New tax provisions in legislation recently passed by the US House of Representatives (the House Bill) would impose millions of dollars of new costs on many colleges, universities, and private foundations, if enacted. We recommend four steps nonprofit organizations can consider right now, without being too hasty, to ensure they are well-prepared and responsive should […]
June 2025
The initial months of 2025 have been extraordinary for higher education. Colleges and universities are facing questions about their missions, policies, curricula, and why they have endowments. While endowment wealth is in the headlines and crosshairs, the purpose of endowments can be lost, under the radar one might say. The 2024 Endowment Radar Study highlights […]
March 2025
“Divest now!” Passionate voices are demanding distance between the endowment and investments that can be connected to war and human suffering. Divestment campaigns may seek to influence change, take an ethical investing stance, and/or ensure that the capital of the institution they care about does not fund or profit from a cause or actions they […]
May 2024
Higher costs and higher rates of endowment spending are the major story lines of the 2023 Endowment Radar Study. In 2023, the endowment provided a stable source of funding for the growing costs of private college and university business model (Figure 1). The four components of Endowment Radar measure the endowment’s role in supporting the […]
March 2024
In today’s dynamic funding and operating environment, a lot is at stake for public colleges and universities and their endowments. The public university endowment is more than a static funding source; with strong stewardship, a growing endowment can transform a university’s financial equation. The most forward-thinking public universities use their endowments for far more than […]
January 2024
Inflation is having a moment. After laying low and playing a minor role in institutional financial decisions for decades, inflation has soared, dominating headlines and raising expectations for future costs. In addition to its impact on financial markets and investment portfolios, inflation increases the costs of delivering the nonprofit mission and makes it more challenging […]
May 2023
Endowment Radar is a methodology that Cambridge Associates developed to visually evaluate the endowment’s role in the college and university enterprise. The four components of Endowment Radar measure the endowment’s role in supporting the annual budget (Endowment Dependence), pricing strategy (Endowment Support-to-Financial Aid), balance sheet health (Endowment-to-Debt), and financial sustainability (Net Flow Rate). Our 2022 […]
March 2023
An increasing number of institutions and families are electing to spend down their assets during a limited time period. Why? Some causes—such as climate justice—feel urgent to donors and they respond with more immediate action. Other donors believe greater financial support today through a spend-down fund compounds their impact, leading to better outcomes in totality compared to providing […]
January 2023