Giving Back to Pay It Forward

Investment income from our endowment is the largest source of school revenue after tuition income (73%) and the Annual Fund (12%). Under professional management, the Burroughs endowment supports immediate and long-term needs.

Devoted and generous alumni, parents and friends have established endowed funds to provide a permanent source of investment income to Burroughs. Gifts to the endowment last forever.

Gifts to establish new, and augment existing, endowed funds are a primary focus of our Centennial Campaign. This focus reflects our commitment to controlling tuition increases, preserving our commitment to tuition assistance, supporting core programs and ensuring that salaries are competitive.

Our Centennial Campaign will end in 2026, and we hope that our community will partner with us to help grow the Burroughs endowment to $100 million in celebration of our 100th anniversary. Commitments can take many forms and may include irrevocable estate gifts. Donors to the Burroughs endowment:

  • Provide a permanent place for multiple generations of their families to direct gifts to Burroughs.
  • Permanently celebrate family, loved ones, or a favorite faculty member by naming the fund in their honor or memory.
  • Secure permanent funding for Burroughs because the principal of all endowed funds is invested and untouched in perpetuity.
  • Connect with the beneficiaries of their generosity.

In Their Own Words

In 2021, classmates Kim Kuehner ’71 and Joan Powers ’71 celebrated their 50th class reunion. They also made commitments to support our endowed scholarship program. Here is what motivated these alums to give back to Burroughs.

Kim Kuehner ’71
Kim Kuehner“I was inspired to give back to Burroughs because I wanted to motivate others to also give back, and I wanted to honor my family. I chose to name my gift for my parents, Horty and Howard Kuehner, and my maternal grandfather, Harry Hartkopf. I wanted to give a gift that would support the people who have meant the most to me by making a gift to an institution that reflects so much of what I appreciate—culture, community, inclusion and excellence. Burroughs was central to both my education and the education of my sister, Kerry Kuehner '68. Philanthropy is a major way I choose to give back to Burroughs and to St. Louis, my primary home all my life. I know the impact of a Burroughs education, and I applaud the evolution of the Burroughs campus and programming since I graduated in 1971. I'm lucky to have been able to attend Burroughs. I take great pride in knowing that my gift will help ensure that the tradition continues for another century.”
Joan S. Powers ’71
Joan Powers“After graduating from Burroughs, I attended Brown University and then got my law degree from Penn. I spent most of my career as a lawyer in the International Monetary Fund, and I currently serve as an arbitrator/tribunal judge for several organizations in Geneva, Switzerland. My learning experience at Burroughs was the key to my academic and professional career path, including my interest in international affairs, and also instilled a lifelong love of art and music. My years at Burroughs opened a window to all of these possibilities to me. I decided to endow a scholarship to ensure that a JBS education would be available to promising students, regardless of their family's financial circumstances, and give them the opportunity to pursue their chosen paths in life.”