Endowment

The endowment provides long-term financial support for USN’s people, programs, and facilities. It ensures the school’s excellence for generations to come by helping attract and retain inspiring teachers, supporting learning opportunities within and beyond our classrooms, and improving access to USN for talented students from all backgrounds. Establishing an endowed fund through lifetime giving or an estate plan shows a profound degree of commitment to the mission of University School of Nashville.

What’s next for USN’s Endowment?

According to national benchmarks, an independent school like USN should aim for an endowment that is three times its operating budget. For us, this value would be approximately $90 million.

While we made significant progress toward this priority during our centennial campaign, there is still work to do. With an endowment valued at $37 million as of December 31, 2021, USN’s philanthropic resources continue to fall short of its national peers.

Our long-term goal is to achieve the recommended 3:1 ratio. In the near term, we aim to raise the next $8 million, keeping on the trajectory of the past decade and bringing the endowment value to $45 million.

Seventy-four funds make up the University School of Nashville endowment in these categories:
 
General Endowment Funds
Faculty Endowment Funds
Scholarship Funds
Program Funds

Please see details of our named funds by category below.
 
USN welcomes additional gifts of all sizes to existing endowments, as well as the creation of new named funds with a minimum donation of $100,000.  
 
Please visit usn.org/plannedgiving for more information or contact Anne Westfall, Director of Development, at 615-277-7495 or awestfall@usn.org.

Endowment Funds

List of 4 items.

  • General Endowment Funds

     
    Brad and Lisa Greenbaum Family Endowment Fund
    Crumbo Family Endowment Fund
    Davis Endowment Fund
    Doochin Kasselberg Family Endowment Fund
    Fishel Family Endowment Fund
    Gillmor Family Endowment Fund
    Joanna and Anders Hall Family Endowment Fund
    Puryear Family Endowment Fund
    USN General Endowment Fund
    Wright Family Endowment Fund

  • Faculty Endowment Funds

     
    Artclectic Endowment Fund for Innovative Teaching
    Awh Family Endowment Fund
    Bovender Family Faculty Chair
    Clayton Family Endowment Fund
    Debbie Davies Endowed Teaching Fund
    Edward E. Ford Faculty Development Endowment 
    Edward E. Ford Faculty Endowment 
    Endowment for Professional Development 
      in Learning Differences
    Forte-Farnette Endowment Fund
    Frank and Gwen Gordon Family 
      Faculty Development Fund
    Friedman Family Faculty Endowment Fund
    Hazel Lundberg Faculty Endowment Fund
    Helen Meador Travel Fellowship
    Hodges Family Faculty Development Fund
    Kathy Woods Fund for Lower School Faculty 
      Professional Development
    Lisa & Mike Shmerling Chair 
      for Excellence in Teaching
    Quaker Hill Summer Professional Development Fund
    Robert O. Beauchamp Memorial Endowment Fund
    Spitz Family Endowed Teaching Fund
    USN Faculty Endowment Fund

  • Scholarship Funds

     
    Arildsen Family Endowment for 
      Mathematics Competition
    Bernice and Joel C. Gordon Family Scholarship Fund
    Bobby Henderson Scholarship Fund
    Bracey Scholarship Fund
    Conner Family Endowment Fund
    Conte Bredesen Scholarship Fund
    Edward E. Ford Lending Library Endowment
    Edward R. Costello Scholarship Fund
    Ellen E. Dickinson Endowed Scholarship
    Emanuel Schatten Scholarship
    Ethel Walker Scholarship
    Evening Classes Scholarship Endowment
    Flora Family Foundation Scholarship Program
    Garrison Family Scholarship Fund
    Goizueta Foundation Scholars’ Fund
    Goldberg-Lombardi Scholarship Fund
    Grace Melchiore Endowment Fund for Student Travel
    Harvey Sperling Scholarship Fund
    Heber and Fran Rogers Endowed Scholarship Fund
    Heimark Scholarship Fund
    Henry Zibart Scholarship Fund
    Jane and Richard Eskind and Family 
      Endowed Scholarship
    Janet Carney Schneider College Counseling Fund
    Jo Ann Bernard Scholarship Fund
    Karl VanDevender Scholarship Fund
    Lemonade Scholarship Fund
    Lester-Roche Endowed Scholarship Fund
    Lois McMullan Scholarship Fund
    Malone Scholars Program
    Orrin H. Ingram Scholarship
    Reader’s Digest Endowed Scholarship Fund
    Stanford Moore Fund
    Stephen M. Burk Memorial Scholarship Fund
    USN General Scholarship Fund
    Vincent W. Durnan, Jr. Scholarship Program
    Yazdian Family Scholarship Fund
    Zach Liff Family Endowed Scholarship

  • Program Funds

     
    Buhl Lecture Series Endowment
    DiSilvestro Endowment Fund for Theater
    Mary Interlandi Family Endowment Fund
    Mimsye & Leon May Visiting Artist Endowment
    National Ecological Foundation Endowment
    Sondra Zendlovitz Reading Room Endowment
    SunTrust Endowment for Art Gallery Exhibits
    Zeppos Family Endowment for Debate

Leave a Legacy

List of 1 items.

USN Endowment Spending Policy

It is the school's goal and policy to distribute for use in the school's operations, on an annual basis, 4 percent of the most recent September 30 balance of the endowment as of the time of the annual budget approval, except as otherwise stipulated by donors for specific restricted funds.  

This amount should not exceed 5 percent nor be less than 2 percent of the trailing three-year average of the September 30 market value for the three fiscal years immediately preceding the respective budget approval. 

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