Because a substantial commitment is required to establish an endowed faculty position, donor commitments are often fulfilled over a period of up to five years. For example, a donor might pledge $1 million to establish a new distinguished professorship and then transfer $200,000 per year for five years to the UCF Foundation. Once the $1 million commitment has been fulfilled, the endowment is considered fully funded and annual disbursements for use by the holder of the position begin.

This allows some donors to make more generous gifts and create greater impact than they could otherwise, but it also means the gift’s impact won’t be felt for several years after the initial commitment.

Now, though, a new UCF incentive program associated with the John C. Hitt Initiative for Faculty Excellence creates an almost immediate impact, even when a donor’s commitment is fulfilled over time.

The program provides annual allocations from university funds to the dean of the college where the new endowed position will be located, starting the fiscal year after the donor makes an initial gift. These allocations, which may be used at the dean’s discretion to advance academic excellence in the college, are calculated based on the balance of the endowment and continue as long as university funding is available.

In the example of a $1 million commitment fulfilled over five years (shown below), at the beginning of the next fiscal year after the initial gift of $200,000, the university will transfer $8,000 (4 percent) to the dean of the college where the position will be established. At the beginning of the following fiscal year, after the donor has made a second gift, bringing the balance to $400,000, the university will transfer $16,000 to the college. This continues each year as the donor gifts compile.