Elizabeth City State University

The ECSU Foundation

Building the Legacy...By Elevating the Endowment

Mission Statement

The ECSU Foundation mission is to serve as the steward of private contributions to Elizabeth City State University in order to provide educational assistance for students, to support faculty, and to secure the operational needs of the university. The Foundation receives, invests, and administers funds received, as a result of charitable contributions from the private sector, on behalf of the students and programs at ECSU and, as a result, for the greater good of the community.

Guiding Principles 

  • to steward the resources entrusted to the organization's care, 
  • to support and assist others in conjunction with ECSU, 
  • to provide opportunities to individuals who might not otherwise be able to attend college,
  • to invest wisely and conservatively to ensure growth of the endowment, 
  • to partner with the university to meet its mission in the community, 
  • to communicate openly, frequently and honestly with our constituents, 
  • to honor the privacy of our donors and friends, 
  • to value diversity in all its forms and respect the dignity of the individual, 
  • and to ensure that the organization meet both the letter and the support of the laws that govern our work.

The Elizabeth City State University Foundation - A Blended Component Unit of ECSU

Although legally separate, Elizabeth City State University Foundation, Inc. and Subsidiary, is a component unit of the University and is reported as if it were a part of the University. The Foundation is governed by a 25-member board consisting of 13 ex officio directors and 11 elected directors. The Foundation's purpose is to aid, support and promote teaching, research and service in the various educational, scientific, scholarly, professional, artistic and creative endeavors of the University. Because the elected directors of the Foundation are appointed by the members of the Elizabeth City State University Board of trustees and the Foundation's sole purpose in to benefit Elizabeth City State University, its financial statements are blended with those of the University.

ECSU Endowment

The ECSU Foundation is committed to ensuring the future of the university by building ECSU's endowment to provide for its needs in perpetuity. The investment and annual reinvestment, allowed at a higher rate of return than other reserve funds, of the ECSU Foundation endowment allows the university to increase its impact on the region as well as the capacity to meet the needs of the students it serves. The Foundation secures and manages funds, on behalf of ECSU, to establish scholarships, support distinguished professorships and deliver both academic and community outreach programming. In all its efforts, the ECSU Foundation is dedicated to the advancement and promotion of Elizabeth City State University.