In today’s dynamic funding and operating environment, a lot is at stake for public colleges and universities and their endowments. The endowment is more than a static funding source; it plays a strategic and expanding role in the public university business model, and with strong stewardship, a growing endowment can transform a university’s financial equation.
While colleges and universities have faced several financial fissures due to the disruptions of COVID-19, their endowments have been a source of financial stability. Four key financial indicators tell this story: operating margins were compressed, tuition discounts grew, institutions borrowed more debt, and endowment spending was consistent. In this note, we review these financial pressures and the endowment implications that emerged in Cambridge Associates’ second annual Endowment Radar Study of private college and university finances.
In April 2020, Cambridge Associates conducted a survey of our foundation clients to gauge sentiment about spending for the current year and to understand potential sources of flexibility and liquidity in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. This year has brought tremendous disruption and uncertainty, but foundations are approaching these challenges with responsive philanthropy and a long-term view, so they can support important causes in 2020 and beyond.
For non-profit institutions, the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 virus, and the speed by which these disruptions have materialized, create a perfect financial storm.
Investing in revenue development and fundraising while simultaneously pursuing goals for asset growth is a balancing act. This paper outlines the various funding mechanisms public universities can use to pay for development efforts, and the implications they have on the investment portfolio and enterprise as a whole.
Recent policy proposals assume endowments can do more to reduce their reliance on student revenue, and thus the cost of a college education. Our analysis shows that while well intentioned, these proposals will affect endowment and organizational stability and intergenerational equity.
When endowment funds slip “underwater,” institutions must evaluate the tradeoff between distributing anticipated budget support and restoring the endowment to its original value.
Suboptimal governance can extend disappointing performance or perpetuate suboptimal past decisions. By contrast, good governance leads of its own design to necessary mid-course corrections. To create the conditions for good governance, endowments should assess whether they have in place the appropriate model for portfolio oversight and management, are upholding their fiduciary responsibilities, and are learning about peer best practices in structure, process, policies, and role of the portfolio.
Determining the appropriate size of near-term reserves and how to invest any remaining reserves is more art than science and requires careful consideration of a number of factors.
The strains on public universities require a new approach to resources, and an increasingly expertly managed endowment fund and fundraising operation are essential to that evolution