Last year many endowments at colleges and universities in the Philadelphia area took a financial hit, but this year they are starting to rebound, writes Ryan Mulligan for the Philadelphia Business Journal.

As capital markets improve, most endowments like the University of Pennsylvania’s are showing an uptick in investment return.

College endowments are gifts and donations made to schools that are then invested into various funds until the money is needed for capital projects, endowed faculty positions, scholarships, and other expenses.

All Philadelphia-area schools included in the analysis except Bryn Mawr College and Swarthmore College saw a positive return on investment in fiscal 2023.

Bryn Mawr was one of the only two schools to have a positive investment return last year.

Here is how some college endowments did in fiscal 2023.

Villanova University

• 2023 endowment: $1.19 billion
• 2024 investment return: $23.04 million

Bryn Mawr College

• 2023 endowment: $1.15 billion
• 2024 investment return: $30.19 million

Saint Joseph’s University

• 2023 endowment: $468.09 million
• 2024 investment return: $2.95 million

Ursinus College

• 2023 endowment: $146.82 million
• 2024 investment return: $11.27 million

Read more about Philadelphia-area college endowments in the Philadelphia Business Journal.

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