Named gift opportunities

Minimum gift: $25,000

Current scholarships reflect a donor’s commitment to support a scholarship for a specific number of years. The full amount of the gift is expended over a specific time frame, such as one year. 

General university minimum gift: $50,000*

An endowed scholarship is a permanent investment in the dreams of our students. By establishing a named fund, you create a legacy that supports VCU students in perpetuity, ensuring that the doors of higher education remain open to the brightest minds regardless of their financial circumstances.

General university minimum gift: $250,000*

To compete for the best talent and fuel the next generation of discovery, VCU must offer support that rivals top institutions. An endowed graduate fellowship is a strategic investment in our academic excellence, providing the sustainable funding needed to recruit elite candidates to our master’s and doctoral programs.

General university minimum gift: $100,000*

As a top 50 public research institution, we have an unrelenting drive to discover and to create. Our faculty, staff and students are exploring ideas that will reimagine the human experience and tackle the problems of tomorrow. Endowed research funds provide critical support for groundbreaking discoveries and never-before-tried ideas.

Lecture series also contribute to the development of new knowledge by fostering interactions with local, national and global leaders. Lectureship funds make these engagements possible by covering associated costs, including stipends, travel and lodging, facility usage and more.  

These funds may be established at the university, college or school, or unit level.

General university minimum gift: $500,000*

Junior faculty fellowships and term professorships are designed to support rising stars in the early stages of their academic careers. Unlike permanent endowed chairs, these positions are often held for a specific period (typically three to five years), providing critical “seed” support during a faculty member’s most formative years.

By providing flexible funding for research, lab equipment or travel, these awards allow promising assistant or associate professors to accelerate their work, compete for larger federal grants and establish themselves as leaders in their fields. Investing in a junior fellowship is an investment in the next generation of discovery, ensuring the university recruits and retains the most talented early-career educators and scientists.

General university minimum gift: $500,000-$1 million*

A Discovery Innovation fund is an agile endowment designed to fuel research or initiatives aligned to the priorities of the unit. By providing unrestricted seed capital, these funds drive bold, unconventional ideas and projects that promote the national prominence of the unit and the advancement of knowledge.

General university minimum gift: $750,000*

Departmental professorships are prestigious endowments that help VCU attract and retain world-class faculty who serve as the backbone of the department’s teaching and research missions. Endowed departmental professorships are designated for faculty members making significant contributions to their field and who might have responsibilities including teaching and mentorship, clinical care, community engagement and leadership at the unit or university level.

General university minimum gift: $1.25 million*

A research professorship is specifically designed to support faculty members whose primary focus is the advancement of knowledge through rigorous investigation and discovery. Holders of these prestigious endowments pursue original research, secure external research funding and contribute to the strategic priorities of the institution through interdisciplinary research initiatives and external relationships.

Research professorships ensure that the university’s most productive investigators have the resources to maintain a globally competitive research program. These positions are often the key to securing major federal grants and elevating the institution’s reputation for innovation.

General university minimum gift: $1 million-$3 million*

Reserved for world-class scholars and eminent leaders in their fields, these prestigious positions serve as a permanent tribute to a donor’s vision and a powerful tool for academic excellence. Holders are world-class scholars and eminent leaders in their field who advance knowledge or clinical care through teaching responsibilities, mentoring (students, junior faculty and trainees) and/or by maintaining an active clinical practice. Endowed faculty chairs also contribute to the overall mission and strategic priorities of the institution and provide leadership through serving on committees, participating in faculty governance and representing the institution in professional organizations.

General university minimum gift: $2 million-$3 million*

An endowed department chair is a strategic investment in the leadership and long-term vision of an entire academic unit. These prestigious funds ensure that the department remains a center of excellence, capable of adapting to new challenges and maintaining a national reputation for leadership in its field.

General university minimum gift: $3 million-$4 million*

Linked to the administrative position of faculty who leads/co-leads major collaborative research initiatives, an endowed research chair enhances the academic prestige of the administrative position for a prominent researcher who conducts, oversees and disseminates research and plays a significant role in securing external research funding. Holders of these endowments typically lead transdisciplinary research, develop research-related community, industry and external relationships, and provide national leadership in their field as advocates for policies and initiatives that advance research and scholarship in their discipline. 

General university minimum gift: $4 million-$10 million*

Endowing a deanship is an investment in the entire ecosystem of a school. As the pinnacle of academic leadership, deanships ensure that VCU can attract and retain world-class visionary leaders who will shape the future of their fields and mentor the next generation of changemakers.

General university minimum gift: $5 million-$20 million*

Successful academic programs are those with the flexibility to innovate. An endowed fund for a department, center or institute provides essential, unrestricted support that empowers leadership to seize emerging research opportunities, recruit specialized faculty and pilot new student initiatives. An investment of this caliber builds capacity, drives discovery and solves complex global challenges.

General university minimum gift: $20 million-$200 million*

Naming a school or college is a rare opportunity to help define the trajectory of an entire academic discipline. A gift of this magnitude provides the transformational, unrestricted support necessary to elevate VCU to the global stage by providing the sustainable resources required to recruit premier faculty, launch bold programs, invest in emerging technologies and offer unparalleled opportunities to every student who passes through our doors.

Scholarship criteria are guided by VCU’s policy on accepting and awarding scholarship and fellowship funds. In alignment with VCU’s mission, and to increase access to education and training, all VCU scholarship opportunities are intended to meet current and evolving student needs. As such, prohibited or overly restrictive criteria that limit the pool of potential recipients and are contrary to the university’s intent are not accepted. In compliance with State and Federal law and VCU’s non-discrimination policy, all scholarships will be awarded without regard to applicants’ protected characteristics.

Scholarship donors who establish named funds may specify limited award criteria for selecting recipients in the gift agreement, but may not have any active or direct role in selecting the recipients of their named funds. University representatives from the appropriate academic department or division use those criteria when choosing student recipients. Per university policy, review committee members are university employees who have completed student record privacy training. A review committee cannot include any individual who has donated to that particular scholarship.

VCU strives to create opportunities for donors and scholarship recipients to meet. Many donors feel profound personal satisfaction when they meet the students whose education they made possible, and students are often eager to thank and meet their benefactor.

Total financial aid awards received through scholarships, grants, work-study and/or loans cannot exceed the cost of attendance at VCU for the financial aid award year. Receiving a scholarship could cause a reduction in other financial aid already received. If possible, loans would be reduced. Sometimes, however, it’s necessary to reduce work-study grants (with the exception of the federal Pell Grant) and/or scholarships. This practice is in accordance with federal regulations and institutional policy. If a student’s financial aid must be reduced because they received a scholarship, they will be notified by the Office of Financial Aid.

Scholarships intended to achieve institutional diversity must be neutral regarding all protected classes; criteria may not be crafted to function as a proxy for protected characteristics.

Criteria based on national origin or ethnicity are prohibited. A donor may specify criteria that requires a demonstrated interest or research in the culture of a certain country. Donors may also specify that recipients be U.S. citizens or permanent legal residents.

Athletic scholarships, within certain parameters, are an exception in accordance with federal Title IX, which requires that female and male student-athletes receive athletics scholarship dollars proportional to their participation.