Endowments are often referred to as the gifts that keep on giving. Endowments are permanently invested by the University of Colorado Foundation, and the income generated by that investment is used for the purpose you wish to support – scholarships, graduate fellowships, supplemental salary support for faculty, research, libraries, lectureships, programs, and much more.

A portion of the income is reinvested each year, enabling the endowment to grow and provide a permanent stream of income over time. There are basically two types of endowment – a "pure" endowment and a "quasi-endowment."

Pure Endowments
Pure endowments are those funds that have been given to the Foundation by an individual, group of individuals, or organizational donor with explicit instructions, or other language indicating the donor’s intent, that the value of the gift be invested and held in perpetuity. With a pure endowment, only Board-approved distributions from the endowment are spent to support the University’s activities. Only a donor (as opposed to the University or the Foundation) can permanently restrict funds.

Quasi-Endowments
Alternatively, quasi-endowments are funds that have been given to the Foundation by an individual, group of individuals, or organizational donor without the restriction that the gift be held in perpetuity, or funds that belong to the Foundation (or in the case of quasi-endowments within the University consolidated funds) that are not subject to any donor’s stipulation that the gift be held in perpetuity. Quasi-endowments may also include expired term endowments. Some donors choose to establish term endowments stipulating that the value of the gift be kept intact for a specified period of years, after which time the gift should be expended, in increments or in full, per the terms of the gift.