AS EARLY AS 1852, the Wake Forest Board of Trustees created an endowment committee, which they deemed "expedient and proper as well as necessary for the success of this Institution." The initial goal was $50,000. By the end of the Civil War, however, the endowment was diminished to a few thousand dollars. The trustees set about rebuilding the endowment, and by 1905 it had reached some $210,000, due mainly to Jabez A. Bostwick, who gave generously of Standard Oil stock and, later, railroad mortgage bonds.
The move to Winston-Salem in 1956 — and the building of a new campus from the ground up — required that every resource for the better part of two decades be devoted to brick and mortar. During this period, little could be done to build the endowment.
Today, a half-century later, Wake Forest faces an on-going challenge to assure the financial support necessary to maintain excellence as a nationally-prominent liberal arts university while preserving the character of the liberal arts college that came to be nearly 170 years ago in a small Southern town.
Current efforts to meet the goals of an ambitious $600 million capital drive — "The Campaign for Wake Forest University: Honoring the Promise" — take place against the backdrop of this unique institutional history.
With your continued financial assistance, we will complete this historic goal.
Endowment Comparison
While Wake Forest's endowment is healthy — having more than doubled in size since 1994 — it is significantly less than the institutions with which Wake Forest most often competes for faculty and students. Indeed, while Wake Forest annually ranks among the top thirty institutions in the country, its endowment barely cracks the top fifty.
Among our private cross-admit schools, Wake Forest ranks last in the percentage amount we can offer as grant money to prospective students. We strive through our campaign effort to shift that burden to the endowment.
Your investment in Wake Forest's future helps close the gap that exists in comparison to our peer institutions, which have much larger endowments relative to current student size. A larger endowment will not only assure our competitiveness to hire and retain excellent faculty but also to attract eager and talented students.
Need-Blind Admissions
Wake Forest is one of a small group of schools that still promises need-blind admission. Simply put, this means that we do not consider a student's financial means when we are making the admissions decision. In fact, we are one of only twenty-eight need-blind institutions nationwide that are committed to meeting full need and developing a new approach to defining need. If Wake Forest is the choice of a well-qualified but needy student, we pledge to make the necessary financial aid available.
Ultimately, a larger endowment — relative to the scope of the University and its offerings — assures greater diversity among students and faculty by providing opportunity to anyone who meets our academic criteria, irrespective of background. Gifts at any level help ensure that we can continue offering access to excellent students of modest economic circumstances.
With your help, we will continue to honor our promise.
