Funding Priorities

Funding Priorities

The School of Medicine has many needs that can be addressed by philanthropy at different levels of support.

Unrestricted Gifts
Unrestricted gifts are directed to the Annual Fund, the medical school’s only source of flexible current-year funds. Generally, all gifts below $10,000 serve the medical school best in the Annual Fund.

Restricted Gifts
Restricted gifts may be directed to any existing fund at the MCV Foundation for the benefit of a particular specialty or program to support the donor’s personal interest.

Endowed Gifts
An endowed named fund is a permanent, self-sustaining source of funding. Endowment assets are invested for long-term growth. Each year, a portion of the value is paid out to support the fund’s purpose, and any earnings in excess of this distribution are used to build the fund’s market value.

In this way, an endowment fund can grow and provide support for its designated purpose in perpetuity. The MCV Foundation has an endowed management policy that seeks to balance present needs with the desire to meet the future’s rising costs, which is achieved by reinvesting some of today’s earnings so that a larger principal will be available each year to generate more income.

Named Professorships and Chairs

Endowed professorships and chairs are crucial to the task of attracting and retaining an exceptional faculty.

They are powerful fuel for the overall mission of the academic medical center. Such support has the ability to attract renowned teachers and clinicians and augment the research of a top scientist.

The number of endowed professorships speaks to the financial strength of an institution. For the department designated the recipient of such special support, increased prestige and financial stability are but two of the rewards.

Endowed Fellowships

Recent biomedical discoveries have opened doors to unprecedented promise for medical research and human health.

In addition to promoting better patient care, these research endeavors provide our trainees the chance to preview the future of medicine as they study with faculty who are generating tomorrow’s advances in today’s clinics and laboratories.

Graduate student or postdoc fellowship: $250,000

Department Fundraising

The Office of Medical Philanthropy and Alumni Relations, along with the MCV Foundation, assist the school’s departments in building relationships with their house officer alumni and grateful patients. In recent years, departments and divisions of the medical school have benefited from the generosity of their alumni and patients, many of whom have supported research funds, lectureships, fellowships and professorships.

If you are interested in supporting the work of a particular department or division of the medical school, or you would like more information about the fundraising efforts or staff dedicated to a particular department or division, please contact the Office of Medical Philanthropy and Alumni Relations at 804-828-4800 or 800-332-8813.