UNDAAF Endowment Fund sets new record

The UND Alumni Association & Foundation saw its endowment fund grow to a record $380.4 million during the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2023 (FY 23). The record level was announced at the State of the UND Alumni Association & Foundation Address, which was made by DeAnna Carlson Zink, the association and foundation’s CEO, on Tuesday, Aug. 22.

The endowment is twice the size it was just 10 years ago.

“That is remarkable,” said Carlson Zink of the record size of the endowment. “It is a testament to new endowments adding dollars to the fund and the prudent and fiscally responsible management of that fund by our Board of Directors.”

A full transcript of Carlson Zink’s remarks is below. A video of the address can be watched at the Alumni Association & Foundation’s YouTube page.

The UNDAAF Endowment Fund is made up of more than 1,900 endowments established by donors over the years. The University’s first endowment dates to the 1940s and still provides a scholarship to this day. An endowment is created by a gift that is invested to generate consistent income that can be used annually to fund scholarships, programs, or other campus needs.

The UNDAAF Endowment Fund also had a record payout for support of almost $12 million during FY 23. The five-year payout is just shy of $50 million.
Other highlights of FY 23:

• Donations and commitments of $55.2 million

o The fifth-highest total ever
o Total of $340 million over past five years

• 8,160 donors, including 1,206 first-time donors

Carlson Zink used the discovery this summer of foundation bricks from the University’s first building to drive home a point about the importance of donors in UND’s history. “Just as the brick-makers’ fingerprints can be found on the bricks that formed Old Main, our alumni and donors’ fingerprints are all over this great University,” she said.

“From scholarships that open doors to buildings that facilitate growth, from faculty empowerment to the nurturing of programs, our dedicated donors are the driving force behind the University of North Dakota’s past achievements, present successes, and the bright promise of the future.”

For a full transcript of Carlson Zink’s address, read the full post at UND Today.