In its early years, the university was held afloat financially by major donors. The university was placed on probation multiple times in the 1990s by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools due to heavy debt loads. In 1990, the university's debt totaled $110 million; in 1996, it totaled $40million. At the start of Jerry Falwell Jr.'s presidency in 2007, the university listed $259 million in assets. , the university's endowment stood at more than $1billion and gross assets exceeded $2billion. At the end of Jerry Falwell Jr.'s presidency in 2020, the university listed over $2.5 billion in assets.