Minimum gifts to establish endowed accounts vary according to the designated purpose. Minimum amounts also have been established to gain membership to particular gift clubs. Endowments create a permanent funding source because only the interest they generate each year is expended. You may designate one or more colleges, departments, programs or projects. Or, you may choose to let the University decide, based on the areas of greatest need.
Many donors do both with multiple gifts.
To offset the cost of fund raising and gift fund administration, there is a four percent fee on other gifts. Fees on current gifts are assessed on the date the gift is received. Fees for endowments are assessed from first-year earnings, so the endowment principal is not disturbed. Fees for deferred gifts are assessed after the gifts are received. Unrestricted gifts in the Greater University Fund for Excellence provide a pool of funds to Iowa State that are not restricted to specific program uses in colleges and departments.