Taylor family establishes $10 million scholarship challenge

A $10 million commitment from Andrew Taylor, a life trustee at Washington University in St. Louis, and his wife, Barbara, will establish the Taylor Family Scholarship Challenge, which will match all new and increased gifts for undergraduate scholarships received by the conclusion of Leading Together: The Campaign for Washington University on June 30, 2018, as well as pledges to be paid by June 30, 2023.

With their gift, the Taylors have helped Leading Together reach a new milestone — securing a record-setting $500 million for scholarships and fellowships — and issued a challenge for the university community to raise an additional $10 million for this purpose. One of the most important priorities of Leading Together, scholarships offer talented young people the chance to fulfill their potential. The Taylor Challenge will expand opportunities for undergraduate students to attend Washington University and become the leaders of tomorrow. Including the gifts it will match from alumni, parents and friends, the completed Taylor Challenge will provide a total of $20 million toward the university’s scholarship efforts.

“Andy and Barbara Taylor are great university citizens, and they are among our most dedicated benefactors,” Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton said. “Under Andy’s leadership, the public phase of Leading Together already has surpassed all previous records in the history of Washington University. We are deeply grateful to both of them for their extraordinary generosity, which will have a lasting impact on the future of our students, the university and our society.”

The Taylors hope the challenge will inspire alumni, parents and friends to make gifts of all sizes for scholarships, whether in support of existing scholarship funds or to establish new annual and endowed scholarships.

“Scholarships are critical to advancing the university’s mission,” said Andrew Taylor, executive chairman of St. Louis-based Enterprise Holdings and chair of Leading Together. “They allow us to serve students from many different socioeconomic backgrounds. These are capable, outstanding students who make valuable contributions to academics, research and university life. Scholarships are how we empower them to pursue a superb education and go on to serve society.”

The Taylor Family Scholarship Challenge automatically matches new and increased gifts for undergraduate scholarships.

• Gifts, pledges and commitments must be made by June 30, 2018, to qualify for the match. Multiyear pledges payable through June 30, 2023, are encouraged and will count toward Leading Together: The Campaign for Washington University.
• If the donor elects to designate scholarship support to a specific school, the payout from the Taylor Family Challenge matching funds will support Enterprise Holdings Scholarships in that school. If Enterprise Holdings Scholarship funds in the donor’s designated school exceed the approved Enterprise Scholars awards for that school, the Taylor Family Challenge match will instead support universitywide Enterprise Holdings Scholarships.
• Gifts can be made in a variety of ways, including through donor-advised funds.

Through the years, the Taylor family and Enterprise Holdings have contributed more than $80 million to Washington University. This total includes $60 million to endow and expand the Enterprise Holdings Scholars program, which was established in 2001 with a gift of $25 million from the Taylor family and the parent company of the Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental, and Alamo Rent A Car brands. Ten years later, Jack Taylor, Andrew Taylor’s father and the founder of Enterprise Rent-A-Car, gave an additional $25 million for scholarships on behalf of the company. Andrew and Barbara Taylor made a $10 million gift to add to the Enterprise Holdings Scholarship Fund in 2015, lifting the total for the Leading Together campaign past $2 billion.

The Taylors’ involvement with the university extends far beyond supporting scholarships. In 2012, Andrew and Barbara Taylor and the Crawford Taylor Foundation committed $20 million to establish the Taylor Family Institute for Innovative Psychiatric Research in the School of Medicine. In addition to Andrew’s leadership role with Leading Together, he and Barbara are life members of the Danforth Circle Chancellor’s Level of the William Greenleaf Eliot Society. Jack Taylor, who died in 2016, was an emeritus trustee. Washington University recognized him in 2001 with an honorary doctor of humanities degree, and he received the Robert S. Brookings Award in 2003.

“My father cared deeply for Washington University and passed on to me a belief that the university’s success is essential to the success of St. Louis,” Andrew Taylor said. “He started Enterprise with a few cars and $25,000 in borrowed money. Now I get up every morning, think about what he built from those beginnings, and feel a deep sense of gratitude. Sharing our good fortune with students who need it just makes sense.”