An Endowed Scholarship Turnaround Story

“Raising Excellence” LinkedIn Newsletter Issue Oct 24, 2025

A few years ago, a high school in Central Virginia managed a small but meaningful scholarship fund. It had been started decades earlier by a donor who wanted to help graduating seniors attend college.

For years, the school faithfully awarded one scholarship each spring. But as time passed, the fund kept shrinking. The money was sitting in a money market account earning a modest return while inflation and annual withdrawals slowly eroded its value.

No one was mismanaging it. In fact, they were doing what seemed prudent: keeping the funds “safe.” But safety without growth can be its own risk.

Eventually, The Endowment Project Foundation was contacted for help. Together, we moved the fund into an endowed investment strategy designed for long-term sustainability. That was just six months ago.

Since then, the fund has grown by more than 10%, while still awarding scholarships. Instead of draining the account year after year, it’s now positioned to take advantage of the long-term movements in the market indefinitely, enabling future generations of students to benefit from a donor's generosity that began decades ago.

If your school or organization manages a scholarship that could use a second life, we’d love to help.

Contact us at mbor@endowmentproject.com to learn how we can help your scholarship last forever.

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