The incorporation of the Trust was by royal charter in August 1902, later replaced in July 1978. The endowment of the Trust on establishment was $10 million (an unprecedented gift, amounting to around 200-times the annual governmental funding of the four Scottish universities at the time). In 2004-5, the assets of the Trust amounted to £58million, which enabled awards of £1,667,540 to be made. Under the terms set down by Andrew Carnegie, one half of the Trust's income is reserved for "the improvement and expansion of the Universities of Scotland" with the other half to go towards "the payment of fees of students of Scottish birth or extraction in respect of courses leading to a degree of a Scottish University".