A guiding principle of good stewardship of our 153 year old school is financial stability. The future of St. Mary’s Academy is supported through our growing endowment and is the key to the innovation and flexibility that the next century will require of schools like St. Mary’s Academy.

Endowment is invested donations from which the school draws each year, at a rate designed to preserve capital and to supplement the operating income provided by tuition and gifts to the school.

The income provided by the general endowment provides:

• Tuition assistance for qualified students
• Academic programs and co-curricular activities that support the school’s teaching, culture and service
• Support to attract and retain outstanding faculty
• Support for the maintenance and renewal of our historic facility
• Financial stability in changing times and flexibility to respond to new opportunities

In short, a strong endowment equals choices for the future.  Today, St. Mary’s endowment funds total more than $6.7 million – lower than many comparable schools.  To ensure the future economic vitality of St. Mary’s Academy, one of our top priorities is to increase our endowment.

Named Endowment Funds

The St. Mary’s Academy Endowment is comprised of numerous named endowment funds, many of which are established to honor family members, alumnae, teachers and friends.  A named endowment may also benefit a specific area of interest, such as athletics, performing arts, or a department.

A minimum $10,000 gift is required to start a named endowment fund.  Smaller gifts are of course welcomed and will be added to an appropriate previously established endowment fund.

If you are interested in establishing an endowment fund or contributing to an existing fund, please contact Lisa Gray, Director of Development, at 503.721.7724 or by email at: lisa.gray@stmaryspdx.org.

Endowed Scholarship Funds

Endowed scholarships are established with a minimum gift of $10,000 and become part of St. Mary's endowment portfolio.  Endowed scholarships exist in perpetuity with only a portion of the interest earned on the principal of the fund is used to provide scholarships and tuition assistance.

Once the minimum gift of $10,000 is invested for a year, the fund becomes eligible to make a scholarship award. Donors may continue to contribute to their endowed scholarship after it is created, thereby building a larger pool of aid and increasing the scholarship's impact. Tuition at St. Mary's for the 2012-2013  academic year is $11,150, so the larger the endowed scholarship fund, the greater the benefit in aid to our students.