Doesn’t Bard have a $500 million endowment that should pay for everything?
Once Bard meets its endowment challenge, which provides for another $500 million upon raising $500 million, Bard will have a significant endowment of $1 billion dollars. The endowment challenge was created by a generous donor who committed to giving Bard $500 million for the endowment specifically; it cannot be used for any other purpose. The donor will give control of the $500 million to Bard when Bard “matches” it with another $500 million in gifts and pledges* from other donors before December 2025. The donations to the challenge that do come to the College now, and those in the future, will be invested. As with any endowment (see example above), only a portion of the income can be spent on annual expenses. This gift and the endowment it will create is a transformational event for Bard, but it will not cover the entire cost of running the institution. It still remains important to support Bard now and in the future.
To give a sense of endowment size in peer institutions, see a recent New York Times article (September 2023) reporting on the endowments (as of 2021) of the most economically diverse colleges in the United States:
Endowment by undergraduate enrollment: 2021 (before endowment) | College | Undergrad Pop | Total Endowment | State | | Bard College | 2,100 | $157,000,000 | NY | | Middlebury College | 2,600 | $1,458,600,000 | VT | | Vassar College | 2,500 | $1,420,000,000 | NY | | Wellesley College | 2,300 | $2,861,200,000 | MA | | Smith College | 2,200 | $2,426,600,000 | MA | | Williams College | 2,000 | $3,744,000,000 | MA | | Hamilton College | 1,900 | $1,301,500,000 | NY | | Pomona College | 1,500 | $2,971,500,000 | CA |
Driven by its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and the increased need for financial aid support from families, Bard awards over $70 million dollars to 79% of students (as of the academic year 2023–24). An endowment of $1 billion dollars will provide approximately $50 million a year.
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