Endowment Stewardship at USC

USC is an exceptional steward of the funds entrusted to it in perpetuity by donors, with the USC Board of Trustees ensuring that each donor’s wishes and intent are observed long after the current administration is gone. To make sure that USC’s endowment continues to grow and is protected against inflationary erosion, the board employs a spending rule that mandates a portion of the endowment’s total return income be allocated for current use, with the remainder being added to principal and reinvested. Citing the university’s “strong fund raising and solid investment performance,” Standard & Poor’s has given USC a rating of AA+.