Key facts

Reported value

USD 502.7 million

As of

FY2025 survey reporting period

Portfolio

Survey respondent endowment

Location

Fairfield, CT

Data through FY2025

Balance reference

Endowment size and reporting scope

For Fairfield University, the common-year comparison starts with USD 458.824 million in FY2024. The FY2025 balance is USD 502.662 million. Those closing values describe the named respondent's resources. Gifts and distributions affect the change alongside investments, so the 9.55% movement cannot establish a portfolio return. Survey scope and definitions

Source: NACUBO · Data through FY2025

The FY2025 survey value for Fairfield University is USD 502.662 million, compared with USD 458.824 million for FY2024. The USD 43.838 million movement is 9.55% of the earlier balance. It includes changes in investments as well as additions and distributions. NACUBO explicitly distinguishes this change in market value from an investment rate of return. FY2025 respondent values and definitions

The available history begins in FY2016 at USD 310.278 million and ends in FY2025 at USD 502.662 million. The change across those observations is USD 192.384 million. The smallest reported balance in the displayed series is USD 310.278 million in FY2016; the largest is USD 502.662 million in FY2025. These are closing asset values. They do not show how much of a year's movement came from new gifts, spending or investment results. NACUBO historical workbook

Spending policy and payout

The FY2025 NCSE $500M to $1B group reports an average effective spending rate of 4.3%. That is a survey-group statistic and is not assigned as Fairfield University's policy. An institution's own spending rule can use several prior valuation dates, a prior-year dollar draw or additional adjustments. Its approved appropriation and the cash ultimately spent by a department can differ in timing. NCSE spending-rate table

For Fairfield University, the USD 502.662 million survey balance does not disclose a dollar payout. The peer spending rate above describes other respondents in a common size group. It cannot identify this institution's approved draw or the purposes of distributions. Donor restrictions and the policy's averaging dates remain relevant to annual support. Spending measures

Governance and investment office

NACUBO classifies Fairfield University as private college/university endowment or other non-profit institution. The Fairfield, CT respondent is the unit used for its rank of 239. That category describes the reporting institution. Investment oversight and the legal ownership of supporting-fund assets require the institution's own governing documents, with the university and any separately incorporated foundation identified individually. Investment governance

Federal excise tax on investment income

Public Law 119-21 changed Section 4968 for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025. Applicable private institutions must have at least 3,000 tuition-paying students in the preceding tax year, with more than half located in the United States, and student-adjusted endowment of at least $500,000. The rates are 1.4% from $500,000 through $750,000 per student, 4% above $750,000 through $2 million, and 8% above $2 million. Enacted law, Section 70415

An institution's tax tier requires its statutory asset base, eligible student count and related-organization treatment. The survey's closing market value does not supply that calculation. No institution-specific rate is assigned without an institutional disclosure. A campus's enrollment in a public fact sheet can differ from the daily-average, full-time-equivalent count required by the law.

The tax is imposed on net investment income. Student-adjusted endowment uses prior-year fair values for assets other than those used directly for exempt purposes. The statute also contains student-count and related-organization provisions. A spending policy applies to an institution's chosen asset base, while the tax applies to investment income under federal rules.

FY2025 size-band comparison

The FY2025 survey value of USD 502.662 million places this respondent in the $500M to $1B band. The published band contains 74 respondents and USD 54.8 billion of aggregate assets. Its average five-year annualized net return is 10.7%, and its ten-year average is 7.8%. The size classification follows the survey-year balance even where an official disclosure on this page uses a later year or a different portfolio scope. NCSE size groups NCSE average net returns

Source: NACUBO · Data through FY2025

NCSE's allocation categories combine strategies with different liquidity and valuation practices. Its Alternatives group can include private capital, hedge funds and real assets. Matching that broad weight would not establish identical holdings. The displayed mix is a survey average, not this institution's target allocation. Published category weights are shown with an explicit rounding difference so the full bar totals 100%. NCSE allocation definitions

Public records and reporting dates

The ProPublica nonprofit API identifies the legal filer as Fairfield University, EIN 060646623. Its available filing for the year ended June 30, 2023 reports total filer assets of USD 1,146.008 million, revenue of USD 424.528 million, expenses of USD 384.747 million. These are filer-wide amounts, which can include buildings, operating resources and other assets outside the endowment. The filing period is retained separately from the current investment disclosures. ProPublica structured filing data

Related reading

• Endowment directory
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• Endowments by size
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