Just for comparison, in the 2010 census, the US population was:
White 72.4%
Hispanic and Latino Americans (of any race) 16.3%
Black or African American 12.6%
Asian 4.8%
Native Americans and Alaska Natives 0.9%
Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders 0.2%
Two or more races 2.9%
Other 6.2%
For starters,
I'd build a tree fort in our yard
you could help, it wouldn't be that hard ...
...
I'd buy you some art (a Picasso or a Garfunkel)
...
I'd buy you a monkey* (haven't you always wanted a monkey?)
[*named Reginald, and he'd have the Vikes by 2.
Just don't give him too much Johnnie Walker Blue,
... because all the Littles know what he might do]
Thanks for the ideas, Ed and Steven ... and Robert.
It's not so much a 5% "return" that Duke budgets for but rather Duke (and most other colleges, universities and other non-profits that have endowments) target a certain annual "withdrawal" rate (usually in the range of 4 to 5% per year) from their endowment. The goal, therefore, for the people who manage the endowment is to try to have average investment gains over time that will exceed this withdrawal rate, so that the endowment will continue to grow, even after the annual withdrawals (and not including new contributions to the endowment). Many institutions will also use some type of rolling average (over 3 or 4 years) to even out (somewhat) the ups and downs in the value of the endowment on a year to year basis. If Duke has an approximate endowment of $9 billion and it uses a 5% withdrawal rate, then it would be taking roughly $450 million out of the endowment (each year) and then transfer that over to the operating budget of the university to help pay for scholarships, faculty salaries, athletic budgets, and other operating expenses. I believe Duke has an operating budget in the range of $3.8 billion per year (not including the medical center), so the withdrawals from the endowment fund about 12% of the annual operating budget.
There are endless possibilities to spend the money:
1) Endow a neuroscience institute to fund research on Neurologic Disease. Huge unmet need for society.
2) Undergrad financial aid (although the poor are being targeted there is a donut hole for middle class students or maybe more precisely upper middle class students).
3) More exotic: A medical/engineering/basic research fund to promote collaboration between triangle schools. Grants must be submitted by multiple investigators with one being from Duke and one being from either UNC or NC State. I know the sharing of wealth with the enemy may be frowned upon on this page, but it would encourage scientific collaborations between the schools that would leverage the strength of the triangle area.
4) Free Medical School. Not my favorite idea, but NYU is now free. Wash U announced full rides for 50% of their students this year. It will be an arms race to have free med school. If we want the top students we will probably need to move in that direction.
5) Venture Capital fund to promote Duke discoveries into companies and hopefully future revenue for Duke from both the venture capital and patent rights.
6) More fully fund the alumni office in order to fund more alumni events around the country. Over time this might come back through the development office in increased donations.
Sadly it is really easy to spend 250 million dollars. Particularly if you will only take 12 million a year from an endowment at 5%
A few comments on these (and other previous comments).
*As I understand it, Duke withdraws 4% per year from the endowment. Fortunately, the fund managers have made more than that most years (except during financial crisis)
*Part of this gift will go into financial aid endowment, which has been a major initiative for Duke for over a decade. These funds will be available for scholarships (hopefully as matching funds) for both Trinity and Pratt students. Duke admissions are need-blind.
*Some of this gift will be directed to Pratt for important initiatives (TBD), including as supporting funds for the new building (until a lead gift is received).
*there are “venture” type funds at Duke right now (such as the Duke Angel Network) that allow interested parties to invest in Duke entrepreneurial efforts.
This is a very exciting gift for Duke. And it is the culmination of the generous legacy of the Thomas Lord Foundation, which has been generously awarding significant grants to the school of engineering since the 80s.
I know I wouldn’t give it to a private university with BILLIONS in endowment. I would look for something much more meaningful and impactful on social justice.
you can still name the helmet cubbyholes after yourself at the women's softball field for $5,000, so that's a solid start.
I would endow ACC volleyball with it's tv own channel.
Can anyone guess why?
I'd buy a cheap politician.
Would that be a meaningful distinction in the noise level at a typical game?
And that night would be forever remembered by chapel hill fraternities as "the best night EVER!" (wink, wink).
Undecided?
So, as I understand it, what would I do with ANOTHER quarter billion dollars …
I would negotiate the donation that would yield me a dozen or so tickets behind the bench for ALL the "good" games, the necessary number of suites at the Washington Duke Inn (including the hospitality suite) for my group for each game, and the team jet to pick us up and return us.
I would also get pricing on the cost of hacking the video display at the Dean Dome. Just idle curiosity.
The rest I would spend frivolously …