also, include language that provides the College flexibility to award the scholarship when an ideal recipient cannot be found. For example:

Preference shall be given to a student from Bremer County; Special consideration shall be given to an elementary education major; In the event that no one meets the above criteria, the College shall award the scholarship to a deserving student.

It is also helpful to include language which enables the scholarship to be renewed for the same recipient in subsequent years, providing the recipient maintain suitable academic progress and meets the remaining criteria for the scholarship.

An endowment gift, or principal, is invested by the College and administered in accordance with guidelines set forth by the Board of Regents. A portion of the annual interest earnings is used to fund the scholarship. Currently, the amount of the scholarship award is equal to 4.0% of the endowment principal (e.g. a $100,000 endowment would yield a $4,000 award), assuming the principal was intact for the entire fiscal year. Additions, or gifts, to the principal made in June-August receive 75% of the annual interest allocation; additions made in Sept.-Dec. receive 50% of the annual interest allocation; additions made in Jan.-May receive no interest allocation until the following fiscal year. For endowments that have not yet reached the $25,000 minimum, all interest allocations are used to supplement the principal.

In any given year, should the endowment generate realized earnings in excess of 4.0%, the difference shall be used to supplement the principal, thereby increasing the amount of future scholarship awards. Possible endowed scholarship gift levels include:

Full Scholarship
(includes tuition, room & board, and fees)
Full Tuition Scholarship
Financial Need of an Average Student
Full Room & Board Scholarship
Minimum for endowed Scholarship

$800,000

625,000
450,000
175,000
25,000

Exceptions to the above minimum would be rare and should receive prior approval of the Vice President for Advancement. Donors who have an interest in supporting scholarships but do not feel they can commit to a $25,000 pledge should be asked to consider: 1) making a gift to The Annual Fund, a pooled fund that helps support scholarships for students with financial need; or 2) making an annually-funded scholarship gift.

Annually-Funded Scholarships
An annually-funded scholarship is an ideal way for donors who want to support Wartburg students, but may not want to commit to either the amount or the permanency associated with an endowment, to provide a much-needed scholarship gift.

The minimum gift or pledge required to establish an individual annually-funded scholarship is $1,000. Donors should complete their annually-funded scholarship pledge by December 31, in order to have the scholarship awarded during the next academic year. Since the duration of the scholarship award is dependent upon funding, it is expected that the donor will make additional gifts each year. In return, the donor will be entitled to:

• Name the scholarship
• Receive recognition in the Wartburg College Tower Society

The awarding of annually-funded scholarships is based on need as determined by the College. The amount of each year’s award is based on the available account balance.